2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 MERCURY MARINER HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE LOSS MOTIVE POWER AND STALLED WITH AN UNKNOWN WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO ANDY MOHR FORD LOCATED AT 2713 E. MAIN ST, PLAINFIELD, IN 46168 HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 87,000.

HAD THE THROTTLE BODY FIXED ONCE TWO MONTHS AGO BECAUSE I WAS GOING 45, MY SUV. HAZARD LIGHT CAME ON AND IT SAID TO SLOW DOWN AND PULL OVER SAFELY. THEN IT HAS HAPPENED THREE MORE TIMES SINCE I GOT IT FIXED, MY SUV IS IN THE SHOP AGAIN, I PAID 845 LAST TIME AND I STILL HAVE $15,000 LEFT TO PAY ON MY CAR. I CAN'T AFFORD TO KEEP PAYING TO GET THIS FIXED, LET ALONE THE SAFETY ISSUE.THE LADY TWO TIMES IT HAPPENED I HAD MY BABY IN THE CAR ON THE FREEWAY AND I WAS IN THE MIDDLE LANE AND IT WAS RAINING... IT WAS FRIGHTENING. *TR

WHILE MY WIFE WAS DRIVING OUR 2008 MERCURY HYBRID MARINER ON A HIGHWAY AT A SPEED OF APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH, A WARNING LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASH (RED TRIANGLE WITH AND EXCLAMATION POINT) AND THE VEHICLE BEGAN SLOWING DOWN IN A MANNER THAT PREVENTED HER FROM CONTROLLING THE SPEED OF THE VEHICLE. MY WIFE, FORTUNATELY, WAS ABLE TO PULL TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE FORD DEALERSHIP'S DIAGNOSTIC TEST REVEALED A FAULTY ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY AND THE DEALERSHIP RECOMMENDED IMMEDIATE REPLACEMENT FOR SAFETY REASONS. I UNDERSTAND THAT AS A RESULT OF SIMILAR ISSUES WITH FORD ESCAPE AND MERCURY MARINER MODELS, THROUGH A CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAM, FORD VOLUNTARILY HAS EXTENDED WARRANTY WORK FOR SOME ESCAPE AND MARINER VEHICLES. THE VIN FOR OUR 2008 MERCURY HYBRID MARINER, HOWEVER, WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THIS PROGRAM. I SPOKE WITH A REPRESENTATIVE AND WITH A SUPERVISOR FROM FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE (800-392-3673), AND THE SUPERVISOR REPORTED THAT FORD IS NOT IN A POSITION TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE WITH RESPECT TO MY VEHICLE, BECAUSE THERE IS NOT ENOUGH DATA TO INCLUDE MY VEHICLE WITHIN THE VOLUNTARY CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAM. *TR

DRIVING HOME FROM WORK AT 6 PM ON MONDAY AND I WAS GOING 35 MPH AND THE SUV HAZARD LIGHT CAME ON AND THEN SAID "PULL OVER SAFELY NOW" AND I LOST POWER AND COULDN'T ACCELERATE. IM GLADE I WASN'T ON THE FREEWAY. TOOK MY SUV INTO FORD AND THEY SAID IT WAS THE THROTTLE BODY. THEY ARE FIXING IT NOW $845 LATER IM HOPING ITS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN, BUT WHAT I HAVE READ TO A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE FIXED THEIRS, THE PROBLEM PERSISTS. IM NOT FEELING VERY COMFORTABLE DRIVING MY SUV ON THE FREEWAY, AND I HAVE TO DRIVE IT ON THERE 5 DAYS A WEEK FOR WORK. WASN'T EXPECTING THIS TO BE SUCH A BIG ISSUE, MAKES ME NOT WANT TO BUY ANOTHER FORD AGAIN.... THEY NEED TO RECALL THIS FOR 2008 ALSO NOT JUST THE NEWER VEHICLES. *TR

ENGINE SHUTS OFF AND DISPLAY SAYS TO PULL OFF ROAD. THIS HAS BEEN A ON GOING PROBLEM. THE DEALER REPLACED THE THROTTLE BODY AND IT STILL HAPPENS. IT IS VERY UNSAFE TO LOSE YOUR VEHICLE'S ACCELERATION AND HAVE THE ENGINE TURN OFF. I THINK IT MAY BE A COMPUTER CODE GLITCH BECAUSE BASED ON WHAT I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER THE ENGINE SHUTS OFF BECAUSE A FUEL MIXTURE ISSUE DETECT THAT MAY EVEN BE A FALSE READING. THIS AUTOMATED ACTION WITHIN THE VEHICLE BRAIN DECISION PUTS MANY AT RISK AS I FOUND OUT WHEN I WAS IN THE FURTHEST LEFT LANE ABOUT A MILE BEFORE THE 55 FREEWAY TURN OFF WHILE TRAVELING SOUTH ON THE 91 FREEWAY WITH THE CAR SHUT OFF IT'S ENGINE. I LOST POWER AND NEEDED TO PULL OVER WHILE A CAR BEHIND ME WAS FLASHING THEIR HEADLIGHTS AND THE CAR TO MY RIGHT WAS SLOWLY PASSING ME UP. NEXT CAME A BIGGER CHALLENGE SINCE THERE WERE 2 BIG RIGS ON THE ROAD AND I HIT THE BRAKES A LITTLE WHILE SIGNALLING A LANE CHANGE WITH MY FLASHERS ON I MANAGED TO SQUEEZE BETWEEN THE TWO RIGS AND ALMOST CAUSED THE ONE BEHIND ME TO REAR END ME. THE BIG RIG IN TURN CAUSED THE CAR BEHIND TO BREAK AND THIS ALMOST LEAD TO A PILE UP. THAT INTERSECTION ON THE FREEWAY WHERE THE 55 FREEWAY BEGINS ON YOUR LEFT LANES AND THE 91 FREEWAYS CONTINUES ON THE RIGHT IS A VERY DANGEROUS PLACE TO HAVE TO NEGOTIATE A PULL OVER. IT IS COMPOUNDED WITH A ENTRY RAMP WITH CARS TRYING TO QUICKLY GET INTO THE LEFT 2 LANES IN ORDER TO GET ONTO THE 55 FREEWAY. I DO NOT SEE A REASON TO HAVE YOUR VEHICLE TURN ITSELF OF FOR ANY REASON OTHER THAN A FIRE OR A VERY SERIOUS SAFELY ISSUE. BASED ON WHAT I KNOW THE COMPUTER OF MY VEHICLE PUTS PEOPLE IN DANGER OVER A POSSIBLE ISSUE WITH THE SMOG POLLUTION BEING TOO EXCESSIVE FOR THE MOMENT. *TR

WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE SHUTS OFF WITH A RED TRIANGLE AND THE DISPLAY SAYS TO PULL OFF SAFELY. THIS HAS HAPPENED ABOUT 6 TIMES ALREADY. I HAVE TAKEN IT BACK TO THE FORD DEALER AND THEY REPLACED THE THROTTLE BODY BECAUSE THERE IS A SENSOR THAT FAILS IN THE UNIT AND THEY EXPLAINED THE FACTORY CALIBRATES THE WHOLE UNIT WITH A STEEP PRICE TAG. LUCKY I STILL HAVE 5000 MILES TILL WARRANTY EXPIRES. I GUESS A NUMBER OF TIMES IT WAS NOT A BIG DEAL TO PULL OVER ON THE SHOULDER AND RESTART THE VEHICLE AND CARRY ON. THIS LAST TIME WE HAD SERVICE DONE TO THE VEHICLE I INFORMED THE FORD SERVICE AGENT THAT WE WERE GOING ON A LONG TRIP AND IF WE SHOULD GET A RENTAL. HE WAS CONFIDENT THE WORK THEY PERFORMED WOULD RESOLVE THE SHUT DOWN ISSUE. WE LEFT LA AND WENT ON OUR WAY TO BISHOP FOR A GROUP HIKING TRIP. THE MARINER RAN FINE FOR 3/4 OF THE WAY AND AGAIN WHILE DRIVING ON A 2 LANE ROAD THE MARINER SHUTS OFF. I NEGOTIATED TO THE RIGHT AS MY SPEED WAS DECLINING AND A 18 WHEELER WAS PASSING ME UP ON THE RIGHT AND THE CAR BEHIND ME WAS GAINING ON MY REAR. IT WAS A BIT SCARY BUT WE MANAGED TO PULL OVER SAFELY. UPON TURNING OFF THE MARINER IGNITION AND RESTARTING WE CARRIED ON TO THE DESTINATION. IT WAS RAINING AND A ROAD CONDITIONS WERE NOT THE BEST BUT WE DID NOT WANT TO BE STRANDED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. ONCE AGAIN AFTER DRIVING FOR 10 MINUTES THE MARINER SHUT OFF AND WITH THE LOSS OF POWER. NOT A SAFE SITUATION TO HAVE YOUR ENGINE SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING IN A FREEWAY AT SPEED OF 65 AND TO SUDDENLY LOSS YOUR ENGINE WITH NO ABILITY TO ACCELERATE OUT OF A UNSAFE SITUATION. IT COULD BE VERY DANGEROUS IF WE WERE TRAVELING ON A WINDY SINGLE LANE ROAD WITHOUT A SHOULDER AS THERE ARE A BUNCH IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS WHERE WE HIKE. IT WOULD NOT BE SAFE TO STOP AND DEAL WITH THIS SITUATION AS CARS ARE COMING UP A HILL AND YOUR TRYING TO RESET THE IGNITION COMPUTER SYSTEM. *TR

ON THE FREEWAY WITH CRUISE CONTROL ON AT 70 MPH IN THE FAST LANE THE MOTOR UNEXPECTEDLY STOPS AND THE "PULL OVER SAFELY LIGHT" CAME ON. THIS CAUSED A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION CAUSING ME TO MOVE OVER FOUR LANES TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD. AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS COMPLETELY STOPPED AND PUT IN PARK THE MOTOR RESTARTED. OVER THE LAST THREE MONTHS THIS HAS HAPPENED THREE TIMES. *TR

PCM, "STOP SAFELY NOW" & SHUT-DOWN PROBLEM AND I HAVE A RED TRIANGLE ILLUMINATED ON THE CLUSTER ACCOMPANIED BY AN AUDIBLE CHIME. IN ADDITION, THE MESSAGE CENTER WILL INDICATE "STOP SAFELY NOW" AND THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE WILL COMMAND THE VEHICLE TO SHUT DOWN. THIS IS WHERE EVER YOU ARE AND IT HAPPENS REALLY QUICKLY IT IS FOR SURE A SAFETY HAZARD.... I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS HAS NOT BEEN RECALLED, SINCE SO MANY HAVE REPORTED THE SAME PROBLEMS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS. *TR

WHILE TRAVELING ON THE OPEN HWY @ 75MPH, I SUDDENLY GOT "PULL OVER SAFELY NOW" MESSAGE ON THE INFO CENTER OF THE DASH AND A RED TRIANGLE ALERT ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE DASH. I PULLED OVER IMMEDIATELY. STOPPED THE CAR, TURNED OFF THE IGNITION AND WAITED A MOMENT. I THEN STARTED THE CAR, ALL SEEMED FINE (NO MESSAGE) AND PROCEEDED. A SHORT TIME LATER, THE EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN. I PULLED OFF THE HWY AND REPEATED THE STEPS ABOVE. THE CAR WAS RIDING WELL AND SMOOTHLY WITH NO APPARENT PROBLEMS. BUT, THE LONGER I DROVE, THE MORE FREQUENTLY THE PROBLEM OCCURRED. I WAS ONLY ABLE TO DRIVE FOR A FEW MINUTES BEFORE THE DASH BOARD WARNING WOULD REAPPEAR. I PULLED INTO THE NEAREST FORD DEALERSHIP TO GET THE PROBLEM RESOLVED. I HAVE BEEN TOLD IT IS THE THROTTLE BODY AND AM CURRENTLY WAITING FOR THE PROBLEM TO BE RESOLVED. *TR