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2008 Mercury Mariner Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 461 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Mercury Mariner, most often about the steering (64% of complaints, typically around 120,000 miles). It is the most complained-about Mariner model year since 2000 and has 3 recalls.
Most common 2008 Mercury Mariner problems
Steering
297 complaints · 64%Half of these problems showed up before 120,000 miles. Parts named most often: column, electric power assist system.
The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated that upon entering and powering on the vehicle, the contact stated that it became difficult to steer. The vehicle was not taken for inspection or repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 124,000.
My car is well maintained. I do everything to keep it running well and now the power steering only works half the time. It is now also making a clunking noise in the steering wheel column and the wheel will shake on its own while in park. I have read lots of complaints about this same problem on many I these vehicles…
Transmission
66 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 62,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
The transmission slipped while driving so I checked the fluid level. Fluid was low so more fluid was added. Two weeks later the fluid was low again. After checking I noticed the fluid leaking from the lines where the lines run into the fluid cooler. Contacted dealer and no recall has been issued.
Yesterday, my wrench light came on with my 2008 Mercury Mariner. I did some research this morning and found out that there was a recall on the parts. I called a local ford dealership and I was advised that due to the 5 year warranty expiring along with being above 60,000.00, I would have to come out of pocket to pay…
Brakes
35 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 101,000 miles. Parts named most often: foundation components, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip.
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.
The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH and depressing the brake pedal, the brake pedal required additional brake travel time to stop the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with…
Speed control
31 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 78,500 miles. Parts named most often: accelerator pedal, cruise control.
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…
Speed shift forced on 2nd and 4th, the vehicle has only 77000 miles and transmission is bad, contacted the dealer about the problem and no action taken, they said the vehicle is not on a recall campaign and owner needed to do repair and if the campaign started on this problem in the future they will reimburse the…
Electrical
27 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 115,000 miles. Parts named most often: ignition.
The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated that the power steering became inoperbale after the vehicle was cold started. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who located failure code: b2278 (steering torque sensor). The dealer (koons silver spring ford, 3111 automobile blvd #1, silver…
The vehicle will stall when it comes to a stop, mid turn, slowing down, and sometimes accelerating. Several websites show 100's of complaints from people with the same issue. It is a may safety concern because it dies at any point while driving.
Engine
20 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 88,500 miles. Parts named most often: engine, cooling system.
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…
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…
Other or unspecified
19 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 119,500 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.
Everytime I try to fill gas, the pumps keep shutting off. It doesn't matter how fast or slow I do it or the angle. I took it to a local garage and after they inspected it and found no obvious issues, they looked online in their mechanic website and seen that the fuel nozzils for these types of vehicles often need to…
Fuel system
10 complaints · 2%Half of these problems showed up before 91,500 miles.
I pulled into a gas station to turn around. When I came to a complete stop and pressed the gas pedal to go, my gas pedal wouldn't budge it was like it was stuck. When I pulled on the highway it done it again but it took longer to get my gas pedal to press down. When I come to stop now I have to keep my foot on the…
The vehicle will stall when it comes to a stop, mid turn, slowing down, and sometimes accelerating. Several websites show 100's of complaints from people with the same issue. It is a may safety concern because it dies at any point while driving.
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2008 Mercury Mariner recalls
Transmission: floor shift
Risk: If the shift lever disengages from the transmission, a driver may be unable to shift gear positions and the indicated shift position may not represent the gear position the vehicle is in. Should a disengagement occur while the vehicle is being driven, when the driver goes to stop and park the vehicle, the gear selection indicator may show that the transmission is in the "park" position, but the vehicle transmission may not actually be in the "park" gear position. If the vehicle is not in the "park" position there is a risk the vehicle will roll away as the driver and other occupants exit the v
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the transmissions and either tighten the manual shift lever bolt or replace the manual shift lever assembly. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on october 23, 2015. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15s28.
Full defect summary
Ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain model year 2001-2008 ford escape and mercury mariner vehicles manufactured march 31, 2001, to september 1, 2009. The affected vehicles are equipped with either a 2.3l or 3.0l engine and have had their cd4e transmission replaced with remanufactured one that was rebuilt between june 11, 2015 through july 15, 2015. These service repair part transmissions have a shift lever bolt that may not be properly tightened. As a result, the shift control lever could disengage from the transmission without warning.
Hybrid system: hybrid propulsion system
Risk: If the hybrid electronics system overheats, it may shut down the powertrain, resulting in a stall-like condition, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the original motor electronics coolant (mec) pump with an improved brushless pump, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on october 27, 2014. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 14s19.
Full defect summary
Ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain model year 2005-2008 ford escape hybrid electric vehicles manufactured october 13, 2003, to june 20, 2008, and 2006-2008 mercury mariner hybrid electric vehicles manufactured june 10, 2005, to june 20, 2008. The coolant pump for the hybrid system may fail resulting in the hybrid electronics overheating.
Steering: electric power assist system
Risk: If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power steering control module (pscm) and the instrument cluster module, free of charge. If a vehicle shows a history of a loss of the torque sensor signal or fault codes relating to the pscm when the vehicle is brought in for the recall remedy, the affected components will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on july 18, 2014. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-800-392-3673. Ford's number for this recall is 14s05.
Full defect summary
Ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 ford escape and mercury mariner vehicles manufactured august 18, 2006, through september 11, 2010. The affected vehicles have a steering torque sensor that may not be able to properly detect driver steering input. As a result, the system could remove the electric power steering (eps) assist.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Loss of power steering while driving
Summary
On may 27, 2014, amended june 2, 2014, ford motor company (ford) submitted a defect information report (dir) to NHTSA describing a safety defect that may result in a sudden loss of power steering assist while driving in approximately 746,067 model year (my) 2008 through 2011 ford escape vehicles equipped with electric power assisted steering (NHTSA 14v-284, ford 14s05). Ford's dir described the defect condition as a poor signal to noise ratio [snr] in the torque sensor within the electric power assisted steering (epas) system [which] does not allow the pscm to determine the driver's steering input. When the system detects this fault condition, it transitions the epas system to the fail-safe/
Tire valve cracking
Summary
On october 14, 2008, odi opened pe08-060 to investigate allegations of cracked and leaking snap-in tire valves in model year (my) 2007 vehicles manufactured by ford motor company.the valves were supplied to ford by topseal auto-parts, a subsidiary of the shanghai baolong automotive corporation in china.valves made by topseal for aftermarket sale were the subject of two recent safety recalls by tech international (08t-018) and dill air controls (08t-028), the latter of which was investigated by odi in pe08-036 and ea08-022.the defect conditions addressed by the aftermarket tire valve recalls both involved inadequate resistance to ozone cracking due to issues with the supply of anti-ozonant ch
Questions about the 2008 Mercury Mariner
- What are the most common problems with the 2008 Mercury Mariner?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: steering (297 complaints, typically around 120,000 miles); transmission (66 complaints, typically around 62,000 miles); brakes (35 complaints, typically around 101,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2008 Mercury Mariner have?
- 3 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from September 29, 2015 (transmission). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2008 a bad year for the Mercury Mariner?
- It is the most complained-about Mariner model year since 2000, with 461 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.