2008 MERCURY MARINER HYBRID Complaints

THIS WOULD BE THE THIRD TOTAL ENGINE POWER SHUT-DOWN AT FREEWAY SPEEDS WITH NO LIMP-AWAY OPTION AFTER EXITING THE FREEWAY, REALIZED THAT WE WERE IN AN UNSAFE NEIGHBORHOOD [SO NOT A GOOD OPTION TO STOP AND CALL FOR TOW], TRIED MAPPING SURFACE STREET ROUTE TO SAFER AREA, BUT NAV SYSTEM SHOWED THE ONLY SURFACE STREET ROUTE TO TAKE US BACK HOME PUT US ON A STEEP, NARROW WINDING SECTION OF LAUREL CANYON - NO SAFE EXIT IF ANOTHER SHUT-DOWN. ALSO REALIZED WE COULDN'T USE RIVERSIDE THRU GRIFFITH PARK WHICH IS LOCKED AFTER DARK .. SO ZIG-ZAGGED NORTH AND WEST ABOUT 5 MILES BELOW 40 MPH KEEPING TO LIGHTED STREETS HOPING FOR SAFE PLACE OR UNREMEMBERED ROUTE. ENGINE REMAINED STABLE ONCE MORE, DROVE TOWARDS I-5 AGAIN ON LOS FELIZ (PAST THE GRIFFIN BAR ' AND A TOPLESS CLUB) .. REMEMBERED LOS FELIZ AHEAD HAD A LONG, SEPARATE ENTRANCE RAMP TO N/B I-5 . THE DRIVETRAIN ACCELERATED SMOOTHLY TO ~50 MPH, THEN WARNINGS / DRIVE TRAIN DIED AGAIN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ON-RAMP .. HAZARDS ' AGAIN .. BUT WITH LESS MOMENTUM, HARDER TO FIND A WIDE-ENOUGH SPOT ON THE N/B OUTER SHOULDER ACROSS FROM S/END GRIFFITH PARK GOLF COURSE. WHEN MINIMAL SPOT FOUND STOPPED / PARKED / SHUT DOWN AND RESTARTED AGAIN, ENGINE STARTED AND IDLED SMOOTHLY, NO WARNING LIGHTS REMAINED ON. NOW ABOUT 10:15PM. WITH HAZARDS ON, ROLLED BELOW FWY SPEEDS ALONG SHOULDER UNTIL IT RAN OUT JUST AS ADEQUATE OPENING APPEARED IN OUTSIDE LANE. ACCELERATED CAUTIOUSLY TO BELOW 50 MPH, LIMPED OFF AT ODD FREEWAY APPENDIX WHICH LEADS EAST - MERGED RIGHT ONTO SAN FERNANDO, TURNED LEFT (NORTH) AT NEXT SIGNAL AND STARTED WORKING WAY ABOUT 12 MILES BACK WEST ON SURFACE STREETS FROM THE MOORPARK AREA NEVER EXCEEDING 45 MPH. NO ADDITIONAL DRIVETRAIN ISSUES BEFORE WE REACHED STUDIO CITY HOME ~ 11:10PM. THIS WAS THE THIRD TOTAL ENGINE POWER SHUT-DOWN AT FREEWAY SPEEDS WITH NO `LIMP AWAY' OPTION. *TR

THIS WOULD BE THE SECOND UN-WARNED TOTAL LOSS OF POWER ON A FREEWAY. HAVING COASTED OUT OF TRAFFIC ON THE FIRST UNWARNED ENGINE / PROPULSION SYSTEM SHUT-DOWN IN FAST-MOVING FREEWAY TRAFFIC, MANAGED TO FIND WIDE-ENOUGH SECTION OF OUTSIDE SHOULDER TO COME TO A STOP. BUT BEING STUCK IN 10PM DARKNESS ON A NARROW SHOULDER WAS TOO DANGEROUS TO CONSIDER REMAINING THERE. ONCE STOPPED, I SHIFTED THE TRANSMISSION TO PARK, CYCLED IGNITION OFF THEN TO START ? ENGINE RESTARTED, DASH WARNING LAMPS CAME ON- THEN CYCLED OFF NORMALLY, ENGINE RAN SMOOTHLY. NOTE: THE ONLY WAY TO ATTEMPT TO RESTART THE HYBRID DRIVETRAIN IS TO SHIFT THE TRANSMISSION INTO PARK .. IT DOESN'T WORK IN NEUTRAL .. AND THERE WAS NO WAY I WAS GOING TO TRY TO PUT THE TRANS IN PARK IN 72-75 MPH FREEWAY TRAFFIC IN 10PM DARKNESS. ACCELERATED MODERATELY INTO MERGING LANE, ENTERING GAP IN N/B TRAFFIC TO RE-ENTER I-5 TRAFFIC ? HOPING TO GET PAST SR-2 TO MORE-FAMILIAR EXIT ? WITHIN 2 MINUTES, AND AT SPEED ~ 55 MPH ? DRIVE TRAIN DIED AGAIN (SAME WARNING TONE AND LIGHT...AND SAME "TOO LITTLE TOO LATE" STOP NOW WARNING TEXT). AGAIN HAD TO HUNT FOR A WIDE-ENOUGH SECTION OF OUTSIDE SHOULDER TO STOP AND TAKE STOCK OF DANGEROUS SITUATION. SHUT OFF ENGINE, MOVED TRANS INTO PARK TRIED RESTART - AGAIN, ENGINE STARTED AND SETTLED TO NORMAL OPERATION - NO WARNING LIGHTS REMAINED ON. ABLE TO RE-ENTER TRAFFIC AND TRANSITION OFF I-5 FWY .. BUT ONLY ESCAPE WAS TO ANOTHER FREEWAY (SR-2). KEPT SPEED BELOW 45MPH ON THAT FREEWAY UNTIL ABLE TO EXIT FREEWAY. THIS WAS THE SECOND UN-WARNED TOTAL LOSS OF POWER ON A FREEWAY. *TR

THIS WOULD BE THE SECOND UN-WARNED TOTAL LOSS OF POWER ON A FREEWAY. HAVING COASTED OUT OF TRAFFIC ON THE FIRST UNWARNED ENGINE / PROPULSION SYSTEM SHUT-DOWN IN FAST-MOVING FREEWAY TRAFFIC, MANAGED TO FIND WIDE-ENOUGH SECTION OF OUTSIDE SHOULDER TO COME TO A STOP. BUT BEING STUCK IN 10PM DARKNESS ON A NARROW SHOULDER WAS TOO DANGEROUS TO CONSIDER REMAINING THERE. ONCE STOPPED, I SHIFTED THE TRANSMISSION TO PARK, CYCLED IGNITION OFF THEN TO START ENGINE RESTARTED, DASH WARNING LAMPS CAME ON- THEN CYCLED OFF NORMALLY, ENGINE RAN SMOOTHLY. NOTE: THE ONLY WAY TO ATTEMPT TO RESTART THE HYBRID DRIVETRAIN IS TO SHIFT THE TRANSMISSION INTO PARK .. IT DOESN'T WORK IN NEUTRAL .. AND THERE WAS NO WAY I WAS GOING TO TRY TO PUT THE TRANS IN PARK IN 72-75 MPH FREEWAY TRAFFIC IN 10PM DARKNESS. ACCELERATED MODERATELY INTO MERGING LANE, ENTERING GAP IN N/B TRAFFIC TO RE-ENTER I-5 TRAFFIC HOPING TO GET PAST SR-2 TO MORE-FAMILIAR EXIT WITHIN 2 MINUTES, AND AT SPEED ~ 55 MPH DRIVE TRAIN DIED AGAIN (SAME WARNING TONE AND LIGHT...AND SAME "TOO LITTLE TOO LATE" STOP NOW WARNING TEXT). AGAIN HAD TO HUNT FOR A WIDE-ENOUGH SECTION OF OUTSIDE SHOULDER TO STOP AND TAKE STOCK OF DANGEROUS SITUATION. SHUT OFF ENGINE, MOVED TRANS INTO PARK TRIED RESTART - AGAIN, ENGINE STARTED AND SETTLED TO NORMAL OPERATION - NO WARNING LIGHTS REMAINED ON. ABLE TO RE-ENTER TRAFFIC AND TRANSITION OFF I-5 FWY...BUT ONLY ESCAPE WAS TO ANOTHER FREEWAY (SR-2). KEPT SPEED BELOW 45MPH ON THAT FREEWAY UNTIL ABLE TO EXIT FREEWAY. THIS WAS THE SECOND UN-WARNED TOTAL LOSS OF POWER ON A FREEWAY. *TR

AT ~ 10:10PM TRAVELING AT 68-70 MPH IN FAST, MODERATE FREEWAY TRAFFIC IN THE #3 N/B LANE OF I-5 IN SILVERLAKE AREA, ~ -MI SOUTH OF THE INTERCHANGE WITH THE SR-2 FREEWAY (~ @ RIVERSIDE DR. OVER-CROSSING) . SUDDENLY / WITH NO WARMING, ENGINE LOST ALL POWER & SHUT DOWN AND I HEARD A `SCREECHING' WARNING TONE, SAW THE RED TRIANGLE OF DOOM WARNING SYMBOL APPEAR IN THE UPPER/RIGHT OF THE INSTRUMENT PANEL, THE TACHOMETER DROPPED TO `ZERO'? AND THE `TOO-LITTLE-TOO-LATE' WARNING TEXT STOP NOW? TEXT APPEARED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE INSTRUMENT PANEL (HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO THIS IN THE MIDDLE OF A FAST-MOVING FREEWAY?). ONLY THING THAT SAVES US WAS THAT WE HAD SIGNIFICANT SPEED TO COAST OUT OF TRAFFIC - OTHER DRIVERS THANKFULLY GAVE-WAY TO LET US DO SO. FIRST OF THREE SUCH COMPLETE LOSSES OF POWER IN TRAFFIC, ATTEMPTING TO REACH SAFETY. *TR

AT ~ 10:10PM TRAVELING AT 68-70 MPH IN FAST, MODERATE FREEWAY TRAFFIC IN THE #3 N/B LANE OF I-5 IN SILVERLAKE AREA, ~ -MI SOUTH OF THE INTERCHANGE WITH THE SR-2 FREEWAY (~ @ RIVERSIDE DR. OVER-CROSSING) . SUDDENLY / WITH NO WARMING, ENGINE LOST ALL POWER & SHUT DOWN AND I HEARD A `SCREECHING' WARNING TONE, SAW THE RED TRIANGLE OF DOOM WARNING SYMBOL APPEAR IN THE UPPER/RIGHT OF THE INSTRUMENT PANEL, THE TACHOMETER DROPPED TO `ZERO'' AND THE `TOO-LITTLE-TOO-LATE' WARNING TEXT STOP NOW' TEXT APPEARED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE INSTRUMENT PANEL (HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO THIS WITH NO POWER?). ONLY THING THAT SAVES US WAS THAT WE HAD SIGNIFICANT SPEED TO COAST OUT OF TRAFFIC - OTHER DRIVERS THANKFULLY GAVE-WAY TO LET US DO SO. FIRST OF THREE SUCH COMPLETE LOSSES OF POWER IN TRAFFIC, ATTEMPTING TO REACH SAFETY. *TR

AT 70 MPH ON FREEWAY, "STOP WHEN SAFE" MESSAGE CAME UP, ENGINE STOPPED, HAD TO COAST TO A STOP ON SHOULDER. LUCKY IT WAS 1AM SO NOT MUCH TRAFFIC. RESTARTED VEHICLE, MADE ANOTHER 5 MILES, HAPPENED AGAIN. RESTARTED, MADE IT OFF FREEWAY, ABLE TO GET HOME, KEEPING UNDER 40MPH (ASSUMPTION WAS SOME SORT OF OVERHEATING PROBLEM WITH HYBRID SYSTEMS). CURRENTLY IN DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIR, MY INTERNET RESEARCH INDICATES THERE ARE QUITE A FEW OTHERS HAVING THIS ISSUE. VERY FRIGHTENING AND DANGEROUS TO LOSE POWER AT FREEWAY SPEEDS AND HAVE TO MAKE WAY TO THE SHOULDER AND STOP. *TR

VEHICLE WAS IN MIDDLE LANE OF INTERSTATE 95 WITH TRAFFIC MOVING AT 65-70 MPH WHEN THERE WAS (ACCORDING TO FORD TECH) A FAILURE OF THE MOTOR ELECTRONICS COOLING PUMP. THIS CAUSED THE VEHICLE ENGINE TO SHUT DOWN AND COULD HAVE CAUSED ACCIDENT/DEATH IF WIFE WASN'T ABLE TO GET TO SHOULDER WEAVING THROUGH LANES OF TRAFFIC. I SEE ONLINE AT HTTP://WWW.ARFC.ORG/COMPLAINTS/2008/MERCURY/MARINER_HYBRID/ENGINE_AND_ENGINE_COOLING/PROBLEM.ASPX THAT THIS HAS BEEN REPORTED AS A MAJOR COMPLAINT FOR AWHILE. WHY IS THIS NOT A RECALL? SOMEONE WILL SURE GET KILLED. OUR CAR HAS ONLY 57K MILES. *TR

THIS HAS OCCURRED TWICE. THE FIRST TIME, (9-6-2010), DRIVING IN BUMPER-TO-BUMPER TRAFFIC ON THE FREEWAY- THE LIGHT, "STOP SAFELY NOW" COMES ON AND YOU CANNOT USE THE GAS PEDAL AND YOU HAVE TO TRY TO GET TO THE SHOULDER SAFELY AS THE CAR HAS NO POWER. I WAITED FOR HALF AN HOUR AND RESTARTED THE CAR AND WAS ABLE TO GET TO WHERE I HAD TO GO. TOOK IT TO DEALER AND THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT. THE 2ND OCCURRENCE (MARCH 31, 2012), SAME THING HAPPENED EXCEPT I WAS ON THE FREEWAY WITH EVERYONE GOING AT LEAST 65 MILES PER HOUR AND HAD TO GET TO THE SHOULDER WITHOUT ANY POWER. TOOK IT TO DEALER AND THEY SAID IT WAS A COOLANT PUMP PROBLEM. I WENT ONLINE AND THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL ISSUE AND I SHOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO PAY FOR THIS. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. COULD SO EASILY HAVE BEEN HIT BY ONCOMING TRAFFIC. SCARY EXPERIENCES. *TR

WE PURCHASED A FORD CERTIFIED 2008 MERCURY MARINER HYBRID LESS THAN TWO YEARS AGO. ACCORDING TO FORD, A FORD CERTIFIED' VEHICLE HAS BEEN PASSED A 172 POINT INSPECTION. WE HAVE BEEN DRIVING THIS VEHICLE ON THE HIGHWAY AND HAVE EXPERIENCE A STOP SAFELY NOW' WARNING ON THE DASH, ACCOMPANIED BY THE ENGINE SHUTTING OFF, AND THIS SEEMS TO HAPPEN AT SPEEDS OF 50+ MPH. I WAS DRIVING 70 MPH IN THE MIDDLE OF A CONGESTED 4 LANE HIGHWAY TRAFFIC WHILE THIS HAPPENED TO ME RECENTLY. MY CAR CEASED TO ACCELERATE, AND I HAD TO WEAVE OUT OF THE CENTER LANES, SWERVING TO AN EXIT, GOING UP ON AN EXIT RAMP, WITHOUT THE ABILITY TO ACCELERATE. WE HAVE CONTACTED FORD THROUGH THEIR WEBSITE CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER, AND THE REPRESENTATIVES JUST TELL US TO TAKE IT TO A FORD DEALERSHIP. AFTER FIXING THE PROBLEM THAT THEIR TECHNICIAN AT OUR LOCAL DEALERSHIP TOLD US TO FIX, OUR VEHICLE DID THE VERY SAME THING A MONTH LATER. WE WERE TOLD THAT WE NEEDED TO REPLACE THE FUEL THROTTLE BODY. WE'VE ALSO REPLACED THE HYBRID BATTERY FILTER' AS PER THE COMPANY'S RECOMMENDATION. WE WANT SOME ATTENTION BROUGHT TO THIS MATTER. I FEEL I NO LONGER TRUST THAT THE TECHNICIANS AT THE FORD HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE TO DEAL WITH THIS ISSUE. AFTER SOME SEARCHES ONLINE, I'VE FOUND WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES WITH THIS PROBLEM. I DON'T KNOW HOW FORD CAN JUST PRETEND THIS ISN'T A SERIOUS ISSUE. WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO GET THEIR ATTENTION? THE FACT THAT THEY'RE ENDANGERING THE LIVES OF PEOPLE BY NOT RECALLING THIS VEHICLE, AND THE LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY IS SHOCKING. HOW CAN FORD CAN GET AWAY WITH RELEASING THESE UNSAFE VEHICLES AND EXPOSING MANY LIVES WHICH COULD RESULT IN DEATHS. AFTER MANY CALLS TO FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE, AND SPEAKING WITH THE LOCAL FORD TECHS, MY FRUSTRATION LIES AT NOT HAVING A CLEAR ANSWER AND NO DIRECTION. THIS IS CLEARLY UNSAFE FOR ANYONE TO DRIVE AND SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 MERCURY MARINER HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE STOP SAFELY NOW WARNING LIGHT AND THE TEMPERATURE LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE THEN SUDDENLY STALLED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE OCCURRED INTERMITTENTLY AND ONLY WHEN DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST. THE TECHNICIANS STATED THAT THERE MAY BE A FAILURE WITH THE COOLING PUMP, BUT WOULD INSPECT THE VEHICLE TO VERIFY THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 66,000.