2002 Mercury Mountaineer AWD V8 with luxury package review from North America
"I wish I would've done more research"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Where do I begin? I bought my Mountaineer in March of 2005. It had 34,000 miles on it and thankfully was a pre-owned certified vehicle. My problems began in September of the same year.
Sept-05: Heard a loud pop and then lost some of the power with transmission. Keeping the speed below 25 mph, I was able to drive it the three miles to the dealer I purchase it from. I was told the trans-band broke and caused some internal damage. My portion of the cost was only $100 (deductible amount). The dealer billed Ford $1600.
Oct-05: Took it back to the dealer. The car didn't seem to be driving as it was before. The shifting was erratic at best. They couldn't find a problem so I picked it up a few days later.
Jan-06: The car started stalling on me when the car was in idle. Stopped at a red light, stopped in traffic jam or just warming with the car still in park; didn't matter. Also, I still wasn't happy with the way the transmission was operating. The stalling problem was blamed on the idle air control motor. $200 to fix and the stalling problem was solved.
Mar-06: The stalling has returned and the overall performance of the car is horrible. Some days are good some are bad. Took back to the dealer. After two weeks I was told to come pick up my Mountaineer. They couldn't find anything wrong with it.
July-06: The car is hesitant when shifting...again. This type the solenoid and the valve body was replaced. $1400.00 billed to Ford, $100 deductible billed to me. No resolution with the stalling.
July-06: Same day I picked up the car, the erratic shifting happened again. This time it was accompanied by hard down shifting.
Oct-06: I took it to a different dealership who was able to find the stalling problem. PFE Sensor was bad as well as the micro-processor. Once the micro-processor was replaced, the Trans passed all test.
Oct-06: Day one after pickup. Still stalling and shifting erratically.
I'm at a loss here. I love the truck, but have never had so many problems with any other vehicle.
General comments?
Love the car, hate the engine.
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| Stressful |
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| Cheap |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Don't Know |
| Model year | 2002 |
| Year of manufacture | 2002 |
| First year of ownership | 2005 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2006 |
| Engine and transmission | V8 4.6 Liter Automatic |
| Performance marks | 4 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 4 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 8 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 1 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 3 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 34000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 68200 miles |
| Previous car | Pontiac Grand Am |
| Date of Entry | 12th October, 2006 |