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Ford Explorer Mercury Mountaineer 2005 and earlier

3348 messages,  Last post on Oct 31, 2011 at 3:14 PM

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What is this discussion about? Ford Explorer, Mercury Mountaineer, SUV

Messages Page 327 of 336

#3252 of 3348 Oil Pressure to Zero by lrmet2

Jan 03, 2007 (9:31 pm)

I have an 2002 Mountaineer V8 AWD, bought it new. It's up to 80K miles and at 75K the extended warranty I bought ran out. I haven't been a real fan of my mercury mountaineer, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. The dealer's idea of service is to question me when I mention something that's wrong with the truck. It started the day I picked it up. The passenger side mirror was cracked and I had to argue with the service dept to have them repair it under warranty. Every time I went in to get service it was hard to get them to even look up TSBs for things. I went in there with the TSB numbers I found on the internet and the guy at the service desk told me it was invalid and refused to work on it. I finally gave up. Partly it's my fault for not finding and going to another Mercury dealer but my other car is an Infiniti and service there is quite the opposite experience. TSBs that I never got them to give attention to include the cracked plastic on the tailgate, the buzzing of the transfer case when it's cold, the arm rest they never fixed right when they replaced the passenger side mirror, jerky transmission. I can live with all of them. But now the oil gauge is going to zero when it's cold. It lasts from a second to 15 seconds and sometimes it repeats. I'm convinced it's a sensor because the engine runs fine without any change in how it sounds when it happens. I've liked the truck for it's towing capacity. I used to tow a boat every weekend but now it's only three times a year. My truck before this was a 1991 Explorer. 6 cyl. It lasted for 147K before I sold it. I thought the new '02 would be as good a truck but I'm sure I wouldn't buy another. I'd like to buy american, especially in the truck category, but the quality and how it's serviced have made me realize there is a reason why people are deciding to buy more reliable brands. And this mercury dealer is a Lincoln dealer too. We bought Mercury because we thought we were getting the higher level of quality and service than the standard Ford.

#3253 of 3348 Please go to a different dealer. by mschmal

Jan 04, 2007 (1:09 pm)

There are good honest dealers out there. I assure you that if anyone at my dealer acted the way you described, they would get fired.
 
The fact is that right now, there are TOO MANY FORD DEALERS! The worst are already going out of business. You can do your part to speed up the weeding out process by refusing to go to a crappy dealer.
 
Mark.

#3254 of 3348 Re: Rear Window Wiper problems... [forkliftguy] by skiextreme2

Jan 08, 2007 (2:13 pm)

Replying to: forkliftguy (Apr 03, 2003 6:31 pm)
Hi, I just bought a 2000 Explorer and had the same problem (wiper motor wouldn't start). Everything worked when I checked the vehicle before buying it. After reading your post about the back latch, I opened the rear window and closed it then opened the hatch and closed it and it now works fine.

#3255 of 3348 Differentail/Transmission Problem? by ottav

Jan 09, 2007 (7:22 pm)

I have a 2005 Mountaineer with the 4.6L V8. The vehicle has 13,500 miles on it. A week ago I encountered a problem with the truck
 
When I went to back the vehicle out of my garage, it only moved about 1 foot then stopped, as if something was blocking the tires. After I got out to check that this was not the case, I tried again with the same result. I called roadside assistance and when the tow truck driver came, he tried to back it out as well, with initially the same result. Then he gave it a lot of gas and it moved, but made a large bang from underneath the vehicle. He seemed to think it had something to do with the differential.
 
The truck was towed to the dealership. I received a call from the service manager the next day, who told me they were not able to find anything wrong with the truck. It has also since worked fine for me, but I am still nervous about taking the truck on a long ride.
 
Does anyone have any ideas, or run into a similar situation?

#3256 of 3348 Re: Differentail/Transmission Problem? [ottav] by pnewby

Jan 10, 2007 (6:24 am)

Replying to: ottav (Jan 09, 2007 7:22 pm)
Just a couple of questions? What was the temp. in the garage? Were the wheels wet from either rain, snow or ice? I had a similar problem with an Aerostar several years ago, and it was ice in the brakes. Of course they were drum brakes, but could be a possibility.

#3257 of 3348 Re: Differential/Transmission Problem? [pnewby] by ottav

Jan 10, 2007 (6:47 pm)

Replying to: pnewby (Jan 10, 2007 6:24 am)
It's been mild in the Northeast, so I don't think temperature was a factor. It was at least 50 degrees in my garage. It hadn't rained either, so I don't think water was an issue either.

#3258 of 3348 2003 mountaineer oil leaks by fmota

Jan 11, 2007 (5:38 pm)

Bought a 2003 mountaineer 6 months ago (V8). Recently I noticed some oil spots on the driveway, maybe an inch or 2 in diameter. However, the spots are not towards the front end......they appear to be right by the rear wheels. Almost in the center, betwen the 2 rear wheels. Lets just say I'm not a mechanically inclined person whatsoever.....but I normally try n search on the interner to atleast get some idea of what the problem maybe....so when I take the care for repairs, I have some background info so to not get totally taken by the mechanic. Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated....thanks !

#3259 of 3348 2004 Mountaineer Problems - Front Differential, Fuel Injector Failure, etc. by imsz

Jan 12, 2007 (12:36 pm)

My 2004 Mtnr has 42,500 miles on it and I just took it in to the dealer because the Service Engine Soon light went on.
 
The dealer called me to tell me I have lots of problems - some of which seem really odd. Maybe some of you can help me understand what all this means.
 
1) Carbon BuBuild up which, according to the dealer, is usually what you find in cars driven by elderly folks who drive one a week for an hour at 15 miles per hour. I do city driving every day at usually 10 miles over the speed limit, so 35 mph. Also, approximately 15K of the 42K mileage is from long distance driving. So my question is, is this some kind of baloney because I am a a woman who knows NOTHING about cars?
 
2) Air Induction Dirt - what is this? Do I need to care about this? Do all cars have this?
 
3) The Number 8 Fuel Injector has simply failed. Why would one injector fail? Is this (often) an indicator that other injectors will fail? That there will be future problems with this vehicle.
 
4) Front Differential Seal is leaking. I had that odd transmission problem where the factory put the wrong transmission fluid in the car. Once I had the fluid was changed, all of the lurching problems ended. But could this seal be related to that? (At the moment, when the car is in drive and you are stopped at a light the car has this little bouncing feeling to it - I guess it is often referred to as a rough idle.)
 
5) All my spark plugs have to be replaced.
 
6) Coils need to be replaced - the dealer was not very specific about this and I was so shocked that I have so many problems with the car that I stopped taking notes....
 
The dealer quoted me about $1300.00 to fix these problems. I am worried that I might be flushing my money down the toilet because :1) I have only had the car for exactly two years next week, 2) it does not have a great number of miles on it (most of my family's Fords have been largely problem free until 80/90k) but it has problems, 3) it had that factory transmission problem. Could this mean that the car is turning into a lemon?...
 
Thanks for any help/comments!
 
Illia

#3260 of 3348 Re: 2003 mountaineer oil leaks [fmota] by explorerx4

Jan 12, 2007 (4:19 pm)

Replying to: fmota (Jan 11, 2007 5:38 pm)
sounds like the rear axle seals are leaking. this vehicles has an independent rear suspension. it is not a cheap repair.

#3261 of 3348 Re: 2004 Mountaineer Problems - Front Differential, Fuel Injector Failure, etc. [imsz] by explorerx4

Jan 12, 2007 (4:33 pm)

Replying to: imsz (Jan 12, 2007 12:36 pm)
basically, you have 2 main problems. the failed coil and the differential leak. what kind of service have you done since you have had it? did they break down the charges for you?
i just got underneath my '02 explorer and replacing the seal for the differential cover is not a big deal.
i'm guessing the 'neer isn't much different. do you see any spots underneath it?
'air induction dirt' could mean the air filter needs to be replaced.
1300 sounds like a high number.

Messages Page 327 of 336

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