MERCURY Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 10 MPH, THE HEADLIGHTS FAILED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO GENTLY SHAKE THE SWITCH AND THE LIGHTS RE-ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. A DEALER WAS NOTIFIED AND SUGGESTED THAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH THAT WAS THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 79,100.

WAS DRIVING VEHICLE TO WORK AND WAS ONLY GOING 35 MPH AS I HAD JUST PULLED OUT OF MY DRIVE WAY. ALL OF THE SUDDEN I LOST ALL ACCELERATION. IT WAS LIKE MY CAR WAS STUCK IN NEUTRAL. THE WRENCH LIGHT CAME ON THE DASHBOARD. I PULLED OVER, PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND TURNED MY CAR OFF. WHEN I RESTARTED MY CAR A FEW MINUTES LATER, THE WRENCH WAS GONE AND THE PROBLEM WAS RESOLVED. I CALLED THE DEALER AND IT IS GOING THERE TONIGHT. THEY INFORMED ME THAT THIS IS AN ISSUE WITH THE 2010 MERCURY MILANS. THEY REPLACED THE THROTTLE BODY LAST WEEK ON THE SAME MAKE, MODEL, YEAR. AS I DO MORE RESEARCH I SEE THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM. IF THAT'S THE CASE, WHY ISN'T THIS BEING RECALLED? I AM JUST THANKFUL I WASN'T ON A BUSY HIGHWAY AND THAT I HAVE THE EXTENDED WARRANTY.

WHILE DRIVING THE CAR WILL IT SUDDENLY STOP RECEIVING ANY FUEL, CAR DOES NOT NECESSARILY STALL, IT IS VERY DANGEROUS, BECAUSE I WILL HAVE TO PULL OVER SHUT THE CAR OFF AND IT WILL RESTART, THE WRENCH ICON WILL COME ON, SOMETIMES THE ENGINE ICON, THIS AT FIRST WAS RANDOM, NO PATTERN, ONCE ON THE TOBIN BRIDGE IN BOSTON, WITH VERY HEAVY TRAFFIC, THANKFULLY WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER OUT OF THE WAY, IT WOULD HAPPEN RANDOMLY FOR A FEW MONTHS AND NOW IT HAPPENS SO OFTEN I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE IT, I HAVE NO MONEY TO BRING THIS TO A GARAGE AS I FEAR IT WILL COST ME WAY TOO MUCH TO FIX, VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE VEHICLE, ALONG WITH THIS ISSUE THE HEATER,AC FAN ONLY WORKS ON HIGH, BEING A WIDOW WITH VERY A LOW PAYING JOB I BOUGHT THIS AND AM STILL PAYING OVER 300 A MONTH I AM AT A LOSS, THERE MUST BE SOME WAY I CAN GET THIS FIXED AT NO COST TO ME, THIS VEHICLE WAS THE FIRST ONE I HAVE EVER FINANCED AND IT TURNS OUT TO BE A LEMON. *TT

DRIVING TO WORK WHEN THE WRENCH LIGHT CAME ON AND THE CAR STARTED TO BUCK. THEN THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE CAR SLOWED DOWN TO 0 WHEN I STEPPED ON THE GAS PEDAL. HAD TO PULL OVER QUICKLY AS I WAS IN TRAFFIC AND SHUT THE CAR OFF. STARTED IT UP AGAIN AND ONLY THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON - CAR WOULD ONLY GO ABOUT 15 MPH. FOUND OUT IT WAS A COMMON PROBLEM BEING LOOKED AT BY NHTSA. POWER TRAIN THROTTLE BODY HAD TO BE REPLACED. NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. I AM NOT A HAPPY CAMPER IT WAS NOT CHEAP TO FIX. EEC TEST CODE P2111 I FOUND THIS ON THE WEB AND WAS SURPRISED TO FIND OUT IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE THE MODEL YEAR 2009. SHAME ON FORD. *TT

HAVING DRIVEN 150 MILES OR SO OF HIGHWAY DRIVING USING CRUISE CONTROL, STOPPING TWO TIMES TO REST, DRIVING APPROX. 65 - 70 MPH. I ARRIVED AT WALTHAM ON RT. 128 WHERE THE TRAFFIC WAS BUMPER TO BUMPER. I HAD TO KEEP MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE UNTIL I WAS AT EXIT 38 OR 39. WE TRAVELLED 5 - 15 MPH. AFTER I WAS IN THE SLOW TRAFFIC FOR APPROX. 20 MINUTES MY CAR STARTED TO LURCH FORWARD WHILE GASSING UP AND WANTING TO JUMP AHEAD. MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE AND I NEEDED TO BRAKE EVEN HARDER TO HOLD ONTO THE FORCE THAT THE CAR WAS EXERTING. I WAS IN BUMPER TO BUMPER TRAFFIC AND HAD KEPT A DISTANCE BETWEEH MYSELF AND THE CAR IN FRONT SO THE SMALL JUMP DID NOT HIT THAT CAR BEFORE I PUSHED HARDER ON THE BRAKE. THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN WITHIN 5 MINUTES. ONCE I ARRIVED IN DANVERS I DROVE TO THE DEALER TO REPORT THE PROBLEM AND THEY GAVE ME AN APPOINTMENT FOR WEDNESDAY8/28/13. THIS SAME PROBLEM HAS BEEN HAPEENING SINCE I PURCHASED THE CAR IN 2011. IT SELF ACCELERATED RANDOMLY EVERY 3-4 MONTHS, IT HAPPENED WHEN I HAD MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE AND I WAS AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT WITH MY MOM IN THE CAR. I ALMOST WENT THROUGHT THE LIGHT FROM A STOPPED BRAKED POSITION. THE OTHER TIMES WERE AFTER DRIVING WITH CRUISE CONTROL WHICH I NEED. IT ALSO HAPPENED WHILE BRAKING TO GET INTO A PARKING PLACE. *TT

THIS ACTUALLY FIRST OCCURRED ON FRIDAY. I WAS TRAVELING ON THE THRUWAY AT ABOUT 65MPH WHEN THE CAR FELT ALMOST LIKE IT DOWNSHIFTED AND THEN I TOTALLY LOST ACCELERATION AND THE WRENCH LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASH. I LIMPED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND THE CAR JERKED AND SPUTTERED BEFORE I SHUT IT OFF. AFTER A FEW MINUTES I RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND IT SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS FLOODED AT FIRST THEN IT TURNED OVER NORMALLY. I WAS AN HOUR FROM HOME AND MADE IT BACK WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER THE NEXT MORNING AND IT DID NOT SHOW ANY CODES. THEY SUGGESTED I REPLACE THE PURGE VALVE, AND AS I HAD A BUSY WEEK OF WORK RELATED TRAVEL SCHEDULED I WENT AHEAD AND HAD THEM DO IT FOR $120. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. RIGHT? TODAY I GET AN HOUR FROM HOME AND IT HAPPENS AGAIN. I CALL MY DEALER AND THEY SUGGEST I FIND THE CLOSEST FORD DEALER AND TAKE IT THERE IMMEDIATELY. CLOSEST FORD DEALER COULDN'T TAKE ME FOR 2 WEEKS!! I WAS AN HOUR FROM MY DESTINATION, SO I DECIDED TO CHANCE IT. I DROVE ABOUT 20 MINUTES AND IT HAPPENED AGAIN. SAME EXACT SCENARIO. I STARTED IT AGAIN, GOT BACK ON THE ROAD AND DROVE 10 MINUTES AND AGAIN, EXCEPT THIS TIME THE ENGINE LIGHT ALSO CAME ON. I CALLED ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE AND WAS TOWED TO A GARAGE. I AM 2 1/2 HOURS FROM HOME AND DRIVING A RENTAL. GARAGE WILL DIAGNOSE AND HOPEFULLY FIX TOMORROW. SERVICE TECH SAID IF HE HAD TO DIAGNOSE WITHOUT A CODE HE WOULD SAY THROTTLE BODY! IT ALSO SOUNDS LIKE THIS IS NOT COVERED BY MY 5 YEAR/60K WARRANTY EITHER. WITH ALL OF THE SIMILAR STORIES I HAVE READ ONLINE FORD NEEDS TO BE FORCED TO DO A RECALL AND REIMBURSE US ALL FOR OUR EXPENSES. *TR

THE FIRST SIGN OF A PROBLEM WITH MY 2009 MERCURY MARINER (39,000 MILES) WAS THREE DAYS AGO WHEN IT STALLED AT A STOP LIGHT. TODAY WAS A BIT MORE DRAMATIC. AT 70 MPH IN HEAVY TRAFFIC THE VEHICLE RPM SUDDENLY DROPPED DOWN TO 900 AND THE ACCELERATOR WAS NONE RESPONSIVE. FORTUNATELY, I WAS ABLE TO COAST ACROSS SEVERAL LANES ONTO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD. AS I SLOWED TO A STOP THE VEHICLE BEGAN SURGING AND BUCKING. I NOTICED THE WRENCH LIGHT WAS ON. THEN I TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE. IT RESTARTED FINE A FEW MINUTES LATER AND RAN NORMALLY (NO WARNING LIGHTS) OVER TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP. AFTER LISTENING TO MY STORY, THE FORD SERVICE MAN TOLD ME THAT HE WAS NEARLY CERTAIN THE THROTTLE BODY NEEDED REPLACEMENT. HE WENT ON TO SAY THAT HE WAS QUITE FAMILIAR WITH THE ISSUE SINCE FOR YEARS HE'S BEEN DEALING WITH - ON AVERAGE - THREE OF THESE CASES PER WEEK. THAT'S ONE SERVICE MAN AT ONE DEALERSHIP. DO THE MATH! I ASKED IF THERE WAS A RECALL OR IF FORD WOULD GIVE ME A BREAK ON THE REPAIR. HE SAID "NO", BUT AGREED THAT THE THROTTLE BODY SHOULD NOT FAIL AFTER ONLY 39,000 MILES. HE ALSO SAID IT WOULD BE A WASTE OF TIME FILING A COMPLAINT TO FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE. SO, I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO MY LOCAL MECHANIC TO HAVE IT CHECKED OUT. THEY FOUND NO ERROR CODES REGISTERED AND FOR THEIR TEST DRIVE IT RAN FINE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO NEXT. BY THE WAY, THERE WAS AN EARLIER RECALL FOR OUR VEHICLE. IN SEPTEMBER 2010, THEY REPROGRAMMED THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE AND REPLACED THE PLM, WHATEVER THAT MEANS. *TR

DOORS LOCK AND UNLOCK WHILE DRIVING. HORN ALARM GOES OFF WHEN CAR IS PARKED. WARNING LIGHT FOR OPEN DOORS WHEN DOORS ARE CLOSED. DOORS UNLOCK AND INTERIOR LIGHTS COME ON. *TR

CAR WOULD OCCASIONALLY STALL, THEN RESTART. WOULD BECOME MORE FREQUENT OVER TIME UNTIL CAR WOULD STALL AFTER ONLY DRIVING A BLOCK. *TR

VEHICLE STALLED 3 TIMES AND HAD NO THROTTLE RESPONSE. TURN KEY OFF AND RESTART VEHICLE TO REGAIN THROTTLE RESPONSE. WRENCH LIGHT AND ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. MECHANIC RETRIEVED MEMORY CODES P2111 AND P2112. *TR PERFORMED ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY TEST WITH IDS. THROTTLE BODY FAILED AND HAS A FAULT. MECHANIC REPLACED THROTTLE BODY