20th Aug 2009, 22:30

I have a 2002 Mountaineer V-8, which I purchased new on July 31, 2002, and yes I have rear end noise, but other than a few minor things, I have had no serious problems with the vehicle. Now I am knocking on wood and wondering if I should rush out and try to get in under the wire on the CARS program. The Mountaineer has 120k on it at this point in time, so I guess I should consider myself lucky. They must have built it on a Friday morning.

31st Aug 2009, 11:47

I bought a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer used in October 2007. Since then I've had the same transmission problems listed on this site from other owners. The solenoid in the tranny has been replaced and the master airflow sensor or whatever has been replaced. Now I have a front wheel bearing going bad and the tranny problem is back again. I really wish Ford would recall this problem. I'm still paying on this vehicle.

1st Sep 2009, 16:04

Well guess what? I have a 2001 Mercury Mountaineer with 147K on it, and today the O/D off light started blinking. The trans seems to shift fine, and I can switch the O/D off and on, and it works fine. I have been having some problem with the column shifter and it seems to be worn out a bit, and I’m having a hard time getting it to stay in the proper place. I did read that there is a column shifter sensor that can cause the O/D light to flash. Has anyone had this problem?

3rd Oct 2009, 19:32

I bought a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer V8; same problem, transmission, cat converter. Dealer should replace with no cost for the owner, because it's defective from manufacturer who made that transmision to never last...

Ford's warranty is sucks. Customers will suffer the expenses, embarrassing for Ford motor warranties, not all their workmanship is not guarantied 100%. You cannot blame the customer because of a defective transmission... Ford, please check how many thousands have this problem.. please recall this problem and fix the problem.

12th Oct 2009, 15:40

In January of 2004, we purchased a 2004 Mercury Mountaineer, and with only 42,000 miles we are experiencing the following problems: O/D light comes on and warning "check transmission", the vehicle's engine stops while on the freeway and you have to coast to a stop. Although it is an automatic, while driving up hill it sounds like it delays from shifting from 1st to 2nd. I have been a Ford person for many years but no more. I am very disappointed with the quality of the vehicle and in the future I will look elsewhere for a reliable mode of transportation.

11th Nov 2009, 16:09

Bought 2002 Mountaineer late 2003 with 30,000 on it from a dealer, we were told it was a demo. It has 119,000. In the last three years I only put 20,000 on the vehicle.

Now everything is going wrong. Latest today we were told our battery light is coming on because of the alternator, which we replaced in May of 2006. Are there any recalls on all these things I am reading about that have gone wrong with these vehicles, as I am sure I have paid for many of them?

23rd Nov 2009, 15:58

Bought the 2002 Mountaineer new from the dealer. Now with only 83000 miles the trans went. They said it's 3rd gear and the whole unit has to be replaced at a cost of approx 3500 dollars. The car is not under warranty any more, and there is no money from Ford to help fix the problem. Seems like a lot of people have this problem. Class action law suit.

7th Dec 2009, 20:52

Same issue with the wonderful transmission! I must have been stoned thinking I could get 200k out of an American vehicle! I wonder if I can convert my SUV to 2-wheel drive for the same amount as a new transmission? Seems the people with the 2-wheel drive version have never had a problem! hmmmmmm...

3rd Jan 2010, 01:41

I bought a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer V6. It has 100,800 miles on it, and has not given me major problems, but I'm going to do proper maintenance on it like check the transmission fluid and lubrication, but thanks, I will have to be more aware now for the future. I need this vehicle to last me at least 200,000 miles. I'll keep you guys updated.

3rd Jan 2010, 15:23

I have a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer with 82,000 miles on it. It is starting to give me a lot of problems and cost me money.

I have had several problems with wheel bearings, rust, power steering pump, and now both rear windows have stopped operating, and they both need a window regulator.

4th Jan 2010, 21:05

I bought a 2005 Mountaineer new in 2006. It was a left over model with the 4.0 AWD luxury package. I have had great luck with it so far. I average around 19-20 mpg on the highway cruising at 70-75.

The only real problems that I have experienced have been the air bag light just came on, and the crank pulley became separated from the harmonic balancer.

I did have some weird shifting issues around 35,000. It would happen going up hills at 35mph.

I found a cylinder miss from a bad set of plug wires. The SUV would shake, and you would swear the transmission was going south.

I have a great service department with my home town Ford dealer.

12th Jan 2010, 22:46

I bought my 2002 Mercury Mountaineer used over a year ago. Maybe 98,000 miles. I took it in about a month after I bought it and had the brakes and rotors replaced, and the fuel injection flushed as it idled low sometimes and would die. At the same time I asked them to check the transmission as I felt it was slipping a little (what does a woman know anyway?)... they said they didn't experience the slipping and nothing was wrong with it.

Throughout the past year I have had the occasional 'shutter' and slight slipping from time to time. The slow idle and stall came back once and I put in some fuel injection cleaner... that seemed to be a temporary fix. I also noticed a big difference in gas (now at 113,000 miles).

Today on my way home from work I couldn't get past 20 miles an hour and the RPM was racing. Kept driving it at 15- 20 miles an hour down the shoulder of the road trying to get to a nearby friends house. When I got to a two lane road (rather than hold up rush hour traffic), I decided to let off the gas, waited a second and then punched it. It ran fine the rest of the way although the O/D light was flashing. Turned the car off when I got there, turned it back on and the O/D light was fine.

Based on the comments I have seen posted here, I'm hoping for good news from the mechanic that it is a solenoid and not the entire transmission. Is that really good news though?

Thanks for all the comments and detailed descriptions of the problems everyone has posted here. At least I will be going into the mechanic with a little knowledge of what they are talking about, and I can try to make informed decisions on what to do with it.