NHTSA — Power Train Problems

2.0

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
78,485 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 Hybrid drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid Owner Comments

problem #15

Jan 282018

Mariner Hybrid

  • 136,500 miles

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

We bought vehicle in Jan, 2018 from a private party, as a work vehicle for my husband, who is a usps rural route carrier. Two weeks after purchase, the anti-lock brake light went on, and the car would not stop when it was supposed to, which was very dangerous in winter. We believe the prior owner knew about this. The light would just go on & off with no pattern. About 1 1/2 months later, he was driving on a 2 lane hgwy (55 mph) delivering mail. He went to pull forward but the car made a brief noise and then everything just stopped working. The car wouldn't start, no electrical or lights, he could not even roll the vehicle by himself to a safe place w/out help. The electrical and propulsion simply stopped working; period. We ended up dragging it home. Dealership gave est. Amt of repairs around $18K. I found the recall in 2014 (14S19) for the same thing. The mec pump was replaced in 2014, with a "supplemental" fix in 2015 same issue. This is the exact same issue as the previous recall, which neither Mercury or any dealership wants to honor. I'm guessing there are more hybrid mariners w/ similar issues, but not enough to issue a follow-up recall. So here we are stuck in car repair purgatory. I do believe they should honor the recall now and fix the pump and replace the hybrid battery. Not sure about the brakes, but I have seen a lot of complaints about them as well - again, not enough for a recall, which again. Purgatory. My husband was very lucky. Had it been a diff time of day there would have been much more car & semi-truck traffic on the hwy (speed limit is 55) and with him literally just stopped dead in his tracks, there surely would have an imminent risk of a serious rear-end collison, with potentially deadly injuries. I am looking for help, assistance, guidance and anything else from any source possible to resolve this issue. We are at our witts end!!

- Columbus, WI, USA

problem #14

Aug 282018

Mariner Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 140,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Mariner hybrid. When the contact placed the vehicle in park, it began to roll. The contact stated that the vehicle exhibited the same symptoms as listed in NHTSA campaign number: 15V606000 (power train). The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000. Updated 11/30/18

- Largo, FL, USA

problem #13

Oct 022016

Mariner Hybrid

  • 10,777 miles
Quits running while caution with explanation in middle light appears and wrench light appears. Then notification to stop at once safely. This has happened on freeway. After 15-20 minutes car will crank again but may only go a few feet and stall again, near death experience.

- Hendersonville, NC, USA

problem #12

Mar 242015

Mariner Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 72,000 miles

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

2008 Mercury Mariner hybrid was going 20mph on electric motor in traffic when triangle warning light came on and the stop safely now sign displayed. The vehicle gas engine did not come on and I had to pull over to the side. I place the car in park and turn off the engine. I restarted the engine and the warning light disappeared. I took it to the Ford dealership and they ran a diagnostic on it. They indicated it was the throttle body on the car that needs to be clean or replaced, and the PCM needs to be reprogrammed. I replaced it. This is after I took it to the Ford dealership to fix the two recalls for this vehicle - electric steering control and electric coolant pump for the hybrid battery. I don't know if this will fixed the stalling issue since other vehicle owners indicated this problem persists, only time will tell. If this is a persistent problem please issue a recall since losing propulsion in traffic is not safe.

- La Puente, CA, USA

problem #11

Aug 292014

Mariner Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 95,000 miles
My vehicle was part of the nationwide recall by Ford this summer. As instructed, I went into the dealership and my car was "given the fix". not 1 later my power steering in my car has completely gone out. It is very difficult and dangerous to drive my car. I brought my car back to the dealership and was told that my car had already been diagnosed and "fixed" under the recall, so there was nothing further they could do. My car is actually doing the thing that the recall warned about and they sent me away. It has been 4 months, I feel like I take my life into my hands when I drive my car and Ford takes no responsibly.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

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problem #10

Dec 012014

Mariner Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 65,800 miles
Driving at 50+ mph on multiple occasions and vehicle gives stop safely now message and suddenly reduces greatly in speed. It randomly has occued and when it has, I had to try to navigate out of 50+mph traffic after the vehicle suddenly reduces speed to about 20 mph to a shoulder or other safe area. Had the coolant pump replaced but still occurs. Ford said the twin vehicle the 2008 Ford escape hybrid has recalls for the throttle body assembly and blend door actuator for hybrid battery cooling system that have been identified as causing the stop safely now message which because the vehicle suddenly drops from highway speeds to about 20mph could cause serious accidents. Since the 08 Mariner hybrid is the 08 escape hybrids twin, the throttle body assembly and hybrid battery system blend door actuator should be recalled on the Mariner hybrid also and replaces to protect lives by preventing accidents because of the defective parts.

- Pensacola, FL, USA

problem #9

Dec 162014

Mariner Hybrid

  • 92,600 miles

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

Just after starting my car and driving down my street at ~5mph, there was a warning symbol (red triangle) and then message saying "stop safely now." The vehicle then lost power steering, and power to the engine. I restarted the car and made it ~100ft and the same thing happened again. This also happened several times previously on the highway traveling ~65mph and with the same message "stop safely now" message appeared and immediately lost all power to steering and the engine. I went to the Ford dealership and was told to replace the hybrid coolant pump and blend doors and this fixed the problem for several months until today. I had also just taken the vehicle into the dealership for a recall on the power steering. This loss of power and ability to steer is extremely dangerous! this needs to be recalled!

- Boulder, CO, USA

problem #8

May 162012

Mariner Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 60,000 miles
A "stop safely now" warning message came on when I was driving on the freeway at 60 miles per hour. The car immediately lost power and became difficult to steer. I pulled over to the right shoulder as safely and quickly as possible. This has occurred multiple times.

- South Pasadena, CA, USA

problem #7

Aug 132014

Mariner Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 138,500 miles
As I was driving down the freeway, my Mercury Mariner hybrid displayed a "stop safely now" sign on the control panel. Not even a minute later, the car began to shut down and I had to maneuver get off the freeway. When I parked the car, I sat for a moment and then the car started right up. I drove another few miles and it displayed the same message and then stopped. It started again and then did the same thing again.

- Detroit, MI, USA

problem #6

Dec 122012

Mariner Hybrid 4WD 4-cyl

  • 60,000 miles
For the past 3 years I have been dealing with my 2008 Mercury Mariner hybrid shutting down in the middle of traffic and giving me the pull over immediately warning. I have had to replace the hybrid cooling system door actuator and the electric water pump (mec unit), all within the past year and half. On June 11, 2014 the vehicle shut down again and gave my wife the pull over warning. I took it to the Ford dealership this morning and they said that the throttle body now needs to be replaced and they gave me the error code P1A0C. The funny thing is, this is the same error code they gave me when they said the electric water pump (mec unit) had to be replaced. I checked this unit the other day when the car died and it was functioning properly. There is a major issue with the Ford hybrid products and Ford refuses to fix them. They sold lemons to thousands of hybrid owners who have made complaints and Ford just brushes us off. They just keep telling owners to suck it up and pay to replace different parts. Please make Ford take care of these vehicles before somone gets killed because they do shut down without warning, has happened to me numerous of times in heavy high speed traffic and it is not a good feeling.

- Salem, OR, USA

problem #5

Apr 142014

Mariner Hybrid

  • 59,215 miles

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

I was driving down the road going 55 mph and all of a sudden my vehicle jerked. I saw a red exclamation point on dash and where the car mileage is located, it said stop safely now. So I pulled over and shut down the vehicle, restarted and it happened again one mile away. It continued doing this. It took over an hour to get 10 miles down the road to my destination. It has been doing this off and on for the past month. I finally took the vehicle to the dealership and they said it is the throttle body.

- Greenville , SC, USA

problem #4

Nov 112012

Mariner Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 73,278 miles
I was traveling West at about 70 mph in the left lane on I-66 out of Washington, DC with four people in the car. Suddenly, the engine died and we were left with only the electric motor on the hybrid and a dash warning of a red triangle and the statement "stop safely soon." The car quickly lost power to about 30 mph and we struggled to get across the four lanes to the shoulder. The electronics in the car still operated (radio, dash lights, etc.), but the gas engine stalled. Once on the shoulder, we stopped. The Ford owner's manual told us to turn the car off and try to re-start. We did this and the car re-started. We started to drive, but the car did the same thing after about 5 minutes. The car did the same thing on about 5 different occasions until we could get to an exit that had businesses. The Ford dealer in this area (away from my home) states that the electronic cooling pump needs to be replaced. Although I understand that parts fail, my complaint is that Ford should not tell owners to re-start the car and try to proceed on. It is dangerous when it continues to fail and you don't know where the next failure might occur (on a bridge, in a construction zone, on a busy, fast interstate). Moreover, having reviewed complaints on this site and elsewhere on the internet about Ford hybrids, I know that many others have experience this situation where the car engine stalls at highway speeds due to various problems (e.g., the electronic cooling pump, bad sensors, or a corrupted PCM).

- Athens, WV, USA

problem #3

Sep 292012

Mariner Hybrid

  • 66,700 miles
This would be the second un-warned total loss of power on a freeway. Having coasted out of traffic on the first unwarned engine / propulsion system shut-down in fast-moving freeway traffic, managed to find wide-enough section of outside shoulder to come to a stop. But being stuck in 10pm darkness on a narrow shoulder was too dangerous to consider remaining there. Once stopped, I shifted the transmission to park, cycled ignition off then to start engine restarted, dash warning lamps came on- then cycled off normally, engine ran smoothly. Note: The only way to attempt to restart the hybrid drivetrain is to shift the transmission into park.. it doesn't work in neutral.. and there was no way I was going to try to put the trans in park in 72-75 mph freeway traffic in 10pm darkness. Accelerated moderately into merging lane, entering gap in N/B traffic to re-enter I-5 traffic hoping to get past sr-2 to more-familiar exit within 2 minutes, and at speed ~ 55 mph drive train died again (same warning tone and light...and same "too little too late" stop now warning text). Again had to hunt for a wide-enough section of outside shoulder to stop and take stock of dangerous situation. Shut off engine, moved trans into park tried restart - again, engine started and settled to normal operation - no warning lights remained on. Able to re-enter traffic and transition off I-5 fwy...but only escape was to another freeway (sr-2). Kept speed below 45mph on that freeway until able to exit freeway. This was the second un-warned total loss of power on a freeway.

- Long Beach, CA, USA

problem #2

Sep 292012

Mariner Hybrid

  • 66,700 miles
This would be the second un-warned total loss of power on a freeway. Having coasted out of traffic on the first unwarned engine / propulsion system shut-down in fast-moving freeway traffic, managed to find wide-enough section of outside shoulder to come to a stop. But being stuck in 10pm darkness on a narrow shoulder was too dangerous to consider remaining there. Once stopped, I shifted the transmission to park, cycled ignition off then to start " engine restarted, dash warning lamps came on- then cycled off normally, engine ran smoothly. Note: The only way to attempt to restart the hybrid drivetrain is to shift the transmission into park.. it doesn't work in neutral.. and there was no way I was going to try to put the trans in park in 72-75 mph freeway traffic in 10pm darkness. Accelerated moderately into merging lane, entering gap in N/B traffic to re-enter I-5 traffic ? hoping to get past sr-2 to more-familiar exit ? within 2 minutes, and at speed ~ 55 mph " drive train died again (same warning tone and light...and same "too little too late" stop now warning text). Again had to hunt for a wide-enough section of outside shoulder to stop and take stock of dangerous situation. Shut off engine, moved trans into park tried restart - again, engine started and settled to normal operation - no warning lights remained on. Able to re-enter traffic and transition off I-5 fwy.. but only escape was to another freeway (sr-2). Kept speed below 45mph on that freeway until able to exit freeway. This was the second un-warned total loss of power on a freeway.

- Long Beach, CA, USA

problem #1

Jun 062010

Mariner Hybrid

  • 40,211 miles
Second unwarned total shut-down of all power on roadway - this one just 17 days after repairs and reprogramming by Ford dealership following first instance, which cut gas engine and electric motor power while traveling on los angeles freeway. This power shut-down occurred while trying to pull from parallel park spot onto busy blvd - lost all power 2 feet into traffic, able to roll back into curb before traffic reached me around semi-blind curve. After the first in-use failure on 5-17-10, I simultaneously reported the malfunction to Ford customer relations (case# 1432331380), and presented the vehicle for repair to cerritos [the following quotes from text of service record]; tech performed `eec test, revealing fault-codes: B1239, P1A0C and P0562. The tech also "found tsb (tech service bulletin) 07-25-12 with concern resolution" & he "contact[ed] Ford technical service hotline with concern." The tech "replaced the auxiliary airflow mode door actuator and reprogrammed the traction battery control module to latest calibration 8M64-10B687-ag. Final eec test passed." I was also informed that the part number for the replacement `airflow mode door actuator' differed from original, so the component has apparently been re-designed - but neither my wife nor I have received warnings from Ford that updates/repairs were recommended on either of our 2008 Mariner hybrids. This originally smelled like a `silent recall' to me...but this doesn't even rate as a `recall', because the work performed did not prevent the second occurrence of the equivalent malfunction just 17 days later. This is a totally unacceptable failure mode for any consumer transportation vehicle, because it occurs without warning, and leaves the driver completely defenseless, and with severely-reduced response options.

- Long Beach, CA, USA

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