2002 Mercury Mountaineer from North America - Comments

We bought the Mountaineer in 2003, it was one year old with 38,000 miles on it. Immediately, I noticed it just didn't shift as smoothly as my last car (98 Ford Explorer). We brought it in within 4 months of buying so that if it was a transmission problem, it could be fixed under our extended warranty. They did a "transmission pack" and sent us on our way. One year later, warranty expired, and it's even rougher than before. It takes about 10 seconds to shift into reverse. The dealer just called and told us that they will have to rebuild the transmission - a $4,200 dollar job. However, (and this was news to me) because these cars seem to be having a lot of transmission problems, Ford is paying half of it, and the dealer is eating some of the cost also. I will have to pay $1600 of it. Why didn't they catch the big problem last year before the warranty expired? I hate being at the mercy of auto service people. It also makes me wonder why Ford isn't paying for all of it if they admit something just isn't right with their transmissions?

The Ford dealer says I need to have my transmission rebuilt too. This is the second time I have brought it in for a transmission problem. The first time it was still under warranty and they replaced a switch or valve or something. Who would I contact to see if Ford would pay for part of this?

I own a Mountaineer and I started to hear weird creaking noises while in reverse. I pray that it's not the transmission. I will be doing an oil change in the trans, just to make sure the transmission is not giving out. thanks for the advice really helped.

I have a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer as well. 93,000 miles on it now, but the same thing is happening with the transmission on mine as well. Frustrating. Has anyone found out if Ford is willing to pay.

I have a 2003 merc mountaineer premier AWD which I purchased new. From the beginning the transmission was clunky and hesitated to shift gears. I mentioned this to the dealers service manager on numerious times and my problems were always explained away by the service mgr. The'' overdrive off" light andthe "check transmission" light receintly came on. Took the vehicle to the dealers service mgr. who ran some tests and informed me that I need a New transmission for the price of $4300. Is there any recall or fomoco help for this problem.

OK, so I bought a 2002 Mountaineer oh 9 days ago. It's a V8 with 91k miles. I get it home and everything seems to be fine until last night; and I'm driving home with 4 kids in the car and I get a check transmission light and O/D light is flickering. This happened the day we brought it home, and then it didn't happen again so I turned the car off and it reset itself. So I did that and kept driving because I was an hour away from home. So then I get a transmission overheated. So I get it home in a hurry and call hubby and give him the news.

So we call up dealership where we got it this morning and they call us back and tell us that they are coming to get car and tow it to them; they are going to give us a rental while they put a new transmission in the car. How awesome is that?

So they floated the bill for everything, and I'll have you know we live an hour and half away from where we got the car.

I just thought I would let others know of the problems with my transmission also. So now I am driving a 2008 Toyota Sienna. Yuck!! LOL.

I just had my 2002 mountaineer, 88,000 miles, towed to the dealership and was told that the transmission was so full of shavings that the fluid was silver. This is a truck that never even towed anything and is driven primarily by my wife. It started shifting hard and then later that day just stopped. The next day when I started it, the transimission whined like a dry, worn out power steering pump. I hope Ford will help with some of the cost for this.

I bought a 2002 Mountaineer in 2004 & I also had to replace the transmission TWICE! & what do you know... Now it needs a new engine that's going to cost another $3,400.00 So it's been sitting in my driveway for about a yr & I am still making the $475.00/month car payments! I'm glad I'm not alone with all these problems that these others are having.

I have a 2002 I bought in 2004 used with 20,000 miles on it. Had a problem the first week shifting hard they worked on the bands. I had to take it back and they made adjustments. Nov 2007 between 40 to 45 MPH it would bump a few times once over the speed it would be fine. Went to the dealer they told me new transmission for over $4,000.

I purchased a 2002 Mountaineer in August 2005 with 50 thousand miles on it. As soon as I bought it I had to get a new heat shield. One year after having my truck, a belt inside the transmission broke. My truck would shift into the gears very rough and I would get my check transmission light and O/D light. Took it in and that is when I found out it was a broken belt. That cost me $1200.00. Maybe 6 months after that the same lights were coming on, but the truck wasn't acting like it did before. About a month ago it started shifting really hard again, only this time getting stuck in 1st gear. I took it in and have to have the transmission rebuilt. The case was also all jacked up. This is going to cost me $1900.00. There have been several other breaks which would total another $1000.00 at least. I wish I would have looked at these sites before I bought it. I will definatly research before my next car. I owned a ford focus before this truck and it was a lemon! Brand new car, and it was in the shop more than I could drive it! I will never purchase another ford. I contacted ford and told them how unhappy I was and asked for their help. They emailed me back and asked what I would like them to do and I asked for help paying for this since there were so many problems with a lot of people and they never responded! Think twice before you buy a ford.

I am yet another 2002 Mountaineer owner (V8 AWD).

Initially noted that the transmission was loud with a sound similar to grinding in a way. Took it is to checked. I was told it needed a new torque converter. Had the work done @ $1200. 1 month later the trannny gave way. Took it back to same dealer service. Tell me I need a new transmission. $4200. This dealer service company have all the different autos and the service they do is atrocious.

I was livid. Engine had 77000 highway miles. Ultimately took it somewhere and had a rebuilt trans put in. But now again with 107,000 miles it is fluttering between 35-40 miles per hour, but at the higher speeds then it is fine.

I truly have no confidence that I can drive, knowing sooner or later I will break down again.

Imagine all the owners we have not heard from.

Wish there was recourse.

I am an owner of a 2003 Mountaineer. Bought it early this year and started hearing these same sounds as everyone else. I got a really good deal on the Mountaineer, which allowed me to buy a warranty with it. As soon as my wife and I heard these sounds, we took it into the shop. A man rode in it with me to hear the sounds, and we put it into drive and reverse several times. It would go into drive OK, but made the sounds. When you put it into reverse, it wouldn't engage until the gas was applied. The man said he was going to drop the pan and if there was any sign of shavings, then he was going to put in a new transmission. He called me that day and said he ordered the new transmission. Thank god we bought the warranty or we would be in a world of hurt right now. If I've learned anything with this, it is to always get a warranty if you can. We will see how things go.

I purchased a 2002 mountaineer in June of 2005, in the beginning everything was fine. I have had to replace all the wheel bearings, and now I am having major clucking noise with the front end, either the transmission, transfer case or the front differential. It looks like either way I am in a world of hurt, because I cannot afford the repairs.

I purchased a 2002 Mountaineer in November of 2007. It ran well for about 6 weeks then I started to have problems with the transmission and had to replace it.

In November, I started to have problems with the vibrations, shimmering and whining from the front of the vehicle and had to replace the front differential. Then, the rear differential had to be replaced.

After over $3000 spent, it is still no better.

As with others who have had similar experiences, I am totally dissatisfied with this vehicle and will get rid of it as soon as I can.

Needless to say, I will never purchase another Ford.

I'm 21 and I recently bought a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer about a year ago with only 50,000 miles on it. It was a steal cuz I only paid 7,000 for it with nothing wrong with it.. except it didn't come with a warranty. Then about two months later I start hearing the same rough noise everyone else does... it sucks cuz I can't afford a warranty let alone anything fixed on it.. I work 40 hours a week at 10 a hour, but I'm still screwed... seriously, Mercury should have had a recall because this is total BS... every one I see has the same noise and it's tearing the car up...