MERCURY Complaints

THE FIRST TIME I LOST THE BRAKES I WAS GOING THROUGH A ROUNDABOUT WHEN I HAD TO SLAM ON MY BRAKES TO AVOID HITTING A CAR THAT PULLED OUT IN FRONT OF ME. AS I DEPLOYED THE BRAKES, I HIT A POTHOLE WHICH CAUSED THE ABS TO ACTIVATE. THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR AND I HAD TO QUICKLY CHANGE LANES TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT. IT TOOK SEVERAL HOURS FOR BRAKES TO RETURN TO NORMAL. THE SECOND TIME, I SLAMMED ON MY BRAKES WHEN TRAFFIC CAME TO AN IMMEDIATE HALT. I HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO STOP, BUT AGAIN WHEN THE ANTILOCK BRAKES WERE ACTIVATED, I LOST PEDAL AND HAD TO GO INTO THE MEDIAN TO AVOID REAR-ENDING THE CAR IN FROM OF ME. AGAIN, SEVERAL HOURS LATER THE BRAKES RETURNED TO NORMAL. I WAS ABLE TO CREATE A SIMILAR SCENARIO TO SHOW MY HUSBAND JUST BY SLAMMING ON MY BRAKES AT THE END OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE SAND LAID ON THE ASPHALT. HE BLED THE BRAKES AND THE PROBLEM APPEARED TO BE RESOLVED, BUT UNFORTUNATELY IT WAS NOT. THE LAST TIME IT HAPPENED, MY 19 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING IT. SHE LOST PEDAL AFTER ANTILOCK BRAKES WERE ACTIVATED AND, BEING A NEW DRIVER, CLIPPED THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF HER. FORTUNATELY NO ONE WAS HURT AND WE WERE ABLE TO RESOLVE THE ACCIDENT WITHOUT INVOLVING AUTHORITIES. AFTER THIS I HAVE NOT ALLOWED HER TO DRIVE THE CAR AND IT SITS IN THE GARAGE AS WE DEBATE FIXING THE COSMETIC DAMAGE DUE TO THE BRAKE PROBLEMS. THE DATE BELOW IS AN APPROXIMATE DATE OF THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED. THE LAST TIME IT HAPPENED WAS IN AUGUST 2016. IT HAS HAPPENED APPROXIMATELY 5 TIMES THROUGH THE YEARS, BUT HAS BEEN FEW AND FAR IN BETWEEN SINCE IT IS NOT OFTEN THE ABS IS ACTIVATED. THE ONLY TIME IT HAS BEEN DRIVEN SINCE AUGUST WAS TO TAKE IT THROUGH EMISSIONS. *TR

LOST MY FRONT BRAKES AFTER HITTING POTHOLE ON ONE OCCASION AND HAS HAPPENED A FEW TIMES IN WET WEATHER WITH MINOR BUMPS, FIGURED OUT THAT I HAD TO TURN MY VEHICLE OFF TO RESET COMPUTER AND PUMPED MY BRAKES AS IF I JUST CHANGED THEM AND THEY CAME BACK.THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED WAS ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO MADE SOME CALLS TO DEALERS WITH NO ANSWERS AND MY MECHANIC COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING AND HAS HAPPENED AT LEAST 4 TIMES SINCE THEN

IN TWO SEPARATE INSTANCES, I HAD TO BRAKE HARD ON SLIPPERY SURFACES. BOTH TIMES THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKES ENGAGED AND STOPPED ME, BUT IN EACH CASE THE NEXT TIME I APPLIED THE BRAKES THE PEDAL WENT SOFT, NEARLY TOUCHED THE FLOOR AND THE BRAKING WAS LESS EFFECTIVE. IN BOTH INSTANCES THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION, ON A STREET.

AFTER MY ANTILOCK BRAKES TURNED ON MY PEDAL BECAME SPONGY. THIS HAS NOT RESOLVED IT SELF

TAKATA RECALL....IN JULY 2016 I RECEIVED A SAFETY RECALL NOTICE FOR THE PASSENGER FRONTAL AIRBAG INFLATOR. TO THIS DAY, I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING FROM FORD MOTOR COMPANY AS TO SOLVING THIS ISSUE. *TR

WHEN BRAKING, I HAVE TO PUT THE BRAKE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR AND MANY TIMES ENDED IN THE INTERSECTION WHILE DOING SO. I HAVE TO PUMP THE PEDAL 2 SOMETIMES 3 TIMES FOR IT TO STOP CORRECTLY. THE BRAKES THUMP ALSO WHEN I PRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL. IT IS ESPECIALLY BAD WHEN DRIVING IN THE SNOW AND ICE. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR SOME TIME AND ON THE LOCAL NEWS TODAY, I SAW THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH 2007-2009 MERCURY MILAN AND FORD FUSION AUTOMOBILES. *TR

WHEN THE CAR IS UNDER BRAKING (LIGHT OR HEAVY) CONDITIONS OVER ROUGH OR UNEVEN SURFACES, SUCH AS A MANHOLE COVER, OR ON SLIPPERY ROADS, THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKING SYSTEM DOES NOT WORK PROPERLY. THIS INCREASES THE DISTANCE REQUIRED TO STOP THE CAR, HEIGHTENING THE CHANCE OF A CRASH. SPECIFICALLY- THE VEHICLE IS OPERATING UNDER NORMAL BRAKING CIRCUMSTANCES OVER A ROUGH OR SLIPPERY SURFACE AT LESS THAN 30MPH, AT THIS TIME THE ABS ENGAGES (SOMETIMES INAPPROPRIATELY/TOO CONSERVATIVE APPLICATION OF ABS), AND IT FEELS AS IF AIR IS INJECTED INTO THE HYDRAULIC SYSTEM BY THE ABS PUMP AT THIS TIME (NOT 100% SURE IF THAT IS WHAT IS OCCURRING, BUT THAT IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE), AS THE PEDAL WILL BECOME EITHER VERY SOFT (POOR BRAKES WITH HEAVY BIAS FRONT TO BACK THROUGHOUT THE PEDAL TRAVEL) OR GO ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR (NO BRAKES). IF THE BRAKES ARE PUMPED IN A PANIC MODE RAPID SUCCESSION AFTER THIS "NO BRAKES" CONDITION, THE PEDAL WILL INCREASE IN STIFFNESS SOMEWHAT, BUT STILL ONLY WHAT I WOULD CHARACTERIZE AS 30% BRAKING EFFECTIVENESS. BARELY ENOUGH TO COME TO A STOP IN A REASONABLE DISTANCE. AFTER THIS ABS PUMP CYCLING, THE PEDAL WILL ALSO HAVE A DIFFERENT BRAKING "FEEL" WITH EVERY SINGLE SUBSEQUENT BRAKE PEDAL OPERATION CYCLE. SOMETIMES THE REAR BRAKES ENGAGE FIRST, NOT SLOWING THE CAR SUFFICIENTLY ENOUGH W/OUT THE FRONT BRAKES, FORCING INCREASED PEDAL PRESSURE TO BE APPLIED, THEN THE FRONT BRAKES ENGAGE SUDDENLY AND UNSETTLE THE CAR. THIS BRAKING CONDITION LASTS INDEFINITELY AFTER THE ABS PUMP CYCLING EVENT. EVEN IF THE BRAKES ARE BLED BY A FORD OR OTHERWISE QUALIFIED MECHANIC, THE CAR IS SUBJECT TO THIS SAME BEHAVIOR UPON THE NEXT CYCLING OF THE ABS BRAKING SYSTEM. THE VEHICLE HAS 201K MILES, AND HAS BEEN EXHIBITING THIS ANNOYING AND DANGEROUS BEHAVIOR SINCE APPROXIMATELY 75K MILES. DATE OCCURRED FIELD ON THIS WEBPAGE IS MOST RECENT TIME THAT THIS HAS OCCURRED OVER MANY YEARS.

AFTER A CAR PULLED OUT IN FRONT OF ME I WAS FORCED TO SLAM ON MY BRAKES. AFTER THIS INCIDENT, DURING WHICH TIME ABS DID ACTIVATE, I HAD VERY LITTLE PEDAL. I BROUGHT MY VEHICLE INTO A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP AND THE CAUSE WAS DETERMINED TO BE (INCORRECTLY) THE MASTER CYLINDER. THE BRAKES WERE ALSO BLED AND THE ABS SYSTEM SCANNED, BUT THE PROBLEM PERSISTS.

I LOOSE ANTI LOCK BRAKES COMPLETELY/PARTIALLY WHEN STOPPING SUDDENLY. THE BRAKES BECOME VERY "LOOSE" MEANING ALL THEY WAY TO THE FLOOR. I NOTICED THIS STARTING LAST YEAR, THEN AGAIN THIS YEAR.

THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT SOFT AS MY WIFE WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE ON A SNOWY CITY STREET ON HER WAY TO WORK. SHE WAS ABLE TO STOP EVENTUALLY BUT THE STOPPING DISTANCE NEEDED WAS GREATLY INCREASED. SCARED HER TO DEATH. WE TOOK IT IN TO A FORD DEALER (BILL BROWN) AND IT WAS DIAGNOSED AS HAVING A FAULTY ABS SYSTEM AND NEEDED THE HCU MODULE REPLACED TO THE COST OF $1459.48. WE INQUIRED IF THERE WAS A RECALL ON SUCH A DANGEROUS ISSUE AS THIS. THEY LOOKED IT UP AND FROM THERE WAS NO RECALL. WE WERE OUTRAGED BY BOTH THE DANGER OF THE ISSUE AND THE COST OF THE REPLACEMENT. WE DO HAVE A REPAIR INVOICE #583098 FROM BILL BROWN FORD IN LIVONIA MI. BUT I HAVE NO WAY TO SCAN IT ELECTRONICALLY AND UPLOAD TO YOU. *TR