2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid

I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD GOING 55 MPH AND ALL OF A SUDDEN MY VEHICLE JERKED. I SAW A RED EXCLAMATION POINT ON DASH AND WHERE THE CAR MILEAGE IS LOCATED, IT SAID STOP SAFELY NOW. SO I PULLED OVER AND SHUT DOWN THE VEHICLE, RESTARTED AND IT HAPPENED AGAIN ONE MILE AWAY. IT CONTINUED DOING THIS. IT TOOK OVER AN HOUR TO GET 10 MILES DOWN THE ROAD TO MY DESTINATION. IT HAS BEEN DOING THIS OFF AND ON FOR THE PAST MONTH. I FINALLY TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID IT IS THE THROTTLE BODY. *TR

I WAS TRAVELING WEST AT ABOUT 70 MPH IN THE LEFT LANE ON I-66 OUT OF WASHINGTON, DC WITH FOUR PEOPLE IN THE CAR. SUDDENLY, THE ENGINE DIED AND WE WERE LEFT WITH ONLY THE ELECTRIC MOTOR ON THE HYBRID AND A DASH WARNING OF A RED TRIANGLE AND THE STATEMENT "STOP SAFELY SOON." THE CAR QUICKLY LOST POWER TO ABOUT 30 MPH AND WE STRUGGLED TO GET ACROSS THE FOUR LANES TO THE SHOULDER. THE ELECTRONICS IN THE CAR STILL OPERATED (RADIO, DASH LIGHTS, ETC.), BUT THE GAS ENGINE STALLED. ONCE ON THE SHOULDER, WE STOPPED. THE FORD OWNER'S MANUAL TOLD US TO TURN THE CAR OFF AND TRY TO RE-START. WE DID THIS AND THE CAR RE-STARTED. WE STARTED TO DRIVE, BUT THE CAR DID THE SAME THING AFTER ABOUT 5 MINUTES. THE CAR DID THE SAME THING ON ABOUT 5 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS UNTIL WE COULD GET TO AN EXIT THAT HAD BUSINESSES. THE FORD DEALER IN THIS AREA (AWAY FROM MY HOME) STATES THAT THE ELECTRONIC COOLING PUMP NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. ALTHOUGH I UNDERSTAND THAT PARTS FAIL, MY COMPLAINT IS THAT FORD SHOULD NOT TELL OWNERS TO RE-START THE CAR AND TRY TO PROCEED ON. IT IS DANGEROUS WHEN IT CONTINUES TO FAIL AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THE NEXT FAILURE MIGHT OCCUR (ON A BRIDGE, IN A CONSTRUCTION ZONE, ON A BUSY, FAST INTERSTATE). MOREOVER, HAVING REVIEWED COMPLAINTS ON THIS SITE AND ELSEWHERE ON THE INTERNET ABOUT FORD HYBRIDS, I KNOW THAT MANY OTHERS HAVE EXPERIENCE THIS SITUATION WHERE THE CAR ENGINE STALLS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS DUE TO VARIOUS PROBLEMS (E.G., THE ELECTRONIC COOLING PUMP, BAD SENSORS, OR A CORRUPTED PCM). *TR

THIS WOULD BE THE SECOND UN-WARNED TOTAL LOSS OF POWER ON A FREEWAY. HAVING COASTED OUT OF TRAFFIC ON THE FIRST UNWARNED ENGINE / PROPULSION SYSTEM SHUT-DOWN IN FAST-MOVING FREEWAY TRAFFIC, MANAGED TO FIND WIDE-ENOUGH SECTION OF OUTSIDE SHOULDER TO COME TO A STOP. BUT BEING STUCK IN 10PM DARKNESS ON A NARROW SHOULDER WAS TOO DANGEROUS TO CONSIDER REMAINING THERE. ONCE STOPPED, I SHIFTED THE TRANSMISSION TO PARK, CYCLED IGNITION OFF THEN TO START ? ENGINE RESTARTED, DASH WARNING LAMPS CAME ON- THEN CYCLED OFF NORMALLY, ENGINE RAN SMOOTHLY. NOTE: THE ONLY WAY TO ATTEMPT TO RESTART THE HYBRID DRIVETRAIN IS TO SHIFT THE TRANSMISSION INTO PARK .. IT DOESN'T WORK IN NEUTRAL .. AND THERE WAS NO WAY I WAS GOING TO TRY TO PUT THE TRANS IN PARK IN 72-75 MPH FREEWAY TRAFFIC IN 10PM DARKNESS. ACCELERATED MODERATELY INTO MERGING LANE, ENTERING GAP IN N/B TRAFFIC TO RE-ENTER I-5 TRAFFIC ? HOPING TO GET PAST SR-2 TO MORE-FAMILIAR EXIT ? WITHIN 2 MINUTES, AND AT SPEED ~ 55 MPH ? DRIVE TRAIN DIED AGAIN (SAME WARNING TONE AND LIGHT...AND SAME "TOO LITTLE TOO LATE" STOP NOW WARNING TEXT). AGAIN HAD TO HUNT FOR A WIDE-ENOUGH SECTION OF OUTSIDE SHOULDER TO STOP AND TAKE STOCK OF DANGEROUS SITUATION. SHUT OFF ENGINE, MOVED TRANS INTO PARK TRIED RESTART - AGAIN, ENGINE STARTED AND SETTLED TO NORMAL OPERATION - NO WARNING LIGHTS REMAINED ON. ABLE TO RE-ENTER TRAFFIC AND TRANSITION OFF I-5 FWY .. BUT ONLY ESCAPE WAS TO ANOTHER FREEWAY (SR-2). KEPT SPEED BELOW 45MPH ON THAT FREEWAY UNTIL ABLE TO EXIT FREEWAY. THIS WAS THE SECOND UN-WARNED TOTAL LOSS OF POWER ON A FREEWAY. *TR

THIS WOULD BE THE SECOND UN-WARNED TOTAL LOSS OF POWER ON A FREEWAY. HAVING COASTED OUT OF TRAFFIC ON THE FIRST UNWARNED ENGINE / PROPULSION SYSTEM SHUT-DOWN IN FAST-MOVING FREEWAY TRAFFIC, MANAGED TO FIND WIDE-ENOUGH SECTION OF OUTSIDE SHOULDER TO COME TO A STOP. BUT BEING STUCK IN 10PM DARKNESS ON A NARROW SHOULDER WAS TOO DANGEROUS TO CONSIDER REMAINING THERE. ONCE STOPPED, I SHIFTED THE TRANSMISSION TO PARK, CYCLED IGNITION OFF THEN TO START ENGINE RESTARTED, DASH WARNING LAMPS CAME ON- THEN CYCLED OFF NORMALLY, ENGINE RAN SMOOTHLY. NOTE: THE ONLY WAY TO ATTEMPT TO RESTART THE HYBRID DRIVETRAIN IS TO SHIFT THE TRANSMISSION INTO PARK .. IT DOESN'T WORK IN NEUTRAL .. AND THERE WAS NO WAY I WAS GOING TO TRY TO PUT THE TRANS IN PARK IN 72-75 MPH FREEWAY TRAFFIC IN 10PM DARKNESS. ACCELERATED MODERATELY INTO MERGING LANE, ENTERING GAP IN N/B TRAFFIC TO RE-ENTER I-5 TRAFFIC HOPING TO GET PAST SR-2 TO MORE-FAMILIAR EXIT WITHIN 2 MINUTES, AND AT SPEED ~ 55 MPH DRIVE TRAIN DIED AGAIN (SAME WARNING TONE AND LIGHT...AND SAME "TOO LITTLE TOO LATE" STOP NOW WARNING TEXT). AGAIN HAD TO HUNT FOR A WIDE-ENOUGH SECTION OF OUTSIDE SHOULDER TO STOP AND TAKE STOCK OF DANGEROUS SITUATION. SHUT OFF ENGINE, MOVED TRANS INTO PARK TRIED RESTART - AGAIN, ENGINE STARTED AND SETTLED TO NORMAL OPERATION - NO WARNING LIGHTS REMAINED ON. ABLE TO RE-ENTER TRAFFIC AND TRANSITION OFF I-5 FWY...BUT ONLY ESCAPE WAS TO ANOTHER FREEWAY (SR-2). KEPT SPEED BELOW 45MPH ON THAT FREEWAY UNTIL ABLE TO EXIT FREEWAY. THIS WAS THE SECOND UN-WARNED TOTAL LOSS OF POWER ON A FREEWAY. *TR

I WAS DRIVING MY 2008 MERCURY MARINER HYBRID WHEN THE STOP SAFELY LIGHT CAME ON AND THE CAR DIED INSTANTLY. I WAS ON THE HIGHWAY DRIVING 55 MPH AND IT WAS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO HAVE RAPID DECELERATION AT THAT TIME. I WAS BARELY ABLE TO PULL MY CAR OVER TO THE SIDE IN A SAFE MANNER. I TURNED OFF THE CAR, RESTARTED AND PROCEED TO GET ON THE HIGHWAY AGAIN. IT HAPPENED THREE TIMES. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I DO NOT FEEL SAFE DRIVING MY VEHICLE ANYWHERE AT THIS POINT IN TIME. *TR

SECOND UNWARNED TOTAL SHUT-DOWN OF ALL POWER ON ROADWAY - THIS ONE JUST 17 DAYS AFTER REPAIRS AND REPROGRAMMING BY FORD DEALERSHIP FOLLOWING FIRST INSTANCE, WHICH CUT GAS ENGINE AND ELECTRIC MOTOR POWER WHILE TRAVELING ON LOS ANGELES FREEWAY. THIS POWER SHUT-DOWN OCCURRED WHILE TRYING TO PULL FROM PARALLEL PARK SPOT ONTO BUSY BLVD - LOST ALL POWER 2 FEET INTO TRAFFIC, ABLE TO ROLL BACK INTO CURB BEFORE TRAFFIC REACHED ME AROUND SEMI-BLIND CURVE. AFTER THE FIRST IN-USE FAILURE ON 5-17-10, I SIMULTANEOUSLY REPORTED THE MALFUNCTION TO FORD CUSTOMER RELATIONS (CASE# 1432331380), AND PRESENTED THE VEHICLE FOR REPAIR TO CERRITOS [THE FOLLOWING QUOTES FROM TEXT OF SERVICE RECORD]; TECH PERFORMED `EEC TEST, REVEALING FAULT-CODES: B1239, P1A0C AND P0562. THE TECH ALSO "FOUND TSB (TECH SERVICE BULLETIN) 07-25-12 WITH CONCERN RESOLUTION" & HE "CONTACT[ED] FORD TECHNICAL SERVICE HOTLINE WITH CONCERN." THE TECH "REPLACED THE AUXILIARY AIRFLOW MODE DOOR ACTUATOR AND REPROGRAMMED THE TRACTION BATTERY CONTROL MODULE TO LATEST CALIBRATION 8M64-10B687-AG. FINAL EEC TEST PASSED." I WAS ALSO INFORMED THAT THE PART NUMBER FOR THE REPLACEMENT `AIRFLOW MODE DOOR ACTUATOR' DIFFERED FROM ORIGINAL, SO THE COMPONENT HAS APPARENTLY BEEN RE-DESIGNED - BUT NEITHER MY WIFE NOR I HAVE RECEIVED WARNINGS FROM FORD THAT UPDATES/REPAIRS WERE RECOMMENDED ON EITHER OF OUR 2008 MARINER HYBRIDS. THIS ORIGINALLY SMELLED LIKE A `SILENT RECALL' TO ME...BUT THIS DOESN'T EVEN RATE AS A `RECALL', BECAUSE THE WORK PERFORMED DID NOT PREVENT THE SECOND OCCURRENCE OF THE EQUIVALENT MALFUNCTION JUST 17 DAYS LATER. THIS IS A TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE FAILURE MODE FOR ANY CONSUMER TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE, BECAUSE IT OCCURS WITHOUT WARNING, AND LEAVES THE DRIVER COMPLETELY DEFENSELESS, AND WITH SEVERELY-REDUCED RESPONSE OPTIONS. *TR