NHTSA — Engine Problems

CarComplaints.com Seal Of This Might Hurt

CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2008-2011 Mercury Mariner has a dangerous problem with the power steering that Ford says they fixed when they didn't -- at least not 100%.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
125,977 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2008 Mercury Mariner engine problems

engine problem

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2008 Mercury Mariner Owner Comments

problem #14

Feb 182020

Mariner

  • 231,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The car is reving high and accelerating poorly. Then the red triangle light telling me to stop safety now comes on causing me to pull over and shut car off. I turn the car back on and it drives but with same issues. Look on the carcomplaint.com website for tsb-09-19-12 and tsb-08-24-5 which detail what my car is doing and makes it appear like there is a cooling pump recall. Ford just told me there are no recalls listed for my VIN though. The frequency of which the red triangle light comes on is increasing this month. It was every few months and now it is weekly-daily.

- Glenville, WV, USA

problem #13

Dec 072017

Mariner

  • 259,000 miles
Front main seal is leaking vehical is dripping oil on muffler when sitting still

- Oscoda, MI, USA

problem #12

Jun 122017

Mariner

  • 101,851 miles
The throttle is held open when the cruise control is employed but remains open when the cruise control is turned off both by using the off button and brake application. This happens at 75-80 mph on interstate highways in AZ and ut. The power brake booster is ineffective with no intake vacuum. This is very dangerous.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #11

Feb 012014

Mariner 6-cyl

  • 44,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Mariner. While driving 40 mph, the vehicle hesitated and would not accelerate past 25 mph. In addition, the vehicle accelerated rapidly without warning. The contact stated that the vehicle shut off on numerous occasions and the check engine indicator illuminated briefly without warning. The vehicle was not repaired the manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was 44,000. Updated 08/04/17

- Houma, LA, USA

problem #10

Sep 182016

Mariner

  • 125,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Mariner. While driving 45 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 125,000.

- Talahassee, FL, USA

problem #9

Oct 022016

Mariner

  • 149,000 miles
My wife was driving on her way home, and out of nowhere the steering felt weird, and while driving the car shut off. No power steering or power brakes (due to engine shutting off) and we do not know why this happened.

- Dade City, FL, USA

problem #8

Oct 042016

Mariner

  • 100,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated that while driving at 15 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact stated that the vehicle displayed "power steering fault" warning message. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #7

Feb 232016

Mariner

  • 149,000 miles
My vehicle is having trouble steering, took my vehicle to the repair shop and they informed that it was a recall on it. I took my vehicle to the dealership and they told me since my VIN number for me vehicle was not in the recall there was nothing that they could do and wanted to charge me $125 to put it on their machine, I already to my SUV to the shop and they informed to go to the dealership

- Memphis, TN, USA

problem #6

May 112014

Mariner 6-cyl

  • 61,830 miles
I was driving on highway route 22 at approximately 60 mph, when suddenly the throttle stopped responding and the tachometer started dropping. In a matter of seconds the tachometer reached zero and the vehicle stalled, while I was in traffic on the highway. I coasted off to the shoulder and put the vehicle in park. When I tried to restart the vehicle, the engine would turn over and start up, however, immediately after I let go of the key, the tachometer would drift back down to zero and the vehicle would stall. After a few more failed attempts, I called for a tow. Since this occurred after hours, no one was available to work on the vehicle until the next morning. In the morning when I attempted to show the technician the failure, the vehicle started up as it did the evening before, then the tachometer started dipping back down, then just before it stalled, the tachometer fluttered a little, then the engine revved back up and began idling normally. The technician indicated that there were no events logged in the vehicles computer to give him an idea of what caused the sudden stalling, and he could not find any obvious issues with the vehicle. The vehicle was returned to me without repair and the technician warned me that it is likely that this would happen again and that they cannot diagnose it unless they see it when it is not working. Now I am concerned that this will happen again while driving and that it will cause an accident, or worse. I read an article from the North Carolina consumers council stating that there is a known issue with the throttle body of this vehicle that causes sudden engine stall while driving. Ford issued an extended warranty on certain vehicles for this piece, however when I contacted the dealership and mentioned consumer satisfaction program 13N03, they informed me that my vehicle did not qualify. I'm not sure what to do next.

- Allentown, PA, USA

problem #5

Apr 092014

Mariner 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 150,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated the vehicle intermittently stalled while driving various speeds and after starting. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 150,000. Updated 06/17/14 updated 8/21/2017

- Madison, WI, USA

problem #4

Mar 292014

Mariner 6-cyl

  • 77,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I had just made a right turn and was proceeding down the block when I heard a sudden "click" and lost power. I couldn't steer and there was no power. I managed to get the car over to the curb and turn off the engine. I restarted it a few minutes later and it started up ok. However, the rsc warning light stayed on even though I had never pressed that button. This is not the first time this has happened. The first time it happened I was told it was a battery problem so I got a new battery. That was less than a year ago and I can't imagine I need a new battery that often - that simply needing a new battery will cause my car to fail! in doing some research I've come across several instances of the same issue necessitating replacement of the throttle body module with trouble codes P2111 and P2112 and, in fact, the North Carolina consumers council (nccc) has officially petitioned the national highway safety administration (NHTSA) for a defect investigation of alleged throttle body failures in 2005-2012 Ford escape vehicles sharing the same or substantially similar part. Luckily I was only on surface streets and not the freeway. It's only a matter of time before this happens on the freeway! is there going to be a recall?

- Lake Balboa, CA, USA

problem #3

Mar 252014

Mariner 6-cyl

  • 139,000 miles
Driving the truck through a drive thru at a mcdonalds with my 2 year old son in backseat and the power steering stopped working as proceeding thru drive thru, almost hitting the building having no control over truck. Very dangerous problem with this make and model/this is a safety hazard and someone will end up as a casualty if this problem with steering not recalled by Ford. I am a 280 guy and could barely steer the truck until I shut it of and restarted it. Also oil leak on engine for most of these V6 Mariners and escapes is above oil pan by harmonic balancer, Ford refuses to admit they did a horrible job putting together the bottom end of these engines.overall Ford needs to reconsider what should be a recall on their vehicles before someone gets seriously injured or killed. I am a ase certified mechanic and have never encountered such problems with a vehicle.

- Toms River, NJ, USA

problem #2

Mar 152013

Mariner 4-cyl

  • 75,000 miles
Without warning the gas pedal sticks, will not function. This happens intermittently and seems to disappear when the car warms up, but also has happened when the car is warm. Very dangerous when trying to accelerate or just drive normally. This seems to be a widespread problem with both the Ford escape and the Mercury Mariner. We have been stranded several times. This needs to be fixed by the manufacturer.

- Easley, SC, USA

problem #1

Feb 172014

Mariner

  • 102,000 miles
While driving my car stalls without warning then it jerks real hard and takes off so I have to ride the brakes after coming to a stop before I can press the gas peddle it takes off so I ride the brakes. While driving again it picks up speed on its own very scare please help.

- Houma , LA, USA

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