- the contact stated that while driving the 1997 Mercury Mountaineer with 120000 failure mileage at 30 mph on a windy day the hood latch failed and the hood opened. The hood hinges stopped the hood from slamming into the front windshield. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer and has not been repaired. The current mileage was 120000.

- Memphis, TN, USA

I currently own a 1997 Mercury Mountaineer. My wife purchased this Mountaineer in early 1998, and up until now we have been very happy with its performance. Recently, I was charging the battery overnight. I left for work and instructed my wife on disconnecting the charger before she used the car. My wife disconnected the charger and closed the hood on the vehicle and took it out to run errands. Unfortunately, when she closed the hood, it did not latch completely. However, in this case I would expect the secondary, safety latch to hold the hood closed until the vibrating hood was noticed and the hood closed properly. This did not happen. Turning out of our subdivision, and at a relatively low rate of speed (30 mph), the hood released and jammed into the up position. Not only did this create a safety hazard since the hood, in the up position, offers no visual gap with which the driver can maintain a reasonable view of the roadway in order to Pilot the vehicle to a safe location, but it also bent the hinges on which the hood is mounted. When I inspected the vehicle, I found that the spring that holds the safety latch in its temporary locked position had broken. Gladly, this happened in a low traffic volume local roadway and my wife was able to guide the vehicle to a safe location, eventually creeping back to our house after she had forced the hood down. Had this happened on a high volume street, chances are that her and my one-year-old son would have been in an accident. We have diligently followed the maintenance schedule for the vehicle, and the secondary, safety latch gave no indication of being broken until it failed. It appears that we will have to have the hood and its mounting hinges replaced.

- Houston, TX, USA