NHTSA — Fuel/Propulsion System Problems

2.1

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
74,879 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 fuel system problems

fuel system problem

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2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid Owner Comments

problem #17

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 #16

Dec 062018

Mariner Hybrid

  • 155,000 miles
Stop safely now chimes and displayed on dash followed by no acceleration until vehicle stalls and stops.starts right back up but continues to happen especially in la rush hour traffic. Very dangerous! had recall work done on the mecs 3yrs ago but problem has continued. This happens while in motion on the 110 freeway in downtown los angleles, ca. Could be the electric throttle body or rear actuator. Or any other component that works with the electric motor and battery.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #15

Oct 032018

Mariner Hybrid

  • miles
Car has been rock solid reliable up until 3 weeks ago. Driving normally on city streets the car abruptly shut down the hybrid and ice propulsion units. Steering froze up and it was like putting the brakes on it stranded me in the middle of traffic causing delays for other drivers and a dangerous obstruction. The car has no limp mode to allow for safely getting out of traffic. It had to be towed. Ford dealer has had car for 3 weeks and are still uncertain as to what caused the unsafe shutdown.

- Ogden, UT, USA

problem #14

Apr 072014

Mariner Hybrid

  • 100,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Mariner hybrid. The contact stated that the stop safety now warning message illuminated and an unknown warning light illuminated. The contact mentioned that when the defroster was activated, the warning lights no longer illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V526000 (hybrid propulsion system). The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V284000 (steering). The dealer was unable to confirm when the parts would become available to schedule the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

- Aurora, IL, USA

problem #13

May 102015

Mariner Hybrid

  • 71,000 miles
Returning from Florida to Georgia and passed a vehicle at about 70mph and released the accelerator but vehicle kept accelerating. I pressed the brake pedal but vehicle kept accelerating. I pressed the accelerator again and vehicle finally stopped accelerating. Additionally, "stop safely now" message intermittently occurs at highway speeds and around town in traffic and slows the vehicle to perhaps 10-15mph and tells me to pull over. This has happened randomly at unspecific times and in heavy traffic which could be dangerous. I have concerns that this issue needs to be a recall from Ford since a lot of people are having the issue from forums online and it could result in wrecks and maybe even fatalities.

- Warner Robins, GA, USA

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problem #12

Feb 142015

Mariner Hybrid

  • 52,001 miles
Experienced the second of two in-traffic drive-train shut-downs as dangerous as the G.M. ignition switch malfunctions (see ODI#: 10683675) our initial stopping place - in a "reverse gore-point" between the N/B freeway lanes of the I-405 freeway in santa ana, ca and an outside transition road was unsafe in the full-darkness of a non-illuminated high-speed intersection; with traffic zooming by on both sides, with the flashers still active, I res-started the engine -- all dash warnings cycled on then off normally; on a distinct up-grade, I revv'd the engine against the service brakes, and watched for a suitable gap in traffic over-taking us on our right side. Seeing such a gap, I released the service brakes and accelerated to 30 mph towards the outer shoulder...but only made it part-way across the 2 lanes when the second shut-down occurred...the same "check engine" light...the same squealing enunciator tone... the same worthless "stop safely now" message and again, thanks to courteous and alert over-taking drivers, I was able to coast to a relatively broad shoulder section beside a `disappearing' right travel lane. It was now 7:55pm. We were on our cell phone to the aaa when a highway patrol officer stopped behind us to check our situation, and provide additional protection until a tow-truck could arrive on-scene. This is the second of our family's fomoco hybrids to experience such in-use drive-train shut-downs that provide the driver with no usable warnings of impending doom - not even "limp-away power"... the "after-it's-too-late" message-panel might as well display "kiss your a$$ goodbye". the idiot fomoco engineers who decided to "protect" the hybrid battery by "stalling" the vehicle on the freeway obviously never considered what a freeway-speed rear-end impact would do to their precious battery...or to the "replaceable" living occupants of the vehicle.

- Studio City, CA, USA

problem #11

Feb 142015

Mariner Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 52,000 miles

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

Experienced two in-traffic drive-train shut-downs as dangerous as the G.M. ignition switch malfunctions... traveling in 60mph-70mph night-time valentine's night freeway traffic on the I-405 in santa ana, ca. In the #3 lane of 5 lanes, the check engine warning light suddenly flashed on - accompanied by the `screech' of the `check gauges' tone - and the drive-train lost all power -- along with the absolutely worthless text "stop safely now". with no power steering, and limited brake booster reserves, I activated the hazard flashers - and thanks to alert and courteous traffic, was able to stop in a "reverse gore-point" between the freeway lanes and an outside transition road. Things could have come out far-worse if overtaking drivers had been inattentive - or we had to cross the path of a big-rig with limited braking- or steering capabilities. As an accident reconstructionist, this is unacceptable. This is the second of our family's fomoco hybrids to experience such in-use drive-train shut-downs that provide the driver with no usable warnings of impending doom - not even "limp-away power"... the "after-it's-too-late" message-panel might as well display "kiss your a$$ goodbye". the idiot fomoco engineers who decided to "protect" the hybrid battery by "stalling" the vehicle on the freeway obviously never considered what a freeway-speed rear-end impact would do to their precious battery...or to the "replaceable" living occupants of the vehicle.

- Studio City, CA, USA

problem #10

Apr 292013

Mariner Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 100,000 miles
My 2008 Mercury Mariner hybrid has a dangerous high speed stall condition. It is very serious and puts the vehicle and occupants in a situation that causes a very high risk of a crash. This said, my vehicle is not covered in the current recall" why not"

- Newport Beach, CA, USA

problem #9

Aug 062014

Mariner Hybrid

  • 96,000 miles
Engine shuts off and display says to pull off road. This has been a on going problem. The dealer replaced the throttle body and it still happens. It is very unsafe to lose your vehicle's acceleration and have the engine turn off. I think it may be a computer code glitch because based on what I was told by the dealer the engine shuts off because a fuel mixture issue detect that may even be a false reading. This automated action within the vehicle brain decision puts many at risk as I found out when I was in the furthest left lane about a mile before the 55 freeway turn off while traveling South on the 91 freeway with the car shut off it's engine. I lost power and needed to pull over while a car behind me was flashing their headlights and the car to my right was slowly passing me up. Next came a bigger challenge since there were 2 big rigs on the road and I hit the brakes a little while signalling a lane change with my flashers on I managed to squeeze between the two rigs and almost caused the one behind me to rear end me. The big rig in turn caused the car behind to break and this almost lead to a pile up. That intersection on the freeway where the 55 freeway begins on your left lanes and the 91 freeways continues on the right is a very dangerous place to have to negotiate a pull over. It is compounded with a entry ramp with cars trying to quickly get into the left 2 lanes in order to get onto the 55 freeway. I do not see a reason to have your vehicle turn itself of for any reason other than a fire or a very serious safely issue. Based on what I know the computer of my vehicle puts people in danger over a possible issue with the smog pollution being too excessive for the moment.

- Costa Mesa, CA, USA

problem #8

Aug 032014

Mariner Hybrid

  • 95,000 miles
While driving the vehicle shuts off with a red triangle and the display says to pull off safely. This has happened about 6 times already. I have taken it back to the Ford dealer and they replaced the throttle body because there is a sensor that fails in the unit and they explained the factory calibrates the whole unit with a steep price tag. Lucky I still have 5000 miles till warranty expires. I guess a number of times it was not a big deal to pull over on the shoulder and restart the vehicle and carry on. This last time we had service done to the vehicle I informed the Ford service agent that we were going on a long trip and if we should get a rental. He was confident the work they performed would resolve the shut down issue. We left la and went on our way to bishop for a group hiking trip. The mariner ran fine for 3/4 of the way and again while driving on a 2 lane road the mariner shuts off. I negotiated to the right as my speed was declining and a 18 wheeler was passing me up on the right and the car behind me was gaining on my rear. It was a bit scary but we managed to pull over safely. Upon turning off the mariner ignition and restarting we carried on to the destination. It was raining and a road conditions were not the best but we did not want to be stranded on the side of the road. Once again after driving for 10 minutes the mariner shut off and with the loss of power. Not a safe situation to have your engine shut off while driving in a freeway at speed of 65 and to suddenly loss your engine with no ability to accelerate out of a unsafe situation. It could be very dangerous if we were traveling on a windy single lane road without a shoulder as there are a bunch in the higher elevations where we hike. It would not be safe to stop and deal with this situation as cars are coming up a hill and your trying to reset the ignition computer system.

- Costa Mesa, CA, USA

problem #7

Oct 042013

Mariner Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 66,650 miles

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

While traveling on the open hwy @ 75mph, I suddenly got "pull over safely now" message on the info center of the dash and a red triangle alert on the right side of the dash. I pulled over immediately. Stopped the car, turned off the ignition and waited a moment. I then started the car, all seemed fine (no message) and proceeded. A short time later, the exact same thing happened again. I pulled off the hwy and repeated the steps above. The car was riding well and smoothly with no apparent problems. But, the longer I drove, the more frequently the problem occurred. I was only able to drive for a few minutes before the dash board warning would reappear. I pulled into the nearest Ford dealership to get the problem resolved. I have been told it is the throttle body and am currently waiting for the problem to be resolved.

- Venice, FL, USA

problem #6

Jul 212009

Mariner Hybrid

  • 25,000 miles
Stalling, total loss of power on freeway, or making a city turn, or accelerating from a stop sign or light, or going up even a slight incline, such as a driveway to a house. Only in the summer. Do not dare use air conditioning, which makes it occur quicker and much more often. 95 degrees outside, 113 degrees in car - cannot and do not use air conditioner, but still happens on trip over 15 minutes long. Totally unsafe. Like other contributors, I would like to know why there has been no recall. Just today, July 10, 2013, 18-wheeler behind me (close) on 45 mph city street, and I stalled. I stuck my left hand out of my window in a "please stop" gesture, and driver did stop, but I was terrified. Must come to full stop, put car in park to re-start it. But same thing will happen at next light or sign or change of speed, whether in 5 minutes or 30 seconds, city street or freeway. At this point, I would say this has happened approximately 250 times. Yes, that is not a typo. No question Ford knows about this.

- Memphis, TN, USA

problem #5

Sep 292012

Mariner Hybrid

  • 66,700 miles
At ~ 10:10pm traveling at 68-70 mph in fast, moderate freeway traffic in the #3 N/B lane of I-5 in silverlake area, ~ -mi South of the interchange with the sr-2 freeway (~ @ riverside dr. Over-crossing). Suddenly / with no warming, engine lost all power & shut down and I heard a `screeching' warning tone, saw the red triangle of doom warning symbol appear in the upper/right of the instrument panel, the tachometer dropped to `zero'' and the `too-little-too-late' warning text stop now' text appeared at the bottom of the instrument panel (how was I supposed to do this with no power?). only thing that saves us was that we had significant speed to coast out of traffic - other drivers thankfully gave-way to let us do so. First of three such complete losses of power in traffic, attempting to reach safety.

- Long Beach, CA, USA

problem #4

Sep 292012

Mariner Hybrid

  • 66,700 miles
This would be the third total engine power shut-down at freeway speeds with no limp-away option after exiting the freeway, realized that we were in an unsafe neighborhood [so not a good option to stop and call for tow], tried mapping surface street route to safer area, but nav system showed the only surface street route to take us back home put us on a steep, narrow winding section of laurel canyon - no safe exit if another shut-down. Also realized we couldn't use riverside thru griffith park which is locked after dark.. so zig-zagged North and West about 5 miles below 40 mph keeping to lighted streets hoping for safe place or unremembered route. Engine remained stable once more, drove towards I-5 again on los feliz (past the griffin bar ' and a topless club).. remembered los feliz ahead had a long, separate entrance ramp to N/B I-5. the drivetrain accelerated smoothly to ~50 mph, then warnings / drive train died again at the bottom of the on-ramp.. hazards ' again.. but with less momentum, harder to find a wide-enough spot on the N/B outer shoulder across from S/end griffith park golf course. When minimal spot found stopped / parked / shut down and restarted again, engine started and idled smoothly, no warning lights remained on. Now about 10:15pm. With hazards on, rolled below fwy speeds along shoulder until it ran out just as adequate opening appeared in outside lane. Accelerated cautiously to below 50 mph, limped off at odd freeway appendix which leads East - merged right onto san fernando, turned left (North) at next signal and started working way about 12 miles back West on surface streets from the moorpark area never exceeding 45 mph. No additional drivetrain issues before we reached studio city home ~ 11:10pm. This was the third total engine power shut-down at freeway speeds with no `limp away' option.

- Long Beach, CA, 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

Jul 042012

Mariner Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 57,000 miles
Vehicle was in middle lane of interstate 95 with traffic moving at 65-70 mph when there was (according to Ford tech) a failure of the motor electronics cooling pump. This caused the vehicle engine to shut down and could have caused accident/death if wife wasn't able to get to shoulder weaving through lanes of traffic. I see online at that this has been reported as a major complaint for awhile. Why is this not a recall? someone will sure get killed. Our car has only 57K miles.

- Manassas, VA, USA

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