NHTSA Complaint #10874929 — 2008 MERCURY MARINER

SAFETY RECALL 14S05 -AS A RESULT OF THE RECALL FORD UPGRADED THE SOFTWARE IN MY CAR IN DEC. 2015, BUT THREE MONTHS LATER THE STEERING FAILED. (THE CAR WAS PARKED ON A QUIET SAN FRANCISCO STREET WHEN I TRIED TO START IT AND REALIZED THAT THE STEERING WOULDN'T WORK.) I FIRST TOWED THE CAR TO MY LOCAL MECHANIC, WHO LOOKED AT IT FOR A WEEK AND THEN TOLD ME THAT IT WAS RELATED TO THIS SAFETY RECALL; HE ADVISED ME TO TAKE THE CAR BACK TO FORD. WHEN I RE-TOWED THE CAR TO FORD DEALERSHIP, THEY REFUSED TO HONOR THEIR WRITTEN COMMITMENT TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM AND INSTEAD TRIED TO ARGUE THAT BECAUSE I GOT A SOFTWARE UPDATE, THEIR RESPONSIBILITY WAS OVER. WHEN I ASKED IF THE SYMPTOMS IN MY CAR MATCHED THOSE THE RECALL WAS MEANT TO FIX, THE DEALERSHIP ADMITTED THE SYMPTOMS MATCHED. THEY SAY THEY CAN'T DO ANYTHING B/C A "CODE" DIDN'T TRIP. I ALSO NOTICED THAT THE RECALL SAYS THAT SOFTWARE UPGRADES "MAY" FIX THE PROBLEM AND SHOULD AT LEAST NOTIFY THE DRIVER BY BEEPING. MY CAR NEVER BEEPED, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY A SOFTWARE UPDATE THAT "MAY" FIX THE PROBLEM IS NOT SUFFICIENT FOR SAFETY! THE STEERING ISSUE SHOULD BE FIXED/REPLACED BY FORD! FORD IS NEGLIGENTLY PUTTING CUSTOMER LIVES IN DANGER. MOREOVER, FORD SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO PUSH THE COST OF A MALFUNCTIONING, CORE PRODUCT FEATURE ONTO CUSTOMERS. WHEN I PURCHASED THE CAR, AT THE TOP OF THE MARKET PRICE FOR IT, I WAS NOT TOLD "IN 50,000 MILES YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR A COMPLETELY NEW STEERING COLUMN BECAUSE THIS ONE WILL FAIL AND PEOPLE IN YOUR CAR MAY DIE." PLEASE INVESTIGATE AS MANY CONSUMERS ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT HOW FORD IS TRYING TO PUSH RESPONSIBILITY FOR RECALL 14S05 ONTO INDIVIDUAL CAR OWNERS.