NHTSA Complaint #10680340 — 2008 MERCURY MARINER HYBRID

THE ABS TONE RINGS ON THE 2008 MODEL MERCURY MARINER AND FORD ESCAPE ARE DEFECTIVE IN DESIGN - THEY ARE THIN METAL, BUT PUT UNDER STRESS BY BEING FORCED ONTO THE HALF-SHAFT (DIFFERENT METAL, DIFFERENT EXPANSION RATE), AND THEREFORE PRONE TO CRACKING/BREAKING. WHEN CRACKED/BROKEN, THEY CAUSE THE ABS BRAKE SYSTEM AND REGENERATIVE BRAKING TO FAULT OUT, SOMETIMES INTERMITTENTLY AND WITH NO WARNING. THE PART ITSELF IS CHEAP (~$10 EACH), AND APPARENTLY SHOULD BE, BUT THE DEALER WILL NOT SELL THEM SEPARATELY, AND INSTEAD REQUIRES THE OWNER TO REPLACE THE HALF-SHAFT, WITH ESTIMATES FROM THE DEALERSHIP AND INDEPENDENT MECHANICS OF BETWEEN $400 AND $1000 TO REPLACE BOTH FRONT HALF-SHAFTS. SIMPLY MAKING THE PART THICKER, OR OF THE SAME METAL AS THE HALF-SHAFT, WOULD FIX THE PROBLEM - INSTEAD, FORD FORCES OWNERS TO CHOOSE BETWEEN AN UNSAFE VEHICLE AND ROBBERY, WITH NO GUARANTEE THAT THE PROBLEM WOULDN'T RECUR WITHIN A MONTH OF DRIVING (THE CRACKING SEEMS TO BE MORE RELATED TO TEMPERATURE THAN MILEAGE). THIS SHOULD BE RECALLED AND FORD SHOULD BE FORCED TO REPLACE THESE AT THEIR OWN COST - I BET THEY'D THEN "DISCOVER" A WAY TO PREVENT RECURRENCE IF THEY WERE PAYING OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKET FOR ANY THAT FAILED BEFORE 100,000 MILES. A CURSORY SEARCH ON THE INTERNET WILL TURN UP THOUSANDS OF RESULTS FOR THIS PROBLEM. *TR