2005 MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE HEADLIGHTS FAILED AND THE CONTACT WOULD HAVE TO PLAY WITH THE ON/OFF SWITCH TO GET THE LIGHTS TO ILLUMINATE. IN ADDITION, THE HEADLIGHTS WOULD FAIL WHEN THE TURN SIGNALS WERE ACTIVATED. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER WHERE THE DEALER ADVISED THAT THE LIGHT CONTROL SWITCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CONTACT DID NOT CALL THE MANUFACTURER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 79,086 UPDATED 11/16/11*LJ UPDATED 11/30/11

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE HEADLIGHTS WOULD INTERMITTENTLY SHUT OFF. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THREE WEEKS PRIOR TO THE FAILURE, THE HEADLIGHTS BEGAN TO DIM. THE FAILURE ALSO OCCURRED WHEN THE HIGH BEAMS WERE ENGAGED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THIS WAS A KNOWN FAILURE AND THE REPAIRS WERE NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY. THE CONTACT WAS ALSO INFORMED THAT A FAILURE OF THE HEADLIGHT MODULE CAUSED THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 45,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 46,000.

I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE RAOD AT 70 MPH AND THE HEADLIGHTS BLINKED OFF, ALL THE LITES WENT OFF, HEADLITES, TAILITES, ALL. I TURNED THE HEADLITE SWITCH ON AND OFF AND NOTHING. I SLOWED AND DOWN AND BEGAN TO PULL OF THE INTERSTATE AND THE LITES BLINKED BACK ON AGAIN. THIS OCCURRED 3 MORE TIMES ON THE WAY INTO WORK. I NOTIFIED FORD, NO ASSISTANCE AND THE DEALER REPLACED THE LIGHTING CONTROL MODULE, STATED THEY HAD SEEN A FEW OF THEM. I SAW A CHRYSLER HAD A PROBLEM AND THOUGHT I SHOULD REPORT MINE. I NOTIFIED FORD THIS WAS A SAFETY ITEM AND THEY SHOULD ISSUE A RECALL. *TT

HEADLIGHTS GO OUT OR SOMETIMES WILL NOT COME ON. LIGHTING CONTROL MODULE RELAY INTERMITTEN. LIGHTS GO OUT WITH NO WARNING WHILE DRIVING. HIGH BEAMS AND CORNERING LIGHTS ALSO INOP WHEN ACTING UP.GETTING WORSE WITH TIME. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFTY ISSUE AS IT HAPPENS ON FREWAYS, HIGHWAYS ETC. WE HAVE TO TAP THE LCM IN ORDER TO GET THE LIGHTS BACK ON BUT THEY GO OUT AGAIN. THIS IS A VERY EXPENSIVE FIX ($800) SO I CANT AFFORD TO HAVE REPLACED. PLEASE THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL. *TR

WHILE DRIVING MY CAR AT IN THE VERY EARLY MORNING BOTH HEADLIGHTS FAILED ON A CURVY DOWNHILL ROAD. I SWITCHED THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH FROM THE AUTOMATIC POSITION TO THE MANUAL "ON" POSITION, BUT THE HEADLIGHTS DID NOT COME BACK ON. I PUSHED THE HIGH BEAM SWITCH FORWARD TO THE HIGH BEAM POSITION BUT THIS FAILED TO TURN ON THE HIGH BEAMS. I PULLED THE HIGH BEAM SWITCH BACK TO THE HIGH BEAM "FLASH" POSITION WHICH DID ILLUMINATE THE HIGH BEAMS. I HELD THE SWITCH BACK IN THIS POSITION (TO THE DISPLEASURE OF APPROACHING DRIVERS) UNTIL I FOUND A SAFE PLACE TO PULL OVER. I CYCLED THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH NUMEROUS TIMES WITH NO EFFECT. THE LIGHT DID FINALLY COME BACK ON THEIR OWN FOR A SHORT TIME, BUT THEM WENT OFF AGAIN. THIS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES UNIT THEY FINALLY DID SOME BACK ON FOR A LENGTHY PERIOD OF TIME. THE NEXT DAY THE SAME SITUATION OCCURRED. AT ALL TIMES THE OTHER LIGHTS (DASH, PARKING, ETC) CONTINUED TO OPERATE. VERY DANGEROUS. *TR

FAILURE OF SEAT BELT PRETENSIONER DRIVER SIDE RENDERING AIR BAG SYSTEM INOPERABLE REPLACEMENT COST $416.96 REPLACED SEAT BELT @ PRETENSIONER AIR BAG LIGHT THEN WENT OFF

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS. THE CONTACT NOTICED AIR WAS LEAKING FROM THE RIM BECAUSE ALL FOUR WHEELS WERE CORRODED. THE DEALER INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT OF CORROSION ON THE WHEELS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS AWARE OF THE FAILURE. NO REPAIRS WERE PERFORMED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 14,618. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 10,000.

WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT, MY WIFE PUT ON THE LEFT TURN SIGNAL AND THE HEADLIGHTS IMMEDIATELY FAILED, CREATING A DANGEROUS SITUATION. SHE FRANTICALLY FIDDLED WITH VARIOUS LIGHT CONTROLS UNTIL FINALLY DISCOVERING THAT BY MANUALLY HOLDING THE "FLASH TO PASS" HIGH BEAM LEVER, IT BROUGHT THE HEADLIGHTS ON ALLOWING HER TO MAKE IT HOME. THE HEADLIGHTS WERE CHECKED BY THE FORD DEALER ON AUGUST 5, 2011. TESTS REVEALED NO CAUSE BUT THE MECHANIC SUSPECTED THE LIGHT CONTROL MODULE. HE ADVISED FURTHER DRIVING, WHICH I DID THAT SAME EVENING ONLY TO EXPERIENCE REPEATED HEADLIGHT FAILURE WHEN USING EITHER TURN SIGNAL OR ACTIVATING THE HIGH BEAMS. THEN I DISCOVERED A NUMBER OF INTERNET POSTINGS IN WHICH DRIVERS EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM WITH GRAND MARQUIS' OR FORD CROWN VICTORIAS MADE IN THE 2000'S. THEN I FOUND A WEBSITE WHICH STATED THAT THE ORIGINAL LIGHT CONTROL MODULE HAD A MAJOR PROBLEM INVOLVING A BAD CIRCUIT THAT IS THE DEFINITIVE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. THE LOCAL FORD DEALER ACKNOWLEDGED AWARENESS OF THE PROBLEM (EVEN CITING SEVERAL CROWN VICTORIA POLICE INTERCEPTORS THAT REQUIRED LCM REPLACEMENT), BUT BECAUSE FORD HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL, THEY WANTED OVER $1,000 FOR DIAGNOSIS, PART, AND LABOR. A WEBSITE ALSO NOTED THAT FORD RECENTLY COMPLETELY REVISED THE LCM WITH AN INTERNAL REDESIGN BY FORD ENGINEERS SO THAT THE NEW LCMS WILL NEVER FAIL. THE WEBSITE ALSO NOTED THAT SOME DEALERS CONTINUE TO SELL THE OLD DEFECTIVE LCM WHICH WILL ONLY FAIL AGAIN. MY OPINION: BESIDES NOT WANTING TO PAY AN EXHORBITANT AMOUNT TO REPLACE ONE COMPONENT OF A VEHICLE'S LIGHT SYSTEM, IT APPEARS FORD IS FULLY AWARE OF A POTENTIALLY DEADLY DEFECT AFFECTING MANY THOUSANDS OF GRAND MARQUIS' AND CROWN VICTORIAS CURRENTLY IN USE, BUT HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL. THIS POTENTIALLY DEADLY DEFECT MUST BE ADDRESSED! IT IS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE FATAL ACCIDENTS HAVE ALREADY OCCURRED BUT WERE MISATTRIBUTED.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH AND DEPRESSING THE BRAKES, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED UNTIL THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS RELEASED. ALSO, WHILE PARKED, THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE BRAKES AND THE VEHICLE LUNGED FORWARD. THE FAILURE RECURRED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTICS OR REPAIRS. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 5,000.

BOTH HEADLIGHTS FAILED, IN BOTH DIM AND HIGH-BEAM POSITIONS. THEY WILL NOT COME ON IN EITHER THE AUTOMATIC OR MANUAL DASHBOARD SWITCH POSITIONS. (THE BULBS ARE STILL GOOD.) THE PARKING LIGHTS, TURN SIGNALS, TAIL LIGHTS, AND BRAKE LIGHTS CONTINUED TO FUNCTION. THIS HAPPENED AT NIGHT. IT SHOULD BE OBVIOUS THAT THIS FAILURE WILL *ALWAYS* OCCUR AT NIGHT, OR DURING STORMY WEATHER, THREATENING SAFETY, BECAUSE HEADLIGHTS ARE NOT NORMALLY USED DURING THE DAYTIME. LATER TESTING REVEALED THE PROBLEM TO BE INTERMITTENT. AT ONE POINT, THE AUTOMATIC DASHBOARD SWITCH POSITION WORKED FOR BOTH DIM AND HIGH-BEAMS, BUT THE MANUAL SWITCH POSITION DID NOT WORK. THE NEXT MORNING, BOTH THE AUTOMATIC AND MANUAL POSITIONS WORKED. WHEN THE PROBLEM FIRST OCCURRED, NEITHER POSITION WOULD WORK. THIS INTERMITTENT PROBLEM IS CONSISTENT WITH A LARGE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS AND REPORTS FOR THE 2003-2005 MODEL YEARS, AND THE PROBLEM IS THE LIGHTING CONTROL MODULE. THIS MODULE IS SO UNRELIABLE THAT IT HAS BEEN NAMED THE "LIGHTS OUT MODULE" ON THE INTERNET. A SAMPLING OF COMPLAINTS CAN BE FOUND AT THESE WEB SITES: HTTP://WWW.ARFC.ORG/COMPLAINTS/2003/FORD/CROWN_VICTORIA/EXTERIOR_LIGHTING/PROBLEM.ASPX HTTP://WWW.ARFC.ORG/COMPLAINTS/2004/FORD/CROWN_VICTORIA/EXTERIOR_LIGHTING/PROBLEM.ASPX HTTP://WWW.ARFC.ORG/COMPLAINTS/2005/FORD/CROWN_VICTORIA/EXTERIOR_LIGHTING/PROBLEM.ASPX. THIS IS A *SAFETY* ISSUE. LIVES ARE AT STAKE. PLEASE FORCE A RECALL TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM BEFORE INNOCENT PEOPLE ARE KILLED. ALTHOUGH THE PARKING LIGHTS AND TAIL LIGHTS CONTINUED TO WORK, SO OTHER DRIVERS CAN SEE THE CAR WITH THE FAILED HEADLIGHTS, THE DRIVER OF THE CAR WITH THE FAILED HEADLIGHTS *CANNOT* SEE WHERE HE IS GOING!! HE COULD RUN INTO A PARKED CAR, HIT A PEDESTRIAN, HIT A BICYCLIST, HIT A TREE OR OTHER OBSTRUCTION, ETC. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION! *KB