10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 72,585 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
1. paint coming off of roof and driver's door. 2. rear passenger side and driver side power windows not working. 3. cracks in plastic area of rear lift gate around wiper arm. 4. almost lost control and potential accident on interstate when right rear wheel came loose.
- Harlan, IA, USA
While my 17 year old daughter was driving with the cruise control on in a 30 -40 mph zone, several lights came on, the power steering went out, and the vehicle stalled. She was on a small 2 lane road, and there were no warnings prior to the occurrence. She was very scared, she turned on the hazard lights and called me immediately. The vehicle then restarted and she drove home. Today (Jan. 5, 2016) the problem occurred again, fortunately in a slow speed zone again. She was able to restart the vehicle and continue driving. This problem is potentially very dangerous and needs to be addressed by the manufacturer, or they need to offer a buy back at full value for placing people at risk.
- Arlington, TN, USA
Transmission solenoids three times, paint coming off, passenger seat trim came off, cracked rear lift gate, passenger front and rear door windows, and driver side rear door window do not work.
- Harlan, IA, USA
Engine stalls when activating cruise control which results in hazardous driving situation due to loss of power steering and brakes. Have to pull over to side of road, put the vehicle in park and restart. Starts every time. Has repeated 3 times. This is a serious flaw in the Ford electrical computer design to result a failure mode that stalls the vehicle engine while under speed.
- Frederick, MD, USA
The contact owns a 2004 Mercury Mountaineer. While driving approximately 65 mph, the contact deactivated the cruise control when the vehicle suddenly stalled. The failure also recurred when driving at slower speeds or when decelerating with the cruise control activated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The mechanic stated there was a recall and referred the contact to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated there was a manufacturer's voluntary recall issued but the contact's VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000. Updated 9/21/12 the consumer stated when the failure occurred, there was a total shutdown of the onboard computer, because the power steering and power brakes also failed. Recovery required getting the vehicle stopped on the shoulder and turning off the ignition. Updated 10/04/12
- Burlington, VT, USA
I have a used 2004 Mercury Mountaineer I purchased in 12/2008 it had 53,000 miles. I have done all of the required maintenance oil changes, brake pads, fluid changes, and 60,000-mile service package. I have nothing but problems with the vehicle. The failures I have are as follows: 1. front/rear brake pads, front/rear rotors, spark plugs, -defected parts 2. battery 3. tires-constant flats 4. lug torque-driver front/rear 5. hood shocks, tire pressure sensor light 6. transmission fluid leak/ front pump seal leak 7. noise at harmonic balancer 8. roar noise and shakes at all speeds 9. hub assemblies making noise front left/right side; unless replaced vehicle unsafe to drive per Ford dealership 10. Brake pads- front/rear need to be replaced going bad (second time needing to be replaced) 11. Needs front alignment-pulls to the right side 12. Fuel filter 13. Needs all new tires 14. Ignition coil -defective needs to be replaced 15. Vehicle gear shifter is stuck while driving won't shift at all sometimes stays stuck at certain speed won't move 16.universal joints 17. Axle housing gasket repairs and corrections done on vehicle: 1.new brake pads on front/rear, replaced spark plugs, resurfaced front/rear rotors.- 8/2009 2.battery replaced- 4/2010 3.tires-flats repaired/patched -8/2010,11/2010,2/2011 4.have not repaired/replaced 5.have not repaired/replaced 6.replaced seal, transmission filter and fluid changed, replaced seal-oil-6/2011 7.have not repaired/replaced 8. vehicle is shaking and loud roar noise hasn't been fixed-6/2011 9.hub assemblies front left/right side replaced -6/2011 10.have not replaced/repaired 11.have not replaced/repaired 12.fuel filter replaced-6/2011 13. Bought brand new set of tires -6/2011 14.ignition coil replaced-10/2009 15. Have not repaired/replaced 16. Have not repaired/replaced 17. Axle housing gasket replaced-04/2011.
- The Woodlands, TX, USA
Just purchased a 2004 Mercury Mountaineer today. Driving home, using cruise/speed control at around 30mph and driving on a slight decline, the vehicle shut down. All indicator lights went on, and I had to coast to the side of the road. I put vehicle in park and restarted it without problem. There were no indicator lights (check-engine, etc.) lit up. Immediately went to local Ford dealership and they had no clue, especially since the computer did not have any codes indicating a problem.. I'm canceling the check and returning the vehicle tomorrow.
- Northfield, MN, USA
Brake light safety switch failed twice
- Stanhope, NJ, USA
While driving 40-45 mph and using the cruise control, car suddenly shut down. Check engine light and battery light came on. Loss of power steering, power brakes, acceleration. Was able to steer SUV to off the road but was very difficult to do so. Nearly ran off a 10 to 12 foot drop off into a drainage ditch. This has happened several times before. Car max (where we bought SUV could not duplicate the issue so they sent it to metro Ford in independence, mo and on the first time it happened replace the throttle position sensor but that did not fix the problem). The wrench and fail safe mode came on this last time but the persons repairing it indicated they found no codes for it and were unable to re-create to diagnose. From research I know this is a problem with other vehicles of this type (both the loss of electrical power and the no code found situation) but we came very close to an injury related accident because of this.
- Blue Springs, MO, USA
While driving 35-45 mph, car suddenly shut down. Check engine light and battery light came on. Loss of power steering, power brakes, acceleration. Maneuvered vehicle to nearby parking lot, waited, and then restarted the vehicle. No problem in restarting vehicle and all warning lights were off. Used cruise control prior to incident. Intermittent problem; unable to re-create for Ford dealer to diagnose. New battery was installed by Ford dealer in winter 2009.
- Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Vehicle has 75,000 miles. For the last 5,000 miles or so, the car will have a complete power failure and turn off. We have to coast to a stop, put it in park, and then start the car. This has happened five or six times. The dealership says they cannot duplicate the problem.
- La Grange, NC, USA
Speed control; Mercury Mountaineer, 2004. Intermittent function. Sometimes should not turn off or on.
- Matthews, NC, USA
Consumer noticed that while the dvd/ television set was engaged the rear mirrors became inoperative. Vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic informed consumer that the problem could not be fixed because it was designed that way.
- Tobyhanna, PA, USA
- Benton, AR, USA