2004 Mercury Monterey - wife driving down the highway (with one child as a passenger) at 65 mph. Vehicle lost all ability to accelerate. No gear. Had to coast to the side of the highway (during rush hour) where there was little to no room to even exit the vehicle safely. She was stuck in the vehicle while cars and trucks sped by rapidly often coming close to hitting her. Police were called and also a tow truck. The van had no movement in any gear. Only had park and neutral. Van was towed and the problem was determined to be a failed torque converter. Specifically the splines inside the converter where the shaft coming out of the transmission engages. Repair cost plus tow is $2000. Luckily no one was hurt but it was a very dangerous situation. After some research there is apparently a class action suit against Ford on this issue and a NHTSA investigation underway (EA09016).

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Mercury Monterey. The contact was driving 35 mph when the transmission slipped out of gear and would not return to the appropriate gear. The contact was unable to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. Neither the dealer nor manufacturer was contacted. The failure and current mileage was 99,500.

- Pataskala, OH, USA

We bought a 2004 Mercury Monterey with 97K miles on it in June 24, 2010...everything was fine until August 11, 2010. I was driving and all of a sudden the car will not accelerate...so I drift to the side of the road and try to get the van to accelerate but nothing happened. I had to get it towed and the transmission guy took it apart and said the torque converter needs replaced it went out...we are still waiting to see if our extended warranty covers it if not it will be 1400-1600 bucks to get it fixed. I mean we had not even had it for two months yet. I started researching and found alot of complaints on it and still nothing has been done. Thanks goodness no one in my family got hurt, what will it take to get them to recall this problem and to keep people safe?

- Allen, TX, USA

Driving home from West side of state to East sideof state and had cruise control on. Had my 2 year old, 4 year old and 5 year old and wife in car. Engine was at 2300rpm and around 65mph. Cruise control was engaging power to maintain 65mph and then RPM flared up to 4000rpm and all loss of power. I was on freeway and barely was able to pull over. Was half on shoulder and part on white lane marker. Could not get car to drive off lane. People were honking and was worried that we would get hit. Could not get kids out of car because of dangerous objects from moving car tires passing by. I have no power in reverse drive, second or 1st. Its like being in neutral with engine revving and no movement. Please advise.

- Saint Clair Shores, MI, USA

2004 Mercury Monterey has had power train automatic transmission replaced twice and only has about 67,000 miles on it.

- Woodridge, IL, USA

Incident first occurred on 6/20/2010, on I-64. I was driving our 2004 Mercury Monterey when I realized that the transmission had slipped from D3 to D2. I stopped van and it worked fine after restarting, but was afraid to use it; only used several times for short trips in the interim - no problems, however, with the transmission. Took to dealer on 7/30 - 41,779 miles - extended warranty (esp) expired 2/5/10. Dealer replaced transmission range sensor and brake pressure switch at a cost of $325.22, including diagnostic check. Dealer also flushed and filled transmission - twice to remove water - cost: $184.87. I asked for the old parts - dealer did not return them. Picked up vehicle on 8/1/10; transmission worked fine, but the traction control system (tcs) light turned on and stayed on. Did not drive until 8/6 when I took it tire shop to have tires replaced - no cruise control and the tcs light was on. The service manager at the tire shop checked alldatapro.com and found a tsb that indicated that Ford had learned that some 2004-2007 freestar and Monterey transmissions had water/moisture problems causing problems with the tcs, among other things. Also, in checking other complaints reported to NHTSA, found one where a Ford dealer noted that a transmission seal had failed allowing water to enter computer (transmission range sensor?) causing both computer and transmission to fail. On 8/7, found that dealer had not reconnected cruise control, and noticed that the tcs light turned on after depressing the brake twice. Then noticed that the transmission would not shift to drive 3 - stayed in D2 - back to the original problem from 6/20! stopped and started van again, no change in the transmission, and the tcs light turned on after pressing brake twice. Have not tried to drive the car today, and now, after reading many of the complaints regarding transmission failures in 2004 Montereys, I'm not sure if I should even attempt to drive it the 38 miles back to the dealer.

- Richmond, VA, USA

While on the highway and accelerating to pass a car, about 65 mph, transmission failed, and had to coast vehicle over to the side of road and stopped. In park, revved engine and no engagement of transmission was realized. Had to tow car to ford_mercury dealer. Dealer replaced transmission-do not know if old transmission is available.

- Leavenworth, KS, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Mercury Monterey. The contact stated that while driving 70 mph the vehicle suddenly stop accelerating. The contact was able to drive the vehicle onto the emergency lane and call a tow truck. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic who stated that the transmission was destroyed. The manufacturer stated that since there were no recalls, or related warranties that there was nothing that they could do. The contact was concerned about the safety risk as well as the possibility that a crash could occur. The failure mileage was 40,000.

- Kalamazoo, MI, USA

5 days after a wonderful vacation (in which I used my 2004 Mercury Monterey van), I was driving to work when I felt a shifting in the front of the vehicle as I was turning a corner. I knew something was wrong right away and pulled (coasted) into a parking space. Luckily, I was on a side street and not a highway. I put car in park and listened and waited for a moment. When I shifted into reverse to leave the parking space, nothing happened. I tried forward and reverse a few more times, I turned off the air conditioning and made sure the radio was still working. The car would still not change gears. Had the car towed ($75) and needed a new (rebuilt) transmission - $2,300. Warranty expired a few months ago, so it was all out of pocket. It took a week to fix the vehicle, so I was without a car for that period of time. I have 30,000 mi. On the car. I have no confidence left when I drive this van now and there's no way I can afford a new vehicle right now. These are family vans and I wonder when Mercury/Ford will own up to this problem?? it's quite scary.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

Own a 2004 Mercury Monterey with a rebuilt tranny when bought. 3 young kids under age 3. transmission just went while driving with all 3 kids. Thank god no-one was hurt! this is a known problem. Why is there no recall"??"

- Lindenhurst, NY, USA

With no warning, our van would not go into any gear. We were fortunate to be just pulling away when transmission disengaged and not on the highway. After investigating problem, seems mechanic will have to replace/rebuild transmission.

- Greenville, OH, USA

My family owns a 2004 Mercury Monterey. While driving through mountainous highway conditions, our transmission failed. Even though the dash has warning lights, there was no warning when we lost all motive power at highway speeds. We were fortunate to make it to the side of the road without being run down by the numerous semi trucks that were close on our tail pipe going up a hill. We were more than 100 miles from home, so decided to get the repairs done in the nearest large city. We were told the transmission was useless and we needed to replace it or have it rebuilt. Our vehicle had 105K miles when this break-down occurred. The mechanic found a suitable replacement transmission from a vehicle that had been in a rear-end collision, and it only had 38K miles. We chose to have the transmission replaced with the used part that only had 38K miles. Of course, the mechanic kept all the old parts, and I was never in a position to see the work in progress. I was not given any specific information about the other vehicle's make and model other than the fact that it was not a Mercury Monterey. After doing some research, I now have concluded that it was most likely a Ford freestar transmission we received as a replacement part. It has been 2-1/2 years and 22K more miles since this incident (equaling 60K total miles on the replacement transmission), and we are now taking this vehicle back into the shop again because of more transmission problems. Is there anything anyone can do?

- San Antonio, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Mercury Monterey. While driving at 35 mph, the trans axle light illuminated which indicated that there was a failure within the automatic transmission. The torque converter output shaft lines were stripping which caused a sudden loss of power to the drivetrain. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership where the torque converter and torque converter clutch was partially replaced. The failure occurred again; the dealer then stated that the entire transmission needed to be replaced. The failure mileage was approximately 63,000. The current mileage was approximately 100,370.

- St Joseph, IL, USA

We have a 2004 Mercury Monterey with a little over 50K miles and my husband was traveling out of state and after a few hours of driving on the highway the transmission stopped working. He is now stranded in another state 5 hours from home and 6 hours from his destination with 3 children. Something has to be done about this.

- Brunswick, OH, USA

While driving my daughter to school this morning, I felt like the accelerator seemed to slip, I had to stop for a bus stop as this happened. When the bus moved and I could go I pushed the gas and the engine revved but the car wouldn't move. There were numerous cars behind me on a narrow two lane road. Fortunately a gentleman offered to push me off the road, I thought I was going to have to have a twelve year old boy get behind the wheel so I could push the van off the road. I had to have the van towed home, and am currently trying to figure out what to do. I just had to have the compressor and fan replaced on this vehicle. This is just one more problem in a long line of problems I have had with this van. This is the worst car I have ever owned. Based on the complaints I've now found on this van same year and model I believe my next step is to contact my senator, this ranks right up there with the Toyota recalls. I'm frankly very surprised there have been no recalls yet for this lemon. I thought I was just unlucky but I see I'm far from the only one suffering from these problems. By the way this van has approximately 94K miles. Not what I would call high mileage.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

Going up a hill (56 mph zone) on a clear sunny day, light traffic. On the way down our 2004 Mercury Monterey van was placed into cruise control. After a minute RPM shot up and lost momentum, coasted to right shoulder, all of the transmission fluid spilled over the road and into other vehicles. First occurrence, no warning, no accident due to light traffic. Stranded about 40 miles away from home vehicle towed to a dealership. Transmission replaced.

- Bullhead City, AZ, USA

No prior warning, working fine then not working at all... will not go into gear (engine will rev, you can shift to reverse, or drive but nothing). Transmission failure on my Mercury Monterey 2004. I have not corrected the problem as of yet dealership says new transmission cost is $3500.

- Oklahoma City, OK, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Mercury Monterey. The contact applied the brakes at speeds of 30 mph. She then attempted to regain speed but the vehicle would not accelerate. The vehicle was towed to her residence and then to an independent mechanic. The mechanic stated that the transmission had failed and would need to be replaced. The failure and current mileages were approximately 51,000.

- Owings , MD, USA

2004 Mercury Monterey had torque converter/transmission failure during acceleration on the highway. There are reports of over 3,000 on the nhtsb website and only 32,000 vehicles were produced, so this is occurring in over 10% of these vehicles. I don't understand why these vehicles are still on the road and not being recalled by your Agency.

- Doylestown, PA, USA

Transmission is slipping during acceleration in 2004 Mercury Monterey with less than 80,000 miles making it dangerous to drive. This started recently and was first noticed driving up hills, but now is occurring on level highways.

- Plainville, GA, USA