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2005 Mercury Montego Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 135 complaints with NHTSA about the 2005 Mercury Montego, most often about the transmission (36% of complaints, typically around 58,000 miles). It is the most complained-about Montego model year since 2000 and has 2 recalls.
Most common 2005 Mercury Montego problems
Transmission
49 complaints · 36%Half of these problems showed up before 58,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, manual transmission.
My 2005 Mercury nontego has 62550 mi on car heard noise in transmission and took to dealership and it needs a new transmission after looking on line numerous poeple have had problems between 54,000 mi and 67000, mi , the transmission needed to be replaced I called ford corporation and they stated because there is no…
After driving car 20 minutes and once the car engine heats up the transmission begins to buck and jerk while driving under 40 MPH. This is a ongoing issue and is very dangerous.
Electrical
27 complaints · 20%Half of these problems showed up before 79,500 miles. Parts named most often: instrument cluster/panel, starter assembly, wiring.
My 2005 Mercury Montego has an instrument failure in which all warning lights stayed on. One light remained on after ignition was off. The backup lights stayed on while in drive presenting a significant safety hazard. For example, a car approaching from the rear, upon seeing faulty backup lights on may swerve to…
On january 8, 2011, the instrument panel of my 2005 Mercury Montego (same as ford five hundred) lost all gauges: no speedometer, no lights, no dash turn signal indicator etc. The backup lights also stay on in all gears at all times. Mileage 78,000. These are unsafe conditions especially for night driving. Per ford…
Speed control
24 complaints · 18%Half of these problems showed up before 83,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2005 Mercury Montego premier. The contact stated that the vehicle suddenly accelerated numerous times, would lose power and stall. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who performed a diagnostic which located the failure at the throttle body sensor. The throttle body sensor was not replaced. The…
As I was entering onto the highway instead of accelerating the car decelerated and was losing power and RPM's went way too high then it should of. The transmission is not acting properly.the car has a clunking sound when hitting bumps.
Brakes
18 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 23,500 miles. Parts named most often: foundation components, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip.
Rear brakes dust badly and have excessive wear. Documented this complaint on first trip to dealer after buying car. Since then I have made complaints to another Mercury dealer. Today they tell me ford has re-engineered the rear brake pads to fix the problem but because the car is more than a year old I would have to…
Excessive rear brake wear. Our 2005 Montego, purchased new in jan. 2006 experienced excessive rear brake wear with less than 24k miles of normal driving. This required new pads and rotors be replaced. We generally get 50k to 60k miles of wear on the brakes of the other ford products we have owned over the last 20…
Engine
17 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 88,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine.
The instrument gauge on my 2005 Mercury Montego just went "dead". Nothing registered, so there was no reading on my speed, engine heat gauge, fuel level, or tachometer. This happened once in early spring of this year (2012), but did not repeat until recently. It is now june and the same thing has re-occurred about 10…
As I was entering onto the highway instead of accelerating the car decelerated and was losing power and RPM's went way too high then it should of. The transmission is not acting properly.the car has a clunking sound when hitting bumps.
Fuel system
12 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 68,500 miles. Parts named most often: storage, delivery.
The car was purchased in may of 2011. August 2011, the transmission started to violently jerk and act as if it were in neutral. When gradually applying the breaks, the car would begin to shudder. This would happen only if the engine was warm. By march 2012, the shuddering transmission and jerk was constant. I took it…
Vehicle was started first thing in morning and driven approximately 25' when the transmission seemed to disengage and warning lights came on. Car remained parked for about 30 minutes and a second attempt was made. The car was driven approximately 2 miles when once again the transmission failed to engage and a loss of…
Body and structure
10 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 70,000 miles. Parts named most often: body, frame and members.
My husband was driving a 2005 Mercury Montego on a highway at 55mph when a jeep liberty crossed the median and impacted his car. It was a shearing impact, not a side impact. Our rear driver's side door and that quarter of the vehicle was ripped completely off. The rear driver's side door was bent over double with the…
My side door latches freeze in cold weather due to water intrusion. As a result, the door does not latch when closed, and could open while the vehicle is moving. This was a well know safety issue by ford. My VIN number does not show up in the recall data base so the repair cost is being pushed to me. The car certainly…
Other or unspecified
6 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 83,000 miles.
When braking it jerks and shifts into neutral and the engine reeves to 5000+ RPM. After braking and slowing it again shifts back into drive. This only happens when braking or increasing speed. No dash lights illuminate, indicating a problem. Having to slow suddenly in traffic is very dangerous. A ford dealer…
When lowering the original car's manual scissor jack it gave out half way down causing the vehicle to drop onto my driveway suddenly. The threading on the power screw seem fine but the pin that it feeds through on the other end looks mangled (see pictures). When the jack dropped it sounded like the power screw slid.…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2005 Mercury Montego recalls
Doors and locks: latch
Risk: As a result, the door latch pawl may not return to the latch position when the door is closed, and the door could open while the vehicle is moving.
Fix: Dealers will install a shield over the front latches; seal a drain hole in the rear window trim molding on the freestyle rear side doors; and apply grease to all front and rear side-door latch mechanisms free of charge. The recall began on november 8, 2006. Owners may contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Full defect summary
On certain passenger vehicles currently registered in the following states: alaska, colorado, connecticut, delaware, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, kansas, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, montana, nebraska, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, north dakota, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, south dakota, utah, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, and wyoming. The side door latch mechanisms may experience water intrusion allowing the latch mechanism to freeze in cold weather.
Fuel system: mounting
Risk: If this happens, drivers may notice a noise or a fuel leak. A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source could result in a fire.
Fix: Dealers will replace both fuel tank straps. The recall began on december 1, 2005. Owners may contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Full defect summary
On certain passenger vehicles, the straps that secure the fuel tank to the vehicle body may break, causing the fuel tank and fuel tank heat shield to drop on the driveshaft (all wheel drive vehicles) or exhaust system (front wheel drive vehicles).
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
Idle instability
Summary
On november 29, 2012, ford motor company (ford) initiated customer satisfaction program 12n03 to extend warranty coverage terms for repair of engine idle RPM surge caused by throttle body deposits in all model year (my) 2005 through 2007 ford freestyle, five hundred and mercury montego vehicles.the program extends the coverage for up to 10 years of service or 150,000 miles from the warranty start date of the vehicle (all vehicles are eligible for the program through may 31, 2013, regardless of mileage).dealers will repair vehicles exhibiting the condition by removing and cleaning the throttle body and reprogramming the PCM with software containing an updated idle speed control strategy.accor
Questions about the 2005 Mercury Montego
- What are the most common problems with the 2005 Mercury Montego?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: transmission (49 complaints, typically around 58,000 miles); electrical (27 complaints, typically around 79,500 miles); speed control (24 complaints, typically around 83,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2005 Mercury Montego have?
- 2 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from October 5, 2006 (doors and locks). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2005 a bad year for the Mercury Montego?
- It is the most complained-about Montego model year since 2000, with 135 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.