NHTSA Complaint #10375487 — 2005 MERCURY MOUNTAINEER

STARTED OUT AS A GOOD CAR. AT ABOUT 48000 MILES IT STARTED TO INTERMITTENTLY REFUSE TO GO INTO FORWARD OR REVERSE WHEN PLACED IN GEAR. MADE SURE IT WAS IN GEAR AND ALSO WOULD MOVE THE SHIFT LEVER OUT OF GEAR AND BACK AGAIN. STEPPING ON THE GAS JUST REVVED UP THE ENGINE. SOMETIMES IT WOULD CATCH AND THE CAR WOULD JUMP FORWARD OR BACKWARD. IT IS PRESENTLY IN A TRANSMISSION SHOP AND APPEARS IT NEEDS TO BE REBUILT. LARGE METAL CHIPS WERE FOUND IN THE OIL PAN. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT I DIDN'T HAVE A DRIVE TRAIN WARRANTY, THEY WEREN'T AVAILABLE FOR THE 2005, I ONLY HAD THE 3YEAR 36,000 MILE WARRANT. THE TRANSMISSION SHOP SHOWED ME LARGE CHIPS IN THE OIL PAN. ALSO WHEN DISASSEMBLED THEY COULDN'T FINE WHAT WAS CALLED A NEEDLE PIN, WHICH RUNS THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE TRANSMISSION. WITH THAT GONE THE TRANSMISSION WAS GONE. THIS WASN'T A NORMAL OCCURRENCE. SO SELVES, WASHERS/SPACERS, GEARS ETC. SLOWLY WERE BEING DESTROYED. OVERHAUL KIT TORQUE CONVERTOR, PLANETARY ASSY, SOLENOID ASSY., SERVO CASE REPAIR KIT, AND TRANSMISSION FLUID. AND ALL OF THE LATEST PARTS FROM FORDS 6TH UPGRADE ON THIS TRANSMISSION WERE INSTALLED. FORD SHOULD HAVE A RECALL ON THIS TRANSMISSION. REIMBURSEMENT FOR COSTS WOULD BE NICE. BUT THEN I'M A DREAMER, AND BELIEVE CARS ARE BEING BUILT BETTER THAN THEY ARE. AFTER A WEEK OR SO OF DRIVING AND THE SHIFTING STILL NOT SMOOTH AND PARTS BEING SWITCHED OUT. I WAS TOLD IT WOULD BE OKAY TO OUT OF STATE. I GOT ABOUT 70 MILES WHEN THE TRANSMISSION DUMPED THE TRANSMISSION FLUID ON THE HIGHWAY. AFTER A $200 TOW BACK TO THE GARAGE AND ANOTHER WEEK OF SEARCHING FOR THE PROBLEM IT WAS DECIDED IT WAS THE VALVE BLOCK. THE ONLY THING THAT WAS NOT CHANGED. SEEMED THE VALVE BLOCK WAS WARPED. IT WAS REPLACED AND THE CAR IS BACK TO NORMAL. THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING TO A CAR WITH 48500 MILES ON IT. FORD SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEM SELVES FOR PRODUCING A CAR VEHICLE THAT HAS SO MANY TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. I UNDERSTAND FORD IS NOW ON THE 7TH UPGRADE. *TR