NHTSA Complaint #10330798 — 2008 MERCURY MARINER HYBRID

ON-FREEWAY GAS ENGINE/ELECTRIC MOTOR SHUT-DOWN. DRIVING IN MORNING RUSH-HOUR TRAFFIC APPROXIMATELY 15 MINUTES AFTER COLD START IN 60-DEGREE WEATHER, BOTH THE GASOLINE ENGINE AND THE ELECTRIC MOTOR PROPULSION SYSTEMS SHUT-DOWN TOGETHER WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION - "STOP SAFELY NOW" WAS THE `TOO-LITTLE-TOO-LATE' INFO ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. NEITHER POWER MODE WOULD RESTART WITH TRANS IN NEUTRAL (I REFUSED TO TRY CYCLING IGNITION KEY TO OFF, AND RISK STEERING LOCK). FORTUNATE TO COAST ONTO SHOULDER, WHERE I HAD TO MOVE GEAR SELECTOR TO PARK, TURN IGNITION KEY FULL-OFF AND THEN BACK TO START, AT WHICH TIME NORMAL OPERATION RESUMED. TOTAL LOSS OF BOTH POWER SOURCES WHILE IN-USE ON A FREEWAY ' AND UNABLE TO RE-ACTIVATE WITHOUT SHIFTING TRANSMISSION INTO PARK IS ABSOLUTELY INEXCUSABLE AND UNACCEPTABLE! *TR