During normal operation of my car, the check engine light came on and stayed on. I had the engine light codes read and it indicated that two cylinders were misfiring. I took the car to a service shop to have the spark plugs changed. I was told that the intake manifold had developed a crack which was allowing coolant fluid inside the manifold cavity and this is what was causing the cylinder misfire. The car is a 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis with a 4.6 ltr. Engine. The intake manifold is made of a plastic material and tends to crack next to the thermostat housing. This is exactly where the intake manifold on my car cracked. I have since found out that the Ford Motor Co. Issued a recall bulletin to their Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers in December 2001 advising them of the defect. Subsequently, certain favored fleet owners of Mercury marquis and Ford Crown Victoria automobiles (police, limo and taxi companies) were notified of the recall. "civilian" owners were excluded. I owned my Mercury Grand Marquis at that time and was not notified of the recall. My exclusion from the recall notification resulted in my being exposed to the potential fire hazard of the cracked intake manifold, as well as the inconvenience and considerable expense of having to have the defective manifold replaced. Because of the selective recall that Ford Motor Co. Made regarding defective intake manifold, a class action lawsuit was filed against Ford Motor Co. On behalf of excluded owners and Ford Motor Co. Had to make restitution to such owners. I was not a party to the lawsuit because I was not made aware of my status as a wronged owner. I would like to know why the nhtsb did not require that Ford Motor Co. Notify me about the recall to replace the dangerous defective intake manifold on my car?

- Dallas, TX, USA

1999 Mercury Grand Marquis ls 4.6L (1) drove vehicle in a normal way, commuting from home to work daily. No speeding. In the mornings properly wait for 10 minutes to warm up the vehicle's engine prior to driving. Kept proper maintenance schedule by Ford/Mercury dealership. Never brought up to my attention of the possible default this part may cause down the line. Had a complete coolant flush for radiator. Replaced with new coolant. (2) misfire in cylinders 6 + 2. check engine light on. Small amounts of coolant leakage onto top part of engine, profusely around the spark plug chambers. Coolant come in contact with alternator affecting check battery light to go on. Vehicle showed signs of intense shaking at idle and at normal driving conditions within 1 hr after check engine light came on. Vehicle is a 199 Mercury Grand Marquis ls 4.6L. Vehicle could not be driven w/O being extremely shaky while driving. Hesitation present. On cold days, small presence of coolant traces were found inside the spark-plug pits along side the ignition coils and at times small vapor came from inside the engine noticed from inside the driver's seat coming from inside the hood causing concern. I found the following from the following Ford parts website: www.1aauto.com/1A/intakemanifolds/-/-/1aeim00012. "the original intake manifold, due to the design, has an abnormal tendency to crack, leading to overheating and in many cases complete engine failure and/or damage to other parts of the car's engine. This new and improved intake manifold is designed to eliminate those problems!". (3) dealership charged me over $1500 for replacing the intake manifold, spark plug and ignition coil for cylinder #2 plus an oil change and filter. I requested old parts back and only the spark-plug and ignition coil was returned to me.

- Chicago, IL, USA

Poor gas mileage

- St. Charles, IL, USA