While driving after dark the headlights and dashboard lights went dark. While attempting to restore the lights, they came back on. Within ten miles, this event occurred two more times. I went to my local Mercury dealer who told me that the module that controlled the headlights and dashboard lights was not available. He also told me that his ordering system also showed him that there were almost 600 of these parts were on back-order. He also told me that one of the components of the module was unavailable and that there was no anticipated date when the module might be available. He also told me that 2005 was the only model year that this part would fit and that the 2004 or 2006 similar parts would not work in the 2005 model year. He also told me that if the part were available that it would cost almost $600 dollars not installed. This part also fits the 2005 Ford Crown Victoria but no other makes or models. This leads me to believe that Ford re-engineered this model for the 2005 model and discovered that it was a faulty design and redesigned it for the 2006 model and failed to report the problem to anyone. They have used up all of whatever inventory of these parts they ever manufactured and appear to have no plans to make any more. I have shopped most of Florida's junk yards and have not been able to locate any 2005 Mercury or Ford cars from which to obtain a used part. Before daylight this morning while driving my wife to the doctor, the headlights and dash lights went out once again and came back on after about a mile. This is a serious safety issue. I believe that your Agency should not only require Ford to develop an immediate fix for this problem, but should require Ford to supply this part at no cost to the affected owners since it is pretty clear that they were aware of the problem and tried to hide it from the public and the government.

- Orlando, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that while driving 60 mph, all of the lights on the vehicle failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised that the light control module was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 32,000.

- Clear Water , FL, USA

During early morning travel, both headlights stopped working at the same time. After restarting the vehicle the headlights worked fine for a while, then suddenly stop working as you drive. Ford diagnosed to be lighting control module and to repair is almost a thousand dollars. This manufacturers defect is common for this year and model vehicle and is very dangerous!! headlights are a safety necessity and this manufacturer defect is above and beyond routine maintenance!

- Pennsauken, NJ, USA

I was driving to work at 5:50 am in the dark when on coming traffic began flashing their headlights at me. I then noticed that my headlights (which I always have set on automatic) had gone out without warning. I had to drive a short distance to find a safe place to pull off the road. I could not get the headlights to come on with the switch in either the automatic or manual settings. I repeatedly shut the car off and restarted it without any luck. I had to wait until the sun came up to continue driving to work. I goggled this headlight problem and found it is a very common failure of the lighting control module in the 2003-2005 Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis. I contacted Ford Motor Co. But was told there was no recall on these cars with this common and very dangerous defect and was directed to take my car to a Ford dealer for service. I personally think Ford should be responsible for repairing this defect with no cost to the customer.

- Angola, NY, USA

While driving my 2005, Mercury, Grand Marquis, at night, the headlights completely went out on me...making visibility impossible...after much research on this problem, I find that alot of people are complaining of the very same problem with their Mercury, Grand Marquis...after reading of all the complaints about this problem, I wonder why this has not been on the recall list......this is a severe safety issue!!! thank you for your prompt attention in this matter.

- Walton, NY, USA

Description of the complaint: Lcm known defect: Both headlights failed, in both dim and high-beam positions. They will not come on in either the automatic or manual dashboard switch positions. (the bulbs are still good.) the parking lights, turn signals, tail lights, and brake lights continued to function. This happened at night. It should be obvious that this failure will *always* occur at night, or during stormy weather, threatening safety, because headlights are not normally used during the daytime. Later testing revealed the problem to be intermittent. At one point, the automatic dashboard switch position worked for both dim and high-beams, but the manual switch position did not work. The next morning, both the automatic and manual positions worked. When the problem first occurred, neither position would work. This intermittent problem is consistent with a large number of complaints and reports for the 2003-2005 model years, and the problem is the lighting control module. This module is so unreliable that it has been named the "lights out module" on the internet. A sampling of complaints can be found at these web sites: This is a *safety* issue. Lives are at stake. Please force a recall to correct this problem before innocent people are killed. Although the parking lights and tail lights continued to work, so other drivers can see the car with the failed headlights, the driver of the car with the failed headlights *cannot* see where he is going!! he could run into a parked car, hit a pedestrian, hit a bicyclist, hit a tree or other obstruction, etc. This is a very dangerous situation!

- Port Charlotte, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that while driving, the headlights stop working. The headlights worked intermittently and failed without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who stated that the light control module failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any further assistance. The failure mileage was 79,000 and the current mileage was 83,000.

- Fayette, AL, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis. While parked, the headlights failed to illuminate. The failure recurred intermittently. The warning flashers were the only lights on the exterior of the vehicle that functioned when the headlights were inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing however, the technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 52...updated 10/03/12 the consumer stated at approximately 70,000 miles the headlights began failing when driving at night, without warning. Occasionally, turn the engine off then on, or turning on the wipers would turn the lights on. Updated 10/09/2012

- New Bloomfield, MO, USA

Headlights stopped working. Entire lighting control model had to be replaced. The cost of the work at the dealer was $708.47.

- Owings Mills, MD, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that while driving the headlights failed. The contact turned the lights on and the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the light module and the icm needed to repair. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 82,864. Updated 10/10/12 updated 10/17/12

- Thorsby, AL, USA

Driving down the road, the headlights went out. Hasn't worked automatically or manually since. The high beam lights would not work either unless I held it in the position that I would normally just push for it to stay on. In process of taking car to dealer. I have had the car for one year in July. Hope Ford pays for this because it must be a factory defect. I see that many other people have or have had the same problem.

- North Charleston, SC, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that the headlights failed. The contact tried to engage the switch multiple times but to no avail. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where they stated that the light control module was malfunctioning and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 85,000.

- Lafayette, GA, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that while driving 55 mph, the headlights and high beam headlights stopped illuminating. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and the headlight control module was replaced. The failure continued intermittently. The manufacturer offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 45,726.

- Brunswick, OH, USA

Was coming home in pitch dark and the headlights just went and I run off the road, a good thing there was not tree there. Then on the internet I found out this is a common problem for this vehicle, I do not know why something has not been done about it.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that the headlights and tail lights were inoperable while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who inspected the failure and stated that the headlight control module failed and needed to be replaced. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 80,000.

- Stillwater, OK, USA

While driving at night the headlights will go out and would not come back on for a few min. Then they will work for a little while and go out again. This is very dangerous when the headlights go out in the dark or during rainstorms.

- Ocean Springs , MS, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that while his instrument panel showed that the headlights were activated, the lights were not illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however the problem could not be replicated. The dealer did suggest that the module was faulty and that the contact could reach under the dashboard and tap it, and the lights would illuminate. The contact did not feel the remedy was reasonable or safe. The manufacturer was notified of the issued however, offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 60,000. Updated 08/01/12 updated 08/01/12

- Tamarac, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, he was pulled over by a police officer and informed that the headlights were not illuminated. The contact stated that the headlight switch indicated that the headlights were illuminated when the failure occurred. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and the contact was informed that the headlight module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 60,000.

- Tamarac, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that while parked, the headlights would not illuminate. The contact was able to activate the high beam headlights by holding the turn signal bar. The low beam headlights illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for a diagnostic test. The mechanic stated that the headlight control module would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 72,800.

- North Patchogue, NY, USA

In October 2011, I was driving at night when my headlights went off. I pulled into a parking lot to investigate the problem. I got out and took a walk around the car and all the lights were working except the headlights. I turned the lights switch off for a few minutes and the lights came back on. The problem worsened and I found that I could hold the "momentary" high beam switch on and the headlights would work -- as long as I held the switch in the high beam position. The situation worsened, and now the headlights will not come on for any length of time. The problem has escalated from October 2011 until late May 2012. If I need to drive the car at night, I must hold the "momentary" high beam switch while I drive. Once in a while you can see the headlights come on because the lights get extremely bright. Then I can release the "momentary" high beam switch. The lights will only stay on for about 10 seconds and then go back off. My mechanic told me that many Mercury Grand Marquis and Ford Crown Victoria's around the model year of my car have this problem. He has traced the problem to something called the lighting control module. It seems to me that this is an engineering problem. Ford wants $600 just for the part. If you search the internet for similar problems, you will find an abundance of very similar situations as I have described to you. Not everyone is reporting this problem. Please help! updated 08/20/12

- Ypsilanti, MI, USA