2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid

I WAS DRIVING MY 2006 MERCURY MARINER HYBRID DOWN THE ROAD GOING APPROXIMATELY 35-40 MPH. THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF AND THE DASH READ STOP SAFELY NOW. I COULD STILL STEER AND BRAKE. IT WOULD NOT RESTART RIGHT AWAY. I TRIED RESTARTING IN ABOUT A HALF AN HOUR AND IT STARTED. I THEN DROVE FOR APPROXIMATELY 100 YARDS AND THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF AGAIN AND THE SAME DASH READING . I FINALLY AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO GETBACKHOMEWITHTHISHAPPENINGABOUTEVERY100YARDS.IHADTHECARTOWEDTOMYLOCALMECHANICANDWASTOLDTHATINEEDEDTOCONTACTFORDDEALERSHIPBECAUSE:RECALLSUBJECT:MOTORELECTRONICSCOOLANTPUMPFAILUREREPORTRECEIPTDATE:SEP03,2014NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V526000 COMPONENT(S): HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM POTENTIAL NUMBER OF UNITS AFFECTED: 70,209 ALL PRODUCTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS RECALL VEHICLE MAKE MODEL MODEL YEAR(S) FORD ESCAPE 2005-2008 MERCURY MARINER 2006-2008DETAILSMANUFACTURER: FORD MOTOR COMPANYSUMMARY:FORD MOTOR COMPANY (FORD) IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2005-2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES MANUFACTURED OCTOBER 13, 2003, TO JUNE 20, 2008, AND 2006-2008 MERCURY MARINER HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES MANUFACTURED JUNE 10, 2005, TO JUNE 20, 2008. THE COOLANT PUMP FOR THE HYBRID SYSTEM MAY FAIL RESULTING IN THE HYBRID ELECTRONICS OVERHEATING. CONSEQUENCE:IF THE HYBRID ELECTRONICS SYSTEM OVERHEATS, IT MAY SHUT DOWN THE POWERTRAIN, RESULTING IN A STALL-LIKE CONDITION, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.REMEDY:FORD WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND REPLACE THE ORIGINAL MOTOR ELECTRONICS COOLANT (MEC) PUMP WITH AN IMPROVED BRUSHLESS PUMP, FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OCTOBER 27, 2014. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE AT 1-866-436-7332. FORD'S NUMBER FORTHISRECALLIS14S19.NOTES:OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETYADMINISTRATIONVEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GOTOWWW.SAFERCAR.GOV. *TR

MY SON WAS DRIVING TO HIS WORK AS AN EMT. I ALLOWED HIM TO USE MY MARINER. TRAVELING APPROX 65MPH ON THE 5 FREEWAY SOUTH IN SUNLAND, HE HEARD THE ROD GO AND SAW THE LIGHTS ON THE DASH INDICATE THE ENGINE OVERHEATING. HE PULLED OFF THE 5 FREEWAY AND PARKED WEAR IT WAS SAFE AND CALLED FOR HELP. I HAD AAA PICKUP THE VEHICLE AND BRING IT TO THE MECHANIC IN WESTLAKE VILLAGE CA. THEY INDICATED TO ME THAT THE ENGINE HAD THROWN A ROD AND WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. THEY THOUGHT IT MIGHT HAVE RUN OUT OF OIL OR SOMETHING ELSE, BUT BOTTOM LINE WAS THAT THE ENGINE WAS DESTROYED. THEY QUOTED ME A PRICE OF $15,000 MINIMUM TO FIX, SO I HAD IT TOWED TO MY DRIVEWAY WHERE IT HAS REMAINED SINCE. IT WASN'T' FOR 10 MONTHS LATER WE WOULD GET ANY INDICATION THAT SOMETHING ELSE MIGHT HAVE CAUSED THIS TO HAPPEN. I LAST SERVICED MY MARINER IN MARCH & MAY OF 2013. MY NEW CONCERN PUTTING 2+2 TOGETHER, IS THAT THOUGH THE CAR WAS DUE FOR AN OIL CHANGE, COULD THIS CATASTROPHIC EVENT HAVE BEEN DUE TO THE OVERHEATED COOLANT SYSTEM THAT AS YET HADN'T BEEN RECALLED? ID LIKE TO SEE IF ANY OTHER MERCURY/FORD CUSTOMERS EXPERIENCED THIS. *TR

DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, VEHICLE SUDDENLY SHUT DOWN AND DISPLAYED A "STOP SAFELY NOW" MESSAGE ON THE LCD AND A WARNING LIGHT ON THE DASH. THE ENGINE JUST SHUT OFF COMPLETELY, NO ELECTRIC DRIVE EITHER. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CONDITION. THIS HAPPENED TWICE. VEHICLE RESTARTED WITHIN A MINUTE AND OPERATED NORMALLY FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE MERCURY MARINER AND FORD ESCAPE VERSIONS OF THIS VEHICLE. THERE IS EXTENSIVE DOCUMENTATION OF THIS ISSUE HERE: HTTP://WWW.GREENHYBRID.COM/DISCUSS/F26/STOP-SAFELY-NOW-11900/ APPARENTLY, MOST OF THESE CASES ARE CAUSED BY FAILING COOLING PUMPS. I JUST DON'T SEE HOW FORD COULD THINK TO PROGRAM A VEHICLE TO JUST SHUT DOWN BECAUSE A COMPONENT WAS OVERHEATING? HOW ABOUT A WARNING LIGHT AND TONE? *TR