2002 Mercury Mountaineer AWD V8 with luxury package V8 4.6 Liter from North America
Summary:
I wish I would've done more research
Faults:
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.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 12th October, 2006
18th Feb 2007, 20:20
Wow, that's pretty crazy! I read your review and we're in similar boats... I previously owned a Grand Am and also bought a 2002 V8 Mountaineer. It's been OK at best. Minor problems for the most part, but the transmission is definitely fishy. Does not shift smoothly at all. I had it reprogrammed once. Now I get a popping sound as I go around a corner which sounds like a drivetrain thing. When the car is cold it slams into gear from a stop. I won't buy another and I'll probably trade this one in.