NHTSA Complaint #10460882 — 2005 MERCURY MONTEGO

THE INSTRUMENT GAUGE ON MY 2005 MERCURY MONTEGO JUST WENT "DEAD". NOTHING REGISTERED, SO THERE WAS NO READING ON MY SPEED, ENGINE HEAT GAUGE, FUEL LEVEL, OR TACHOMETER. THIS HAPPENED ONCE IN EARLY SPRING OF THIS YEAR (2012), BUT DID NOT REPEAT UNTIL RECENTLY. IT IS NOW JUNE AND THE SAME THING HAS RE-OCCURRED ABOUT 10 TIMES IN THE PAST TWO WEEKS. AFTER TURNING THE CAR OFF AND RESTARTING, THIS SOMETIMES (BUT NOT ALWAYS), "FIXES" THE PROBLEM. MOST RECENTLY, IF THE GAUGES DO WORK, THE "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT TURNS ON. THE AIRBAG LIGHT STAYS ON, AND THE AWD MALFUNCTION MESSAGE DISPLAYS IN THE INFORMATION PANEL UNTIL I HIT THE RESET BUTTON. FROM A SAFETY PERSPECTIVE, IS THIS A SHORT IN THE SYSTEM OR IS MY AIRBAG REALLY MALFUNCTIONING? AND HOW DO I KNOW MY SPEED OTHER THAN TO GUESS? *JS