MERCURY Complaints

ON 12 SEPTEMBER I WENT TO TAKE OFF FROM A LIGHT AND THE CAR HAD NO ACCELERATION, AND THE WRENCH LIGHT CAME ON IN CONTROL PANEL...I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SHOULDER ON OTHER SIDE OF INTERSECTION AND PLACED THE CAR IN PARK AND TURNED IT OFF. WHEN I TURNED THE CAR BACK ON IT STARTED FINE AND THE LIGHT WAS NO LONGER ON. IT WAS ABOUT TWO WEEKS LATER ON 27 SEPTEMBER WAS DRIVING TO WORK ON A 2-LANE ROAD GOING ABOUT 45 MPH AND THE CAR LOST ALL ACCELERATION AND THE WRENCH LIGHT CAME BACK ON. THERE WAS NOT MUCH OF A SHOULDER TO PULL OFF ON BUT FOUND A SPOT AND PLACED CAR IN PARK AND TURNED IT OFF. I SMELLED A SLIGHT BURNING SMELL SO WAITED LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN LAST TIME AND TURNED THE CAR BACK ON. IT STARTED UP AND THE LIGHT WAS NO LONGER ON AND IT DROVE FINE. I TOOK TO A MECHANIC ON SATURDAY MORNING AND TOLD ME THE DIAGNOSTIC COULD NOT PRODUCE A CODE BECAUSE THE INCIDENT COULD NOT BE REPLICATED BUT BELIEVED IT WAS THE THROTTLE BODY AND NEEDED A REPLACEMENT. *TR

WRENCH ICON APPEARS AND ENGINE RPM DROPS AND VEHICLE SLOWS WHILE UNABLE TO ACCELERATE. ENGINE SURGES AT IDLE SLIGHTLY BELOW 1,000 RPM. IF VEHICLE IS SHUTOFF AND THEN RESTARTED IT WILL OPERATE FOR AN UNPREDICTABLE TIME/DISTANCE. VERY DANGEROUS TO DRIVE DUE TO UNPREDICTABILITY. VEHICLE HAS BEEN DRIVEN APPROXIMATELY 140 MILES SINCE FIRST SHUTOFF AND HAS SHUT OFF NUMEROUS TIME SINCE. ON 9/27/13 IT SHUTOFF FOUR TIMES IN 12 MILES. WIFE IS TERRIFIED TO OPERATE THIS CAR. VEHICLE WILL REMAIN PARKED BECAUSE OF POTENTIAL LIFE-THREATENING SAFETY HAZARD. HOPEFULLY A RECALL FOR THIS WILL OCCUR. *TR

DRIVING AND THE VEHICLE JUST SLOWED DOWN AND WAS NOT GETTING FUEL. I PULLED TO THE SHOULDER THE CAR WAS STILL RUNNING BUT NOT GETTING FUEL. I TURNED IT OFF AND RESTARTED AND IT WAS OK. A FEW WEEKS LATER IT DID IT AGAIN AND I CALLED A FORD DEALERSHIP TO HAVE IT CHECKED OUT. I WANTED TO GET IT TAKEN CARE OF BEFORE THE WARRANTY EXPIRED.THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG. I HAD A COUPLE MORE ISSUES BUT I DID NOT DRIVE IT MUCH DURING COLDER WEATHER. IN JUNE OF 2013 I HAD ANOTHER INCIDENT WITH THE SAME ISSUE. OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS IT CONTINUED OCCASIONALLY BUT IN AUGUST OF 2013 IT STARTED MORE OFTEN. ONE INCIDENT WAS IN AN INTERSECTION THAT WAS VERY BUSY AND I CALLED THE SAME FORD DEALERSHIP TO GET IT IN AGAIN AND THEY THEN FOUND THE THROTTLE BODY WAS BAD AND HAD TO BE REPLACED, AT THIS TIME IT NOW CAST ME OVER $500.00 DOLLARS TO FIX IT. *TR

2 YEARS AGO I PURCHASED 4 MICHELIN LATITUDE TIRES (65,000 MILE TIRES) FOR MY 2006 MERCURY MONTEGO. ON WEDNESDAY (9-25-13) I WENT TO THE DEALER (DISCOUNT TIRES) FOR A TIRE ROTATION. I WAS TOLD THE ROTATION COULD NOT BE DONE BECAUSE THE TIRES WERE UNSAFE. THE DEALERS DESCRIPTION WAS A CRACKING ISSUE. WHAT REALLY HAS HAPPENED IS THE RUBBER THREAD IS COMING OFF THE CORE OF ALL 4 TIRES (24,000 MILES). BECAUSE OF THIS UNSAFE CONDITION, I PURCHASED 4 NEW TIRES AND THE DEALER ADJUSTED THE PRICE BASED ON THREAD WEAR. AS A CONSUMER I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR AN UNSAFE MANUFACTURING DEFECT. I NOTICED THAT MICHELIN HAS PREVIOUSLY RECALLED THE LATITUDE TIRES FOR SUV'S AND SMALL TRUCKS. I THINK THIS SHOULD BE RECALLED FOR PASSENGER CARS SINCE THIS IS AN UNSAFE SITUATION AND HAS OCCURRED ON ALL 4 OF MY TIRES. *TR

SINCE AUGUST 2013, EVERY TIME I TURNED ON MY SIGNAL LIGHT, THE INTERMITTENT SOUND FOR THE SIGNAL WOULD CLICK FASTER THAN USUAL INDICATING THAT A LIGHT MIGHT BE BAD. I WOULD CHECK ALL THE LIGHTS AROUND THE VEHICLE AND THEY WERE ALL GOOD. THEN GOING ABOUT 55 ON A HIGHWAY AT NIGHT, I NOTICED THAT IT WAS REALLY DARK IN FRONT OF MY VEHICLE. PULLED OVER AND FOUND THAT I WAS DRIVING WITHOUT LIGHT. THE HEAD LAMPS HAD TURNED OFF EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE ON THE ON POSITION. I HAD TO DRIVE HOME HOLDING MY HIGH BEAM LIGHTS AT ALL TIMES. I HEARD A CLICK, THE LIGHTS CAME ON. I LET GO OF THE HIGH BEAM. THE HEAD LAMPS STAYED ON FOR 15 MIN AND CLICK, THEY WENT OFF AGAIN. THIS HAPPENED TO ME 4 TIMES. FINALLY, I TOOK THE CAR TO HAVE IT DIAGNOSED AND WAS TOLD THAT THE LIGHTING CONTROL MODULE HAD GONE BAD. I WOULD THINK THAT THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL ON THIS ITEM SINCE SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM AS LISTED ON NHTSA WEBSITE. IT COULD BE REALLY DANGEROUS. *TR

DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH AND THE VEHICLE JUST STOPPED, PULLED TO SHOULDER ,THE ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING BUT NO FUEL GETTING TO IT TO GO. I TURNED OFF THE IGNITION AND RESTARTED AND IT WAS FINE. IT HAPPENED AGAIN A FEW DAYS LATER AND I CALLED A FORD DEALERSHIP TO HAVE IT CHECKED,I WANED TO GET IT TAKEN CARE OF BEFORE WARRANTY EXPIRED IN DECEMBER OF 2012.I WAS TOLD THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT. I HAD ANOTHER INCIDENT ABOUT A MONTH LATER, AT THIS TIME I DID NOT DRIVE IT MUCH UNLESS I HAD TO UNTIL WARMER WEATHER. IN JUNE OF 2013 I HAD ANOTHER INCIDENT WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. I DID NOT HAVE ANY PROBLEMS UNTIL AUGUST OF 2013. I THEN HAD NUMEROUS INCIDENTS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM AND I CALLED THE FORD DEALERSHIP TO LOOK AT IT AGAIN. BY THIS TIME THERE WAS NO WARRANTY ON IT AND THE PROBLEM WAS FOUND. I HAD TO PAY MORE THAN $500.00 FOR IT TO BE REPAIRED. *JS

THE DRIVERS SEAT BELT DOES NOT LATCH (LOCK) PROPERLY. THE BELT HAS ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS BECAME UNFASTENED WHEN DRIVING. THE DRIVERS BELT ALSO DOES NOT RETRACT AFTER USE. *JS

PLASTIC INTAKE MANIFOLD ON 4.6 LITER ENGINE FOUND TO BE CRACKED AND LEAKING COOLANT. THE LOSS OF COOLANT RESULTS IN THE VEHICLE BECOMING DISABLED AND/OR UNSAFE TO DRIVE. LEAKING COOLANT IS ALSO TOXIC TO CHILDREN AND ANIMALS, AS THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE IN CONTACT WITH COOLANT ON THE GROUND OR GARAGE FLOOR. THIS DEFECTIVE PART (PLASTIC INTAKE MANIFOLD) WAS IDENTIFIED BY FORD MOTOR COMPANY AS DEFECTIVE AND QUIETLY SETTLED IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. REPLACEMENT PARTS HAVE BEEN REDESIGNED. HOWEVER, FORD DID NOT CONTACT CUSTOMERS WITH THIS MODEL CAR TO NOTIFY THEM OF THE DEFECTIVE PART OR TO OFFER RESOLUTION. EARLIER MODELS OF THIS ENGINE (AND ALL OTHER ENGINES) USED A METAL INTAKE MANIFOLD. THESE WERE NOT PROBLEMATIC. INTAKE MANIFOLDS ARE NOT A MOVING PART OF THE VEHICLE ENGINE, AND ARE NOT SUBJECT TO WARE. THE PLASTIC MATERIAL USED IN THE PROBLEM MANIFOLDS ARE NOT ABLE TO WITHSTAND THE NORMAL TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS OF A VEHICLE ENGINE AND ARE THEREFORE PRONE TO FAILURE. FORD HAS BEEN CONTACTED IN AN ATTEMPT TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE, BUT THE COMPANY HAS DECLINED TO OFFER ANY RESOLUTION WHATSOEVER. *JS

DRIVING TO WORK ON 1431, THE CAR FELT AS THOUGH IT HIT A BUMP, LOST ALL ABILITY TO DRIVE. PULLED OVER TO SIDE OF ROAD, TURNED CAR OFF FOR ABOUT 10 TO 15 SECONDS AND THEN BACK ON. AT THIS POINT IT SEEM TO OPERATE PROPERLY. THEN ABOUT THREE MILES DOWN THE ROAD IT DID THE SAME THING AGAIN. THIS TIME THERE WAS NO SHOULDER TO PULL OFF ON, SO TRAFFIC WAS TIED UP. WAS TRAVELING AT ABOUT 40 MPH THIS TIME. DID THE SAME THING, TURNED OFF AND THEN BACK ON AND SEEMED TO WORK NORMAL. LATER THAT EVENING GOING HOME FROM WORK THE CAR DID THE SAME THING, TWO MORE TIMES BEFORE I REACHED HOME. ONE TIME AS I WAS GOING FROM PALMER TO 1431 ON A CURVE. THE NEXT TIME IT WAS ON A SLIGHT INCLINE GOING HOME. THE ICON ON DASHBOARD WAS A WRENCH WHICH INDICATES IT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE THROTTLE CONTROL. TOOK TO DEALER AND THEY CONFIRMED IT WAS A DEFECTIVE THROTTLE CONTROL UNIT, AND CHARGED $650 TO REPAIR. BELIEVE THAT THIS IS/WAS A SERIOUS PROBLEM SAFETY WISE AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED BY FORD. *JS

VEHICLE WAS EXITING A PARKING LOT, STOPPED IN THE RIGHT TURN LANE. PRESSED ACCELERATOR TO PULL OUT OF PARKING LOT AND VEHICLE BEGAN JOLTING VIOLENTLY BACK AND FORTH AND BARELY MOVING FORWARD - BUT DID MOVE INTO THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC LANE. EVENTUALLY VEHICLE WAS UNABLE TO MOVE AND ENGINE STOPPED. HAD TO PUSH VEHICLE TO SIDE OF ROAD TO RESTART. DEALER ADVISED BROKEN "THROTTLE BODY AND MO" NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY AND FORCED TO PAY FOR REPAIR. *JS