28th Jul 2005, 11:44

I have 46,000 miles on my '02 Mountaineer and just replaced the water pump. On other cars I've owned, the water pump has lasted 100K. Is this anything to be concerned about?

22nd Aug 2005, 21:17

I will take my 2002 Mountaineer in the morning for the 4th time since May with transmission problems. I am glad to have come here because they have continually told me there are no problems with the 02 transmissions and this has to be a fluke!

13th Oct 2005, 00:06

My Mountaineer has been at the dealer for one month today. In between I have had it for a few days here and there, but it's always the same thing. When the trans is cold it shutters when it shifts. Anyone who has resolved this problem please let me know.

6th Jan 2006, 16:53

I purchased my '02 Mountaineer used last month. My wife loves all the features and it's a pleasure to drive. Unfortunately I just had to replace both wheel bearings yesterday. I'll keep you posted on any other maintenance issues that come up.

19th Jan 2006, 19:37

We have suffered through owning our 2002 Mountaineer for 4 years. It has been in for service on all of the issues each of you have mentioned here - many times. We have had the transmission replaced twice, both times under warranty, although it is doing the same this again, and I have been told it will cost us about $1,400 to repair. We have had bearings replaced twice, and on and on and on...

Ford has not adequately addressed these problems and tries to deny them. I have no respect for the Ford organization at this point in time.

27th Jan 2006, 09:05

I've owned my 2002 mountaineer for 7 months, it has 38000 miles and the tranny just went. Apparently, there are problems with the transmission which aren't being addressed. I'm still waiting to see if the dealership is going to cover it. Any suggestions.

15th Mar 2006, 07:56

Our 2002 Mercury Mountaineer has given us many problems in the nearly 4 years we've owned it. We have had wonderful experiences will all of our past Ford vehicles (Fairmont, Escort, Tempo, F150, and 2-Explorers) --many of which we put on more than 200k miles. With our Mountaineer, we felt that from day one that the transmission did not work like it should. In January, we broke down on a road trip and had the solenoid replaced. Now it seems as though the transmission is slipping with the RPM going up over 4,000 while on the freeway and sometimes when it's in Drive, it acts like it's in neutral.

22nd Mar 2006, 14:41

I have owned my All Wheel Drive 2002 Mercury Mountaineer since May 14, 2004. It was a pure delight to have the vehicle. November 2004 the vehicle cut off on me. I took it back to the dealer I purchased it from used. I found out through diagnosis that a 'solenoid' needed to be replaced. I shelled out the monies for the repair. The car ran slightly better however, I could still feel the slight jerky pause to shift change in this automatic vehicle. As of this past Sunday, March 19, 2006 my vehicle would not go past 20 MPH without a demanding flooring of the accelerator. I decided to park my Mountaineer and have AAA take it to a local repair shop. I am none delighted to inform you that a new transmission in the amount of $2400 is recommended. So no doubt you can tell I am sick to my stomach and have to pay for this vehicle through late 2008. Good Luck to you other owners I am praying some other dealership will offer a deal to take my large jug of LEMON off my hands.

21st Apr 2006, 18:28

We purchased a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer in Jan 2006 and we have a real bad rattling noise it sounds like someone is shaking a can under the car. The rattle sounds like it is coming from under the passenger side up front. We took it to a Ford dealership and we were told it is the Torque Converter, then the Catalytic Converter, and the Flywheel. All of theses items have been replaced and the noise is still there. You can hear the rattle when you put it in reverse and drive and as you go into certain gears, but not in park or neutral. Does this sound like it could be a transmission problem?

21st Apr 2006, 20:33

This noise is usually the cat converter heat shield. It is a 2 part shield designed to protect the carpet in the passenger side from burning. The lower half is there to prevent grass fires, in case you park on a grassy surface. I've had 2 Ford trucks, and both of them gave me this problem. Catalytic converters work by super heating the exhaust, which helps achieve a more complete burning of exhaust, hence lowering emissions. Some shields are welded together, some bolted. My first one was welded, so I just kept working it back, and forth until the lower half ripped loose, solving the rattle problem. The one I have now has the bolted kind. Upon inspection, I noticed 2 of the 4 bolts were missing. After replacing the 2 missing bolts... no more noise.

28th Apr 2006, 22:18

Hello from Gibsonville, NC. I was considering the purchase of a Mountaineer to pull my jet ski, but now after reading the comments here, I think I will just keep working on my super reliable Mazda b4000 2wd pickup. Or maybe get a pathfinder...4runner??? I like the mountaineer's looks and the features, but don't think I would want to shell out thousands of dollars to keep replacing transmissions... come on Ford, get it together! How can you build the awesome f150 but have these types of issues with the Mountaineer???

25th May 2006, 08:16

I purchased my 2002 Mountaineer in September, 2001. It was in the dealer’s shop several times due to a shuddering problem when shifting. I was told that it was a combination of an engine (coil) problem and a transmission problem. I finally got fed up when the car reached 35,500 miles with continuing problems. Since the car was about to go off warranty, I left the car at the dealer and told them to keep it until it was repaired. They kept it for 23 days. The service manager drove it home at night after each “repair.” When I got it back, it ran well.

Now, at 74,000 miles, I am having problems again with the transmission “shuddering.” I took it in a month ago and paid $50 for a computer check and was told that everything was fine! I took it back yesterday and a mechanic with a diagnostic computer rode with me and gathered data on the problem. I am scheduled to bring the car in for transmission repair. My plan is to get the car repaired and then get rid of it. I love the car except for the transmission problems. I was planning to buy another Mountaineer or Explorer, but I do not want to go through this again. (By the way, I love my 1999 Ford F-150 and have spent less than $100 in repairs in 7 years.)