NHTSA Complaint #10423216 — 2005 MERCURY MONTEREY

I WAS DRIVING OFF OF AN EXIT RAMP ONTO A SECONDARY ROAD, HAD JUST MADE THE TURN AND WAS BEGINNING TO ACCELERATE WHEN THE VAN COMPLETELY LOST ITS "PULL" AND WOULD NOT GO INTO GEAR. THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM STILL FUNCTIONED FINE, AND THE ENGINE WOULD REV, BUT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT GO. THERE WERE NO WARNING SIGNS WHATSOEVER PRIOR TO THE COMPLETE LOSS OF PULL. THIS SITUATION WAS VERY CONCERNING BECAUSE HAD I BEEN PERFORMING ANOTHER ACTION LIKE CROSSING A 4 LANE HIGHWAY, I COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN HIT. ADDITIONALLY, WITH ONLY 65,000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE, I FEEL THAT THIS FAILURE MUST BE A DEFECT IN THE TRANSMISSION AS THERE HAS NOT BEEN A SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF WEAR AND TEAR ON THE VEHICLE TO JUSTIFY THIS LEVEL OF REPAIR. (MY IN-LAWS PURCHASED THE VEHICLE NEW AND WERE BOTH CONSERVATIVE DRIVERS AND I AM A MOTHER OF TWO SMALL CHILDREN AND ALSO TEND TO BE A VERY CONSERVATIVE DRIVER SO THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN EXPOSED TO ANY ROUGH DRIVING CONDITIONS.) I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO A TRANSMISSION SHOP WHERE THEY INDICATED THAT THERE WAS AN INTERNAL PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION AND IT WOULD HAVE TO BE REBUILT AT A COST OF APPROXIMATELY $1,800. I AM REPORTING THIS BECAUSE I AM CONCERNED THAT THE SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT AND I WANT OTHER MERCURY MONTEREY OWNERS TO BE AWARE OF THIS POSSIBILITY. *TR