MERCURY Complaints

WHILE TRAVELING ON THE OPEN HWY @ 75MPH, I SUDDENLY GOT "PULL OVER SAFELY NOW" MESSAGE ON THE INFO CENTER OF THE DASH AND A RED TRIANGLE ALERT ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE DASH. I PULLED OVER IMMEDIATELY. STOPPED THE CAR, TURNED OFF THE IGNITION AND WAITED A MOMENT. I THEN STARTED THE CAR, ALL SEEMED FINE (NO MESSAGE) AND PROCEEDED. A SHORT TIME LATER, THE EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN. I PULLED OFF THE HWY AND REPEATED THE STEPS ABOVE. THE CAR WAS RIDING WELL AND SMOOTHLY WITH NO APPARENT PROBLEMS. BUT, THE LONGER I DROVE, THE MORE FREQUENTLY THE PROBLEM OCCURRED. I WAS ONLY ABLE TO DRIVE FOR A FEW MINUTES BEFORE THE DASH BOARD WARNING WOULD REAPPEAR. I PULLED INTO THE NEAREST FORD DEALERSHIP TO GET THE PROBLEM RESOLVED. I HAVE BEEN TOLD IT IS THE THROTTLE BODY AND AM CURRENTLY WAITING FOR THE PROBLEM TO BE RESOLVED. *TR

THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY LOST POWER AS I WAS TRAVELING DOWN THE HIGHWAY. THE "WRENCH" WARNING LIGHT CAME ON INDICATING A POWERTRAIN FAULT AND THANKFULLY I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD BEFORE IT DIED COMPLETELY. *TR

JUST AFTER MOVING FROM A STOP AT A RED LIGHT, WHILE ACCELERATING, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO LOSE POWER. AS I DRIFTED OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD THE "WRENCH" ICON ON THE DASH ILLUMINATED, WHICH INDICATES THROTTLE BODY ISSUES, AMONG OTHER POSSIBLE THINGS. I HAD TO STOP THE VEHICLE AS THE VEHICLE WAS UNABLE TO MOVE UNDER ANY POWER, AND SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF. I RE-STARTED IT AND I WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE ON MY WAY. THE ICON WAS NOT ILLUMINATED. THIS HAS SINCE OCCURRED APPROXIMATELY FIVE (5) TIMES SINCE THE INITIAL INSTANCE. THERE WAS NEVER ANY INDICATION OF PERFORMANCE ISSUES PRIOR TO THIS FIRST INSTANCE. IN RESEARCHING THE OCCURRENCE I BECAME AWARE OF THE FACT THAT THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE WITH THE THROTTLE BODIES ON SEVERAL FORD PRODUCTS MANUFACTURED AROUND THE SAME TIME AS MY MERCURY, AND THAT THERE IS APPARENTLY AN INVESTIGATION ALREADY IN PROGRESS. *TR

DRIVER WAS PROCEEDING ON I-290 IN LEFT LANE AT SPEED OF 60MPH WITH MODERATE TRAFFIC. THE ENGINE STARTED MISFIRING AND BUCKING WITHOUT WARNING AND THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED A DRASTIC REDUCTION OF SPEED NEARLY CAUSING ACCIDENT FROM BEHIND SINCE THE SPEED REDUCTION WAS WITHOUT WARNING. THE WRENCH LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO DECELERATE AND CREATED A SITUATION WHERE DRIVER COULD NOT CHANGE LANES TO RIGHT AND WAS FORCED TO MOVE TO LEFT SHOULDER. THE ENGINE COMPLETELY STALLED AND SHUT OFF BEFORE CAR STOPPED. AFTER 30 MINUTES, VEHICLE STARTED AND OPERATION RESUMED. SERVICE DEPARTMENT DENIED ANY PROBLEM WITH VEHICLE. 3 WEEKS LATER, WHILE TRAVELING 55 MPH ON NY RTE 33, THE VEHICLE STALLED AGAIN AT HIGHWAY SPEED. THE ENGINE COULD BE RESTARTED BUT ONLY OPERATED WITH VERY ROUGH CONDITION. THIS VEHICLE IS UNFIT AND UNSAFE TO BE OPERATED ON A PUBLIC HIGHWAY. *TR

THE DATE OF THE OCCURRENCE IS UNKNOWN. THE CAR CURRENTLY HAS 24,000 MILES ON IT. THE LEFT TAIL LIGHT DOES NOT WORK AND THE LEFT BRAKE LIGHT DOES NOT WORK. THE RIGHT BRAKE LIGHT WORKS WHEN THE HEADLIGHTS ARE OFF (AS IN DAYLIGHT) BUT DOES NOT WORK WHEN THE HEADLIGHTS ARE ON (AS AT NIGHT). THE RIGHT TAIL LIGHT WORKS WHEN THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH IS ON BUT IS VERY BRIGHT, INDICATING THAT THE BRAKE LIGHT IS ON, EVEN THOUGH THE BRAKE PEDAL IS NOT DEPRESSED. OBVIOUSLY, THERE IS A DEFECT IN THE CIRCUITRY. ALL OF THE LONG-LIFE LED BULBS COULDN'T HAVE FAILED AT ONCE. THE DEALER WANTS TO CHARGE US $550 PER LIGHT UNIT TO SUPPOSEDLY CORRECT THE PROBLEM. THIS IS A SERIOUS DESIGN DEFECT SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD RESULT IN A RECALL. *TR

INTERMITTENT PROBLEM WHICH OCCURRED AT VARIABLE SPEEDS (25 MPH, 40 MPH, 60 MPH) WITH RAPIDLY INCREASING FREQUENCY IN THE WEEK BEFORE THE THROTTLE BODY WAS REPLACED. WHILE DRIVING, THE ENGINE SEEMED TO SHIFT OUT OF GEAR. HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO INCREASE IN RPM IN RESPONSE TO THE ACCELERATOR. PULLED TO SIDE OF ROAD WITH VERY LOW RPM, THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF AND THEN RESTARTED EACH TIME WITHOUT PROBLEM. *TR

I WAS DRIVING APPROX 60 MPH ON A HIGHWAY. MY CAR "JERKED" FORWARD ONCE, AND I COMPLETELY LOST THE ABILITY TO ACCELERATE. AFTER MOVING TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD, MY CAR WAS SHAKING AND DIFFICULT TO PUT IN PARK DUE TO THE SHAKING. CAR WOULD START UP AGAIN, BUT DID NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO ACCELERATE EXCEPT IN LOW DRIVE. WOULD NOT ACCELERATE EXCEPT IN LOW. HAD TO TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP, WHERE THE THROTTLE BODY NEEDED REPLACED AND KAM RESET. THIS IS A 2010 CAR, FAIRLY NEW. *TR

VEHICLE WAS STARTED FIRST THING IN MORNING AND DRIVEN APPROXIMATELY 25' WHEN THE TRANSMISSION SEEMED TO DISENGAGE AND WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON. CAR REMAINED PARKED FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES AND A SECOND ATTEMPT WAS MADE. THE CAR WAS DRIVEN APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES WHEN ONCE AGAIN THE TRANSMISSION FAILED TO ENGAGE AND A LOSS OF POWER WAS EXPERIENCED. FOLLOWING THESE TWO INCIDENTS WITH THE VEHICLE I ARRANGED TO HAVE THE VEHICLE FLAT BEDDED TO THE LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE PROBLEM WAS A DEFECTIVE THROTTLE BODY ASSEMBLY THE VEHICLE HAS 68,250 ORIGINAL MILES ON ODOMETER. *TR

I WAS ROLLING UP TO A RED LIGHT. THE TRAFFIC LIGHT TURN GREEN, I STEPPED ON THE GAS PEDAL AND THERE WAS NO RESPONSE I TURNED AND COASTED INTO A STORE PARKING LOT. THE ENGINE KEPT ON RUNNING AT A VERY LOW RPM. IT WAS IDLING. I JUST SPENT &300 ON A NEW THROTTLE BODY AND MOTOR ASSEMBLY. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE COMPLETING A TURN, THE VEHICLE EXHIBITED AN ABNORMAL GRINDING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSIS WHERE IT WAS STATED THAT THE PIN BEARING NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 66,000. ...UPDATED 12/03/13 *BF THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE'S LIGHTS TURN OFF AT NIGHT, AS WELL. UPDATED 12/6/2013 *JS