2009 Mercury Mariner

THE VEHICLE HAS STALLED WHILE IN MOTION 6 TIMES NOW, WHILE STOPPED 3 TIMES. STALLED ONCE WHILE DRIVING UPWARDS OF 40 MPH. I HAD TO STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET, PUT EMERGENCY BLINKERS ON, AND RESTART THE CAR. VEHICLE SEEMS TO SPONTANEOUSLY FALTER IN ACCELERATION AND LOSES POWER. TURNING OFF IGNITION AND RESTARTING ENGINE FIXES THE PROBLEM BUT IT WILL THEN REOCCUR AT AN UNKNOWN TIME. SOME INCIDENCES HAVE BEEN IN THE SAME DAY, OTHERS HAVE BEEN UP TO A WEEK APART. *JB

2009 MERCURY MARINER. I HAD JUST PULLED INTO THE STORE PARKING LOT THE CAR WAS IN PARK BUT RUNNING. WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT CUT OFF LIGHTS ON DASH BOARD CAME ON...I WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE CAR ON THE WAY HOME EVERY STOP LIGHT I STOPPED AT THE CAR WOULD CUT OFF...TOOK TO AUTO REPAIR SHOP THEY DIAGNOSED IT BUT NOTHING CAME UP ON MACHINE. CAR RAN FINE FOR THE REST OF THE DAY. ON THE WAY TO WORK THAT MONDAY THE CAR STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD I WAS ABLE TO COAST OVER THE WRENCH ICON LITE CAME ON. CUT THE CAR OFF STARTED IT BACK UP AND DROVE TO WORK....NOW THE CAR IS DOING IT EVERY 5-10 MILES STOPPING WONT LET ME ACCELERATE AND THE WRENCH ICON IS COMING ON....THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS......THIS NEEDS TO BE RECALLED. IF EVERYONE IS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM...... *TR

WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH IN METRO DC RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY LOST POWER (ENGINE STILL RUNNING BUT NO ACCELERATION). I HAD TO CROSS OVER 4 LANES OF TRAFFIC TO REACH THE SHOULDER (VERY DANGEROUS). I TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF AND RESTARTED (SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS "FLOODED"). I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR EVALUATION TODAY, BUT CAME ACROSS MANY COMMON COMPLAINTS ONLINE REGARDING THIS EXACT ISSUE AND ALSO LEARNED THAT NHTSA WAS CONDUCTING AN INVESTIGATION. I JUST WANTED TO ADD MY CASE TO THIS ISSUE. THIS COULD BE A VERY SERIOUS AND DANGEROUS PROBLEM AS IT HAPPENS AT HIGH SPEEDS AND THE VEHICLE SLOWS RAPIDLY.

THIS ACTUALLY FIRST OCCURRED ON FRIDAY. I WAS TRAVELING ON THE THRUWAY AT ABOUT 65MPH WHEN THE CAR FELT ALMOST LIKE IT DOWNSHIFTED AND THEN I TOTALLY LOST ACCELERATION AND THE WRENCH LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASH. I LIMPED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND THE CAR JERKED AND SPUTTERED BEFORE I SHUT IT OFF. AFTER A FEW MINUTES I RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND IT SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS FLOODED AT FIRST THEN IT TURNED OVER NORMALLY. I WAS AN HOUR FROM HOME AND MADE IT BACK WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER THE NEXT MORNING AND IT DID NOT SHOW ANY CODES. THEY SUGGESTED I REPLACE THE PURGE VALVE, AND AS I HAD A BUSY WEEK OF WORK RELATED TRAVEL SCHEDULED I WENT AHEAD AND HAD THEM DO IT FOR $120. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. RIGHT? TODAY I GET AN HOUR FROM HOME AND IT HAPPENS AGAIN. I CALL MY DEALER AND THEY SUGGEST I FIND THE CLOSEST FORD DEALER AND TAKE IT THERE IMMEDIATELY. CLOSEST FORD DEALER COULDN'T TAKE ME FOR 2 WEEKS!! I WAS AN HOUR FROM MY DESTINATION, SO I DECIDED TO CHANCE IT. I DROVE ABOUT 20 MINUTES AND IT HAPPENED AGAIN. SAME EXACT SCENARIO. I STARTED IT AGAIN, GOT BACK ON THE ROAD AND DROVE 10 MINUTES AND AGAIN, EXCEPT THIS TIME THE ENGINE LIGHT ALSO CAME ON. I CALLED ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE AND WAS TOWED TO A GARAGE. I AM 2 1/2 HOURS FROM HOME AND DRIVING A RENTAL. GARAGE WILL DIAGNOSE AND HOPEFULLY FIX TOMORROW. SERVICE TECH SAID IF HE HAD TO DIAGNOSE WITHOUT A CODE HE WOULD SAY THROTTLE BODY! IT ALSO SOUNDS LIKE THIS IS NOT COVERED BY MY 5 YEAR/60K WARRANTY EITHER. WITH ALL OF THE SIMILAR STORIES I HAVE READ ONLINE FORD NEEDS TO BE FORCED TO DO A RECALL AND REIMBURSE US ALL FOR OUR EXPENSES. *TR

THE FIRST SIGN OF A PROBLEM WITH MY 2009 MERCURY MARINER (39,000 MILES) WAS THREE DAYS AGO WHEN IT STALLED AT A STOP LIGHT. TODAY WAS A BIT MORE DRAMATIC. AT 70 MPH IN HEAVY TRAFFIC THE VEHICLE RPM SUDDENLY DROPPED DOWN TO 900 AND THE ACCELERATOR WAS NONE RESPONSIVE. FORTUNATELY, I WAS ABLE TO COAST ACROSS SEVERAL LANES ONTO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD. AS I SLOWED TO A STOP THE VEHICLE BEGAN SURGING AND BUCKING. I NOTICED THE WRENCH LIGHT WAS ON. THEN I TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE. IT RESTARTED FINE A FEW MINUTES LATER AND RAN NORMALLY (NO WARNING LIGHTS) OVER TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP. AFTER LISTENING TO MY STORY, THE FORD SERVICE MAN TOLD ME THAT HE WAS NEARLY CERTAIN THE THROTTLE BODY NEEDED REPLACEMENT. HE WENT ON TO SAY THAT HE WAS QUITE FAMILIAR WITH THE ISSUE SINCE FOR YEARS HE'S BEEN DEALING WITH - ON AVERAGE - THREE OF THESE CASES PER WEEK. THAT'S ONE SERVICE MAN AT ONE DEALERSHIP. DO THE MATH! I ASKED IF THERE WAS A RECALL OR IF FORD WOULD GIVE ME A BREAK ON THE REPAIR. HE SAID "NO", BUT AGREED THAT THE THROTTLE BODY SHOULD NOT FAIL AFTER ONLY 39,000 MILES. HE ALSO SAID IT WOULD BE A WASTE OF TIME FILING A COMPLAINT TO FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE. SO, I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO MY LOCAL MECHANIC TO HAVE IT CHECKED OUT. THEY FOUND NO ERROR CODES REGISTERED AND FOR THEIR TEST DRIVE IT RAN FINE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO NEXT. BY THE WAY, THERE WAS AN EARLIER RECALL FOR OUR VEHICLE. IN SEPTEMBER 2010, THEY REPROGRAMMED THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE AND REPLACED THE PLM, WHATEVER THAT MEANS. *TR

2009 MERCURY MARINER WITH ABOUT 90,000 MILES. WAS ON THE FREEWAY DRIVING ABOUT 65-70 MPH WHEN SUDDENLY THE POWER TO CAR CUT OFF - WAS NOT ABLE TO ACCELERATE VEHICLE; DROVE TO RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD. CAR WAS STILL ON, BUT GAS PEDAL WOULD NOT WORK, WRENCH LIGHT WAS ON, CAR IDLING VERY ROUGHLY. TURNED CAR OFF. TURNED CAR BACK ON, WRENCH LIGHT WAS OFF, DROVE ANOTHER 30 MINUTES TO DESTINATION WITHOUT INCIDENT. IN THE TWO HOUR DRIVE HOME, THE CAR CUT OFF FIVE MORE TIMES. I HEARD A BELL ALERT AUDIO SOUND A FEW TIMES, BUT THE ONLY LIGHT THAT CAME ON WAS THE WRENCH JUST AS THE POWER CUT OFF. THE VERY LAST TIME IT HAPPENED, THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, AND STAYED ON EVEN AFTER RESTARTING THE CAR. I FEEL VERY THANKFUL TO HAVE GOT HOME ALIVE AND WITHOUT GETTING INTO AN ACCIDENT. DEALER RECOMMENDS A 90M SERVICE PACKAGE ($547), A DIAGNOSTIC TEST ($104), AND POSSIBLY A THROTTLE BODY AND/OR SENSOR ($300-ISH). *TR

I WAS ON A HIGH TRAFFIC FREEWAY COMING HOME FROM A MATERNITY APPOINTMENT (I WAS 7MONTHS PREGNANT AND IT WAS HOT) AND GOING 70MPH MIDDLE LANE. WHEN MY CAR JUST CUT OFF. I WAS STILL MOVING BUT MY DASH WAS OFF CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND I PULLED TO THE SIDE. I COULD GET IT STARTED BACK UP BUT IT WENT OFF AGAIN. I FINALLY GOT OFF ON A RAMP. I HAD TO HAVE MY CAR TOWED AND RENT A CAR. BETWEEN THE TOW RENTAL AND WORK ON MY CAR THE TOTAL WAS (EST 1400). THEN A YEAR LATER IT BEGAN EVERY NOW AND THEN STALLING OR SURGING WHILE I WAS DRIVING. IT HAS PROGRESSIVELY WORSEN. NOW IT HAS BEEN WHEN I STOP OR LET OFF THE GAS IT GOES DEAD. RECENTLY WENT TO AN AUTO SHOP AND THEY HOOKED IT TO THE COMPUTER. IT SAID IT WAS MY THROTTLE BODY. IT WAS CLEANED AND ALL WAS FINE FOR A WEEK. AND NOW IT IS DOING IT AGAIN. I FINALLY DID GOOGLE THROTTLE BODY AND MERCURY MARINER.I FOUND OTHER COMPLAINTS. *TR

ABOUT FOUR WEEKS AGO I HAD NOTICED THAT THE GAS PEDAL OF MY CAR WAS ACTING STRANGELY; OCCASIONALLY, AS I WAS TRYING TO ACCELERATE FROM A STOPPED POSITION IT WOULDN'T WORK, OR "CATCH," RIGHT AWAY, AND I WOULD HAVE TO PUSH DOWN INCREASINGLY HARD UNTIL IT MOVED. I HAD AN APPOINTMENT AT MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP WHEN I WAS DRIVING HOME ONE FRIDAY, STOPPED AT A STOP LIGHT TO TURN LEFT, AND IT STALLED. I BROUGHT IT IN THE FOLLOWING MONDAY MORNING AND AFTER A COUPLE HOURS THE SERVICE ADVISOR AND TECHNICIAN TOLD ME I NEEDED A NEW THROTTLE BODY. THEY TESTED IT AND SAID THEY COULD SEE IT "STICKING." HOWEVER, AND THIS IS WHERE MY COMPLAINT COMES IN, THEY TOLD ME A NEW PART WOULDN'T COME IN RIGHT AWAY AS IT WAS ON BACKORDER AND THERE WERE 48,000 ORDERS BESIDES MINE! IT HAS SINCE BEEN 3 WEEKS SINCE THAT VISIT WITH NO NEW PART AND NO EXPECTED DATE, AND THE SERVICE ADVISOR TOLD ME TODAY WHEN I CALLED THAT THERE WERE CLOSE TO 750,000 ORDERS FOR THIS THROTTLE BODY BECAUSE IT'S THE SAME PART USED IN MANY DIFFERENT VEHICLE MAKE AND MODELS. REGARDLESS, MY CAR IS PROGRESSIVELY GETTING WORSE. WHEN I PUSH THE GAS PEDAL I MORE FREQUENTLY GET NO ACTION AND AT TIMES IT NOW ALSO ACCELERATES UNNATURALLY FAST, ALMOST JUMPS, THEN QUICKLY RETURNS TO NORMAL. YESTERDAY THE PEDAL REQUIRED SO MUCH FORCE BEFORE THE CAR MOVED THAT I THOUGHT IT HAD STALLED ON ME AGAIN, ONLY THIS TIME WHILE I WAS DRIVING IT. THE DEALERSHIP HAS TOLD ME THAT THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHEN THE PART COULD COME IN AND CANNOT GIVE ME A LOANER CAR FOR AN UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME, SO UNTIL THEN I AM DRIVING AROUND IN UNRELIABLE VEHICLE, NEVER QUITE SURE HOW IT'S GOING TO ACT. IT INFURIATES ME THAT THERE ARE SO MANY OF THESE PARTS ON BACK ORDER, AND YET A RECALL WAS NEVER ISSUED. HAD THERE BEEN A RECALL WHEN THE OTHER THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HAD ISSUES I WOULD NOT HAVE TO SIT AROUND WAITING, WHILE FEELING LIKE I'M PUTTING MY OWN LIFE IN DANGER. *TR