2008 MERCURY MARINER Complaints

THE AIR BAG ON MY 2008 (PURCHASED NEW IN AUGUST 2009) MERCURY MARINER DEPLOYED (NO ACCIDENT) FORD, IN EFFECT CALLED ME A LIAR BUT FARMERS INSURANCE FIXED THE PROBLEM AND DID NOT CHARGE THE INCIDENT AS AN ACCIDENT. I DO NOT FEEL SAFE IN THIS VEHICLE BUT AS I HAVE SAID BEFORE FORD WHILE BEING VERY POLITE SAID THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED. THAT HAS THE EFFECT OF CALLING ME A LIAR BUT, THERE ARE ARTICLES THAT SHOW THAT AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT DOES HAPPEN. *TR

2008 MERCURY MARINER. CONSUMER STATES SAFETY ISSUES WITH ROTORS *TGW THE CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A MECHANIC TO HAVE THE VEHICLE INSPECTED. THE MECHANIC STATED THE ROTORS FOR THE FRONT DISC BRAKES WERE WORN, PITTED AND RUSTED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. IT WAS VERIFIED WHEN IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE BRAKE PEDAL PULSED AT SPEEDS OF 30 OR 40 MPH. THE CONSUMER THEN TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER WHO THEN ASSERTED THAT THE MECHANIC WAS WRONG AND THAT ALL VEHICLES HAVE RUST ON THEIR ROTORS. THE CONSUMER THEN TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO HIS MECHANIC BECAUSE OF A CONTINUED PEDAL PULSATION BEGINNING AT 30- 40 MPH. THE CONSUMER THEN WENT TO ANOTHER DEALERSHIP, WHO DID INDEED AGREE THAT THE FRONT ROTORS WERE RUSTED, PITTED AND UNSAFE. ALSO THE REAR DRUMS WERE CRACKED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE ABS WAS INOPERATIVE DUE TO THE TONE RINGS HAD FALLEN OFF. *JB

IN A HARD-BRAKING SITUATION, BRAKES FAILED - NO DISCERNIBLE DECELERATION AT ALL, PUSHING HARDER THAN I'VE EVER HAD TO BEFORE. THIS MADE FOR REAR-ENDING THE GUY AHEAD OF ME. FORENSICS INVESTIGATOR W/ MECH FOUND ODB DTCS SHOWED ONLY P0A8D AND B1318 - ONE OF WHICH SHOWS A LOW VOLTAGE TO ABS SYSTEM. MULTIPLE REPORTS OF THIS WITH ESCAPE HYBRID OWNERS. I WONDER IF IT IS RELATED TO THE FORD FUSION HYBRID FAILURES? THIS OCCURRED AT 10-15 MPH. WHAT HAPPENS AT 60? LOCAL DEALERSHIP DECLARES "YOUR BRAKES CHECK OUT FINE AND THERE'S NO EVIDENCE OF BRAKE FAILURE." REALLY? HOW ABOUT THAT RADIATOR AND GRILL THAT NEED REPAIR AND THAT QUARTERPANEL STICKING OUT OF THE RIGHT SIDE? EVIDENCE ENOUGH? I'D LIKE TO SEE THIS ISSUE ROOT-CAUSED BEFORE SOMEBODY GETS SERIOUSLY HURT. *TR

IN DECEMBER OF 2009 I REPORTED AN INCIDENCE OF UNINTENDED ACCELERATION. SINCE THEN WE HAVE NOT BEEN USING THE CRUISE CONTROL MUCH. YESTERDAY I ACTIVATED THE CRUISE CONTROL AT 60MPH ON A LONG FLAT AREA. THERE IS A MOUNTAIN PASS AND CURVES BETWEEN THAT AREA AND OUR HOME. I HIT THE BRAKE AND SLOWED DOWN AROUND THE 35 MPH CURVES. ON THE DOWN GRADE I TOOK IT OUT OF OVER DRIVE AND DROPPED DOWN A GEAR. THE ROAD FLATTENS OUT AGAIN AT THE BOTTOM BUT I DID NOT REENGAGE THE CRUISE CONTROL. AT ONE POINT AT AN INTERSECTION I HAD TO BRAKE TO TEN MILES PER HOUR OR LESS FOR AN ONCOMING CAR. JUST AFTER MAKING A LEFT TURN ONTO OUR STREET THE CAR BEGAN RAPIDLY ACCELERATING ON ITS OWN. I DIDN'T HAVE MY FOOT ON THE GAS PEDAL. SINCE THE ROAD IS STRAIGHT I ALLOWED IT TO ACCELERATE TO SEE WHAT IT WOULD DO. IT WENT FROM 10 MPH TO 50 MPH BEFORE MY WIFE ASKED, "WHY ARE YOU ACCELERATING? I REPLIED, " I'M NOT. IT'S DOING IT ON ITS OWN." IT DISENGAGED AS SOON AS I HIT THE BRAKE PEDAL. THERE IS NO WAY THIS WAS CAUSED BY A FLOOR MAT. I WAS ONLY GOING ABOUT 10MPH WHEN IT BEGAN ACCELERATING AND I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE PEDAL. THE LAST TIME I COMPLAINED TO FORD THE CAR WAS UNDER WARRANTY AND HAD LESS THAN 36,000 MILES ON IT. FORD SAID THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT SINCE IT WAS INTERMITTENT AND THEY HADN'T EXPERIENCED THE PROBLEM. ANOTHER SAFETY PROBLEM WE HAVE HAD WITH THE CAR: WHEN IT HAD 26,000 MILES ON IT THE FRONT END BEGAN SHAKING WHEN BRAKING. FORD SAID THE FRONT ROTORS WERE WARPED AND RESURFACED THEM UNDER THE WARRANTY. THEY REFUSED TO CHANGE THE PADS OR INSTALL NEW ROTORS. ABOUT 15,000 MILES LATER IT BEGAN VIBRATING AGAIN AT SPEEDS ABOVE 50MPH. NOW THE VIBRATION IS SEVERE. WE ARE LOOKING AT A COMPLETE BRAKE OVERHAUL. WE HAVE NEVER DETECTED THE BRAKES BEING OVERHEATED WHILE THE CAR WAS BEING DRIVEN. ANOTHER PROBLEM WE HAD WAS THAT THE TRANS COOLER WENT OUT AT 26,000 MILES. FORD INSTALLED A NEW ONE UNDER WARRANTY BUT REFUSED TO DRAIN AND REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION FLUID. *TR

2008 MARINER HYBRID / 67000MILES. ENGINE FAILURE. WAS ABLE TO LIMP OFF HIGHWAY. AFTER WAITING SEVERAL MINUTES CAR RESTARTED AND WAS ABLE TO DRIVE APPROX. 5 MILES BEFORE IT SHUT OFF AGAIN. DROVE TO DEALER WITH SEVERAL SHUTDOWNS. DEALER STATES CAR NEEDS ELECTRONIC COOLING PUMP AND CHT SENSOR AT A COST OF $1275.00. CAR IS STILL SITTING IN DEALERSHIP WAITING FOR MY DECISION TO REPAIR OR NOT. CAR WAS NOT ABUSED. MOSTLY ONLY ONE PASSENGER. CAR WAS SERVICED REGULARLY AS PER SPECS AT DEALERSHIP. *TR

SECOND UNWARNED TOTAL SHUT-DOWN OF ALL POWER ON ROADWAY - THIS ONE JUST 17 DAYS AFTER REPAIRS AND REPROGRAMMING BY FORD DEALERSHIP FOLLOWING FIRST INSTANCE, WHICH CUT GAS ENGINE AND ELECTRIC MOTOR POWER WHILE TRAVELING ON LOS ANGELES FREEWAY. THIS POWER SHUT-DOWN OCCURRED WHILE TRYING TO PULL FROM PARALLEL PARK SPOT ONTO BUSY BLVD - LOST ALL POWER 2 FEET INTO TRAFFIC, ABLE TO ROLL BACK INTO CURB BEFORE TRAFFIC REACHED ME AROUND SEMI-BLIND CURVE. AFTER THE FIRST IN-USE FAILURE ON 5-17-10, I SIMULTANEOUSLY REPORTED THE MALFUNCTION TO FORD CUSTOMER RELATIONS (CASE# 1432331380), AND PRESENTED THE VEHICLE FOR REPAIR TO CERRITOS [THE FOLLOWING QUOTES FROM TEXT OF SERVICE RECORD]; TECH PERFORMED `EEC TEST, REVEALING FAULT-CODES: B1239, P1A0C AND P0562. THE TECH ALSO "FOUND TSB (TECH SERVICE BULLETIN) 07-25-12 WITH CONCERN RESOLUTION" & HE "CONTACT[ED] FORD TECHNICAL SERVICE HOTLINE WITH CONCERN." THE TECH "REPLACED THE AUXILIARY AIRFLOW MODE DOOR ACTUATOR AND REPROGRAMMED THE TRACTION BATTERY CONTROL MODULE TO LATEST CALIBRATION 8M64-10B687-AG. FINAL EEC TEST PASSED." I WAS ALSO INFORMED THAT THE PART NUMBER FOR THE REPLACEMENT `AIRFLOW MODE DOOR ACTUATOR' DIFFERED FROM ORIGINAL, SO THE COMPONENT HAS APPARENTLY BEEN RE-DESIGNED - BUT NEITHER MY WIFE NOR I HAVE RECEIVED WARNINGS FROM FORD THAT UPDATES/REPAIRS WERE RECOMMENDED ON EITHER OF OUR 2008 MARINER HYBRIDS. THIS ORIGINALLY SMELLED LIKE A `SILENT RECALL' TO ME...BUT THIS DOESN'T EVEN RATE AS A `RECALL', BECAUSE THE WORK PERFORMED DID NOT PREVENT THE SECOND OCCURRENCE OF THE EQUIVALENT MALFUNCTION JUST 17 DAYS LATER. THIS IS A TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE FAILURE MODE FOR ANY CONSUMER TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE, BECAUSE IT OCCURS WITHOUT WARNING, AND LEAVES THE DRIVER COMPLETELY DEFENSELESS, AND WITH SEVERELY-REDUCED RESPONSE OPTIONS. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 MERCURY MARINER. THE CONTACT STARTED THE IGNITION AND OBSERVED THAT THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL HAD DETACHED FROM THE CABLE WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING. THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS ATTACHED BACK TO THE CABLE; AND FUNCTIONED NORMAL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THE TECHNICIAN REPLACED THE ACCELERATOR CABLE CLIP. THE CONTACT HAD CONCERN OF THE SAFETY ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 28,600.

ON MAY 15, 2010, I WAS ACCELERATING ONTO A FREEWAY IN ROSEVILLE, MN. THE ACCELERATOR CABLE SNAPPED COMPLETELY DISABLING THE GAS PEDAL. THE CAR IMMEDIATELY SLOWED DOWN, AND WE WERE NEARLY REARENDED AT 55 MILES AN HOUR AS I FRANTICALLY TRIED TO CONTROL MY VEHICLE, STEER IT TO SAFETY AND PUT THE HAZARD FLASHERS ON. THE VEHICLE HAS 50, 980 MILES SO IT NO LONGER HAS BUMPER TO BUMPER WARRANTY ON IT AND THIS PIECE IS NOT CONSIDERED PART OF THE POWERTRAIN AND WILL NOT BE COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY. THIS WAS A DANGEROUS SITUATION AND I FEEL THAT FORD MOTOR COMPANY NEEDS TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. THE SERVICE MANAGER AT MY DEALERSHIP FEELS THIS IS A DEFECT IN THE MANUFACTURING OF THIS VEHICLE. *TR

ON-FREEWAY GAS ENGINE/ELECTRIC MOTOR SHUT-DOWN. DRIVING IN MORNING RUSH-HOUR TRAFFIC APPROXIMATELY 15 MINUTES AFTER COLD START IN 60-DEGREE WEATHER, BOTH THE GASOLINE ENGINE AND THE ELECTRIC MOTOR PROPULSION SYSTEMS SHUT-DOWN TOGETHER WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION - "STOP SAFELY NOW" WAS THE `TOO-LITTLE-TOO-LATE' INFO ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. NEITHER POWER MODE WOULD RESTART WITH TRANS IN NEUTRAL (I REFUSED TO TRY CYCLING IGNITION KEY TO OFF, AND RISK STEERING LOCK). FORTUNATE TO COAST ONTO SHOULDER, WHERE I HAD TO MOVE GEAR SELECTOR TO PARK, TURN IGNITION KEY FULL-OFF AND THEN BACK TO START, AT WHICH TIME NORMAL OPERATION RESUMED. TOTAL LOSS OF BOTH POWER SOURCES WHILE IN-USE ON A FREEWAY ' AND UNABLE TO RE-ACTIVATE WITHOUT SHIFTING TRANSMISSION INTO PARK IS ABSOLUTELY INEXCUSABLE AND UNACCEPTABLE! *TR

I HAVE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MY 2008 MERCURY MARINER TRANSMISSION DURING THE WINTER OF 2010 AND CONTINUING. WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD THE TRANSMISSION SLIPS. WHEN I ACCELERATE THE ENGINE REVS AND THEN SLAMS INTO GEAR. FURTHERMORE, WHILE SITTING AT A STOP SIGN OR TRAFFIC LIGHT WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE, THE ENGINE WILL REV UP THEN SHIFT IN ANOTHER GEAR THEN WHEN TAKING OFF THE VEHICLE SLAMS INTO GEAR. ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION, THE VEHICLE WILL CUT OFF COMPLETELY WHEN IDLING AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT. THE REVVING AND ENGINE CUTTING OFF IS GETTING WORSE WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD OR WARM. *TR