2006 Mercury Mountaineer, blew a tire, then went off the right side of the road struck 3 bridge pillars and then jack knifed, coming to rest in the median. (Ohio traffic crash report # 10-0245-89) updated 08/06/10

- Riverdale, IL, USA

Two complaints. 1) transmission downshifts hard when slowing, such as for a stop sign. Mercury says it is a software problem. They are aware of the problem but won't fix it under the extended warranty. My vehicle has 37,700 miles. 2) extreme wire wear. It came with michlin tires and I have gotten far less than 20,000 miles out of them. I am now replacing with Bridgestone. I don't know if it is the tire or something defective with the vehicle. The dealership lied to me when I took it in for them to check. The michlins are wearing in the center of the tread and the dealership told me that it was because I had 45 pounds in the tires. I am very concerned about all aspects of upkeep of my vehicle. It calls for 32 psi front and rear. The tires are always within a couple of pounds of that figure. Granted the wear does look like overinflation. Something is wrong with the tire or the vehicle. I have made sure the alignment is right on and it does alighn properly so I tend to believe it is the michlin cross terrian 235X65X18 tires. Other than the trans which the dealership advises will be fixed with a software upgrade and the tire problem, everything else is very satisfactory with the vehicle.

- Creede, CO, USA