2008 Mercury Mariner

WHEN TAKING THIS VEHICLE IN FOR RECALL SERVICE FORD # 14S05 (NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V284000), THE REPROGRAMMING OF THE ELECTRONIC POWER ASSIST STEERING WAS DONE, BUT WAS TOLD THE STEERING SHAFT AND LOWER U-JOINT WAS FAULTY AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE RECALL INDICATES FAILED COMPONENTS WILL BE REPLACED, BUT UPON INQUIRY AT THE DEALER (BRONDES, TOLEDO, OHIO) I WAS TOLD IT ONLY APPLIED TO ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS--NOT MECHANICAL ONES. THE WEAR ON THESE COMPONENTS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE TORQUE SENSING DEVICE IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY. THIS SEEMS TO BE ME TO BE FORD NOT WANTING TO MEET ITS FINANCIAL OBLIGATION TO FIX THIS ENTIRE RECALL. THIS WAS A NEW DESIGN INTRODUCED IN THIS MODEL YEAR AND IT IS ONLY NOW STARTING TO FAIL. I ASKED THE DEALER ABOUT ASSISTANCE WITH THE REPAIR AND WAS DENIED; AND I CALLED THE FORD HOTLINE AND WAS SIMILARLY DENIED ASSISTANCE WITH THE REPAIR, BUT ADVISED TO RETAIN MY RECEIPTS IN CASE THERE WAS FURTHER ACTION ON THIS RECALL. THE INTERNET HAS SEVERAL REFERENCES TO THIS TYPE OF FAILURE/REPAIR. I THINK THEY ARE DIRECTLY LINKED. *TR

TL- THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 MERCURY MARINER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE, THE POWER STEERING WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED. THE FAILURE CAUSED THE CONTACT TO USE EXCESSIVE FORCE TO MANEUVER THE STEERING WHEEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE STEERING COLUMN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 87,810. DJR

STARTED VEHICLE. DASH MESSAGE READ "POWER STEERING ASSIST FAILURE." NO POWER STEERING. AFTER DOING ONLINE RESEARCH (IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG TO FIND SIMILAR TO IDENTICAL COMPLAINTS), I FOUND THAT THERE WAS A STEERING RELATED RECALL PERTAINING TO THE VEHICLE (7/2014). TOOK VEHICLE TO LINCOLN-MERCURY DEALERSHIP FROM WHICH IT WAS PURCHASED NEW. THE DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT INFORMED ME THAT THE RECALL WORK HAD BEEN DONE THE LAST TIME WE HAD OUR OIL CHANGED OVER THE SUMMER, AND THAT THE RECALL HAD BEEN "CLOSED OUT".... WE WEREN'T INFORMED OF EITHER THE FACT THAT THERE WAS A RECALL IN THE FIRST PLACE, OR THAT THEY HAD "TAKEN CARE" OF IT. THE RECALL WORK WAS APPARENTLY TO "REPROGRAM" SOME "MODULE" TO SIMPLY MAKE THE DRIVER AWARE THAT SOMETHING HAS GONE AWRY WITH THE POWER STEERING (NO KIDDING). THE ULTIMATE DIAGNOSIS: THE VEHICLE NEEDS A NEW STEERING COLUMN AT A COST OF NEARLY $1,300.00 AS THE "TORQUE SENSOR" HAS FAILED. IT IS APPARENT TO ME AND MANY OTHERS THAT THE RECALL HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH REPAIR OF THE FAILED COMPONENT, WHICH IS NOT SUCH AN "UNLIKELY EVENT"....ALSO, THE FAILURE OF THE COMPONENT IS NOT A MATTER OF IMPROPER MAINTENANCE AS COULD BE THE CASE WITH TYPICAL POWER STEERING SYSTEMS...IT JUST FAILS. THE FAILURE OF THE COMPONENT(S) IS HOWEVER A PRETTY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE I WOULD THINK. I WILL MAKE THE DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT AWARE OF THIS, AND CONTINUE TO FIND OUT WHY THESE REPAIRS SHOULD NOT BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MANUFACTURER. BY THE WAY, MILEAGE WAS 87,810 WHEN THIS HAPPENED. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 MERCURY MARINER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE STEERING WHEEL WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE THE TECHNICIAN RESET THE STEERING CODE TO REMEDY THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 MERCURY MARINER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH, THE POWER STEERING FAILED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS PREVIOUSLY REPAIRED UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V284000 (STEERING). THE FAILURE RECURRED ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED A POWER STEERING FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 120,000.

TL- THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 MERCURY MARINER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS SERVICED UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 14V284000 (STEERING), THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED AND THE POWER STEERING WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER, WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE STEERING COLUMN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 132,000. DJR UPDATED 02/24/15*LJ UPDATED 9/13/2017*CN

THIS IS REFERENCE TO NHTSA ID NUMBER: 10653141. I DISCOVERED THE JULY 1, 2014 FORD'S SAFETY RECALL 14S05 NOTICE TO ALL US FORD DEALERS. ON PAGE 6 A QUESTION AND ANSWER FOR THE FORD DEALERS FROM FORD'S SERVICE ENGINEERING OPERATIONS, REVEALS FORD NEVER ATTENDED THE REPROGRAMMING THE MODULES TO FIX THE SAFETY RECALL FOR ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING FOR ESCAPES AND MARINERS 2008-2011 MODELS. THIS IS THE EXCERPTS FROM THIS DOCUMENT TILTED JULY 1, 2014 TO: ALL US FORD AND LINCOLN DEALERS SUBJECT SAFETY RECALL 14S05. Q3. WHAT DOES THE SOFTWARE UPDATES DO? A. THE SOFTWARE UPDATES MAY EXTEND THE TIME STEERING ASSIST IS MAINTAINED. IN ADDITION, THE UPDATE PROVIDES INCREASED DRIVER AWARENESS BY SOUNDING A CHIME AND DISPLAYING THE WRENCH LIGHT OR WARNING IN THE MESSAGE CENTER WHEN A FAULT IS DETECTED. Q4. WHAT IF A CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES LOSS OF STEERING ASSIST AFTER THE MODULES HAVE BEEN REPROGRAMMED? A. THE MODULES WERE REPROGRAMMED TO PREVENT SUDDEN LOSS OF STEERING ASSIST WHILE DRIVING. ADDITIONALLY, THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER SOFTWARE UPDATE WILL PROVIDE AUDIBLE AND VISUAL INDICATIONS TO THE DRIVER IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT OF A TORQUE SENSOR FAULT. ANY SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF ASSIST REPAIRS EXPERIENCED AFTER COMPLETION OF MODULE REPROGRAMMING ARE NOT COVERED BY THIS RECALL. Q5. WHAT SHOULD I TELL A CUSTOMER WHO EXPERIENCES LOSS OF STEERING ASSIST AFTER THE RECALL HAS BEEN PERFORMED? A. THE MODULES WERE REPROGRAMMED TO PREVENT SUDDEN LOSS OF STEERING ASSIST WHILE DRIVING IN THE EVENT OF A TORQUE SENSOR FAULT. CUSTOMERS SHOULD BE ADVISED THAT THE REPLACEMENT OF THE STEERING COLUMN OR TORQUE SENSOR IS AT THEIR EXPENSE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 MERCURY MARINER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE APPROACHING A STOP SIGN, THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE TORQUE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS PREVIOUSLY REPAIRED UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V284000 (STEERING). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 110,000.

I STARTED LOSING POWER STEERING APPROXIMATELY ONCE A MONTH BUT COULD TURN MY CAR OFF AND IT WOULD RESTORE ITSELF. I TOOK MY CAR IN FOR THE RECALL ON JULY 29, 2014, AND EVERYTHING WAS FINE FOR A FEW MONTHS BUT THEN NOVEMBER 8, 2014, IT DID THE SAME THING AS BEFORE AND NOVEMBER 9, 2014, THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT COMPLETELY. I TOOK MY CAR TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP THAT DID THE RECALL AND THEY TOLD ME I NEEDED A NEW STEERING COLUMN. OBVIOUSLY THEIR REPROGRAMMING IN THE RECALL DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM AND HAVE SEEN THE SAME PROBLEM WITH OTHER PEOPLE. I KEEP GETTING THE RUN AROUND FROM CUSTOMER RELATIONS WHO TELLS ME THE DEALERSHIP NEEDS TO CALL THE RECALL EXEMPTION DEPARTMENT BUT WHEN I TELL THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT THEY ACT LIKE THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT AND THAT DUE TO MY VEHICLE HAVING SO MANY MILES THEY CAN'T HELP ME. IT ONLY HAS 5,000 MILES SINCE THE RECALL. THE DEALERSHIP EVEN TOLD ME THEY HAD ANOTHER MARINER DO THE SAME THING RECENTLY. FORD NEEDS TO OWN UP TO THEIR FAULTY STEERING IN THESE VEHICLES BEFORE PEOPLE GET SERIOUSLY INJURED DUE TO THIS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 MERCURY MARINER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REMEDY FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER 14V284000 (STEERING) WAS COMPLETED ON OCTOBER 31, 2014 AND THE DEALER UPDATED THE SOFTWARE FOR THE POWER STEERING CONTROL MODULE. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE THE POWER STEERING MALFUNCTIONED MAKING THE STEERING WHEEL VERY DIFFICULT TO TURN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE TORQUE SENSOR WAS FAULTY AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED BUT WOULD NOT REPAIR THE FAILURE AS PART OF THE RECALL. AFTER NOTIFYING THE MANUFACTURER, THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE REMEDY TO SATISFY THE RECALL HAD BEEN COMPLETED PREVIOUSLY WHEN THE DEALER UPDATED THE SOFTWARE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100.000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.