1997 MERCURY VILLAGER Complaints

WHILE DRIVING BOTH DRIVER'S SIDE AND PASSENGER'S SIDE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED WITHOUT A CAUSE. ALSO, FOR TWO DAYS THERE WAS A BURNING SMELL WITHIN THE PASSENGER'S COMPARTMENT. CONSUMER PAID LITTLE ATTENTION TO THE SMELL. HOWEVER, THE SMELL MIGHT BE LINKED TO THE AIR BAG PROBLEM. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED THE DEALER. DEALER REPAIRED AIRBAGS AND WINDSHIELD UNDER WARRANTY. FORD SENT AN ENGINEER TO LOOK AT THE VAN, CONCLUDED THE AIR BAGS WAS DEFECTIVE DUE TO GENERAL WEAR AND TEAR. *AK *ML

WHILE DRIVING AIR BAG LIGHT FLASHED AT ALL TIMES. PREVIOUSLY, THE SAME PROBLEM APPEARED, BUT WITH ENGINE CHECK LIGHT COMING ON, AND HAD TO BE REPAIRED. *AK

THE 2 ADULTS WERE HURT VERY BADLY BUT AIRBAGS SAVED THEM. THE 3 KIDS IN THE BACK WERE IN THEIR CAR SEATS AND SEAT BELTS. WERE HURT WORSE. ACTUALLY WANT TO REPORT THE SAFETY OF A CARSEAT. IT WAS THE REASON FOR A BROKEN NOSE ON MY 16 MONTH OLD. NO SAFETY DEFECT MENTIONED IN SUMMARY. *AK

LATCH ON PASSENGER SIDE SLIDING WILL NOT SECURE. IT COMES PARTIALLY OPEN AT SLOW SPEEDS AND VARIATIONS IN THE ROAD. THIS OCCURS EVEN IF THE DOOR IS SECURELY SHUT AND LOCKED. *AK

SLIDING DOOR DOES NOT LATCH COMPLETLY WHEN CLOSED. DOOR ALSO OPENS PARTIALY WHILE DRIVING AND DOOR AJAR LIGHT COMES ON. *AK

SLIDING DOOR POPS OPEN, CREATING AN APPROXIMATE 12" OPENING. THIS OCCURS AT VARIOUS SPEEDS,WITH DOOR UNLOCKED OR LOCKED. THE DOOR DOESN'T HAVE REMOTE ELECTRCIC OPENING,, I SUSPECT THE PROBLEM TO BE PURELY MECHANICAL,THIS HAS OCCURRED APPROXIMATELY 10 TIMES OVER THE LAST 6 MONTHS.MRE OFTEN DURING WARM WEATHER. *AK

WE STARTED REPORTING THE PROBLEM WITH THE SLIDING DOOR ON 7/15/99. THE LOCK DID NOT LOCK OR UNLOCK CONSISTENTLY WHETHER USING THE REMOTE OR THE INSIDE AUTOMATIC BUTTON AND THE DOOR RATTLED LIKE SOMETHING WAS LOOSE INSIDE. THE SERVICE DEPT AT CAPITOL LINCOLN MERCURY(RICHMOND, VA) DECIDED TO REPLACE THE ANTENNA ON 8/16. THIS DID NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM. ON 10/4, I TOOK IT BACK AGAIN AND THEY REPLACED THE SLIDING DOOR LOCK ACTUATOR. THIS CORRECTED THE PROBLEM WITH THE DOOR LOCKING/UNLOCKING BUT NOW, THE CHILD SAFETY LOCK IS STUCK AND THE DOOR STILL RATTLES.****I INITIALLY REPORTED A PROBLEM WITH THE STEERING WHEEL SHIMMEYING AND THE BRAKES GRABBING ON 8/16. THEY REPORTED THE BRAKES WERE OKAY - 5MM. I HAD THE TIRES REPLACED AND ALIGNED WHICH TOOK 3 DAYS BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THEY ONLY HAD 3 TIRES. THE STEERING WHEEL CONTINUED TO SHIMMEY SO I TOOK IT BACK ON 10/13. THE WEIGHTS HAD FALLEN OFF SO THEY HAD TO REBALANCE THE TIRES. THEY ALSO STATED THE THE VIBRATION WHEN BRAKING WOULD BE FIXED BY TURNING THE FRONT ROTORS WHICH THEY DID. THEY STATED THAT WITH THE TURNING OF THE ROTORS THAT I SHOULD REPLACE MY BRAKES WHICH I DID...FOR $55.83. THE NEXT DAY, 10/14, I TOOK THE VAN BACK BECAUSE IT SOUNDED LIKE SOMETHING WAS RUBBING UNDER THE CAR. THIS PROBLEM WAS CORRECTED BY REPLACING THE ROTORS THAT THEY TURNED THE PREVIOUS DAY. CURRENTLY, THE STEERING WHEEL STILL SHIMMIES JUST NOT TO THE EXTENT AS BEFORE. I'M TAKING IT BACK AGAIN ON 10/20.*AK

MULTIPLE SELF ACTIVATION OF AUTO LOCK MECHANISM. THE CAR WILL "LOCK ITSELF" WITHOUT A BUTTON BEING PUSHED, OR USE OF REMOTE KEY ACCESS. THIS HAS HAPPENED IN THE GARAGE WITH THE ENGINE ON. IT HAS HAPPENED AT A GAS STATION WHERE THE KEY IS LEFT IN THE IGNITION. IT HAS HAPPENED WITH CHILDREN IN A HOT CAR, WHO MUST WAIT FOR AAA TO ARRIVE. THIS CONDITION PRESENTS A SERIOUS THREAT TO SMALL CHILDREN AND SITUATIONS WHERE THE CAR CAN NOT BE MOVED WHEN NECESSARY.

SEAT BELT BUCKLE HOLDER IS MISSING FOR THIRD BENCH SEAT, CLOSEST TO SLIDING DOOR. WHEN DRIVER SLIDES FOWARD IT CAUSES LACK OF PROTECTION, ESPECIALLY IN EVENT OF A LATERAL IMPACT ACCIDENT. *AK

DOORS LOCK AUTOMATICALLY WHEN CONSUMER IS OUTSIDE OF VEHICLE. DEALER WAS CONTACTED, AND STATED THEY HAD NO CORRECTIVE ACTION FOR THIS MATTER. *AK *ML