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2004 Mercury Monterey Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 283 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Mercury Monterey, most often about the transmission (72% of complaints, typically around 77,500 miles). It is the most complained-about Monterey model year since 2000 and has 4 recalls.
Most common 2004 Mercury Monterey problems
Transmission
203 complaints · 72%Half of these problems showed up before 77,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, manual transmission.
I was pulling out of an intersection on to a state route and just as I got into the lane my transmission popped into neutral. I had to coast to the side of the road causes the cars behind me to hit their brakes and go around me to keep from hitting each other.
Tl contact owns a 2004 Mercury Monterey. The contact experienced transmission failure while driving 5 MPH. The failure caused the vehicle to stop in the middle of the intersection. There were no warning lights illuminated before or after the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for a diagnostic…
Body and structure
19 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 124,500 miles. Parts named most often: body, frame and members.
The contact owns a 2004 Mercury Monterey. The contact stated that the rear floorboard was rusted and causing the rear seat to become dislodged. The dealer was contacted and the vehicle was scheduled for diagnosis. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was unavailable. The failure and current mileage was 125,000.
The front end of the car was welded improperly and the weather stripping was faulty allowing water to pour down into the car and onto the powertrain control module (PCM) at any time after it rains causing the car to lose power and the transmission to fail. This is a known and common problem among '04 Monterey and ford…
Seats
16 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 120,000 miles. Parts named most often: mid/rear assembly.
The contact owns a 2004 Mercury Monterey. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH the rear wheel well that secured the rear seat was covered with rust and broke away. The vehicle will be taken to the dealer to be repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and a claim was filed. They offered no additional assistance. The…
The backseat anchor, located in the rear driver's side wheel well, completely detached while driving down the road. The third row seat will now not lock in place and moves around.
Engine
14 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 104,000 miles. Parts named most often: cooling system.
The contact owns a 2004 Mercury Monterey. The contact stated that after entering a highway driving 70 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was able to be restarted after a few moments and was taken to an independent mechanic where they advised that the engine control module failed and needed to be…
The contact owns a 2004 Mercury Monterey. While driving at approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to multiple dealers and independent mechanics who were unable to diagnose the failure. The failure…
Electrical
11 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 118,000 miles. Parts named most often: instrument cluster/panel, instrument panel.
1st - radio started flashing on and off randomly - took to ford dealer - no error code, no answer. 2nd - heated seat on drivers side quit working - took to ford dealer - no error code, no answer. Took to private repair shop - error code of low voltage battery - replaced battery for $125 3rd - automatic lights quit…
The front end of the car was welded improperly and the weather stripping was faulty allowing water to pour down into the car and onto the powertrain control module (PCM) at any time after it rains causing the car to lose power and the transmission to fail. This is a known and common problem among '04 Monterey and ford…
Speed control
11 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 63,000 miles. Parts named most often: accelerator pedal.
The contact owned a 2004 Mercury Monterey. The contact stated that when the gear shifter was placed into the reverse position and backing out of a parking space, the vehicle accelerated on its own and crashed into a fence. The failure recurred and the vehicle was towed to a body shop. There were no injuries and a…
I have brought my vehicle into southgate lincoln Mercury in southgate mi several times prior to the torque converter repair. Since the repair I have continued to experience problems with drivability. Gas mileage has reduced greatly (was around 17-19) down to 13.8. The vehicle drives at high RPM's and I still…
Fuel system
10 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 102,500 miles.
While driving down the road, the engine died without warning, no power. It had no power steering, it had shut off completely. It was hard to restart and then after going again it died again as I was trying to pull over.
I purchased this van from a one owner elderly couple-at the time of purchase had 47,000 miles on it. Worked great for first 8 months then the problems started. Had to replace spark plugs then coil assembly, then fuel injectors, value exhaust gas, recall of the torque convertor(dealership had my van 3 days shy of 1…
Wheels and tires
9 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 63,000 miles. Parts named most often: hub, sidewall.
Tl contact owns a 2004 Mercury Monterey. The contact noticed that the front end of the vehicle was making noise. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop where the contact was informed that the front wheel hub assembly was defective. The vehicle was then taken to an authorized dealership where the contact was told that…
Tl contact owns a 2004 Mercury Monterey. While driving at various speeds, the contact heard a high-pitched whistling sound. The failure occurred when driving for approximately ten minutes. The weather was not a factor. The contact called the dealer who referenced recall # 04v446000 (wheels:cap/cover/hub). The dealer…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2004 Mercury Monterey recalls
Seats
Risk: In the event that the vehicle is crashed into from the rear, an unlatched seat may increase the risk of personal injury.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will install new third row seat latch striker mounting brackets, free of charge. The recall began on march 28, 2013. Owners may contact ford motor company customer relationship center at 1-866-436-7332.
Full defect summary
Ford is recalling certain model year 2004-2007 freestar and mercury monterey vehicles manufactured from march 24, 2003, through november 7, 2006, equipped with a third row seat and originally sold in, or currently registered in, connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin and the district of columbia. The third row stowable seat can experience corrosion and structural degradation at the seat anchor mechanism mounted to the rear wheel wells. As a result of the corrosion, the third row seat may not fully latch into its seating position.
Transmission: torque converter
Risk: This condition results in a sudden loss of motive power with no warning, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the torque converter free of charge. The safety recall began on august 9, 2012. Owners may contact the ford motor company customer relationship center at 1-866-436-7332.
Full defect summary
Ford is recalling certain model year 2004 and 2005 ford freestar and mercury monterey vehicles. The torque converter output shaft may fail.
Wheels and tires: hub
Risk: If the cracks were to progress, this could eventually result in wheel separation. Wheel separation may lead to loss of vehicle control, and potentially result in a vehicle crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the front hub, rotors, and wheel bearings. The recall began september 20, 2004. Owners should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Full defect summary
Certain minivans may have been produced with front wheel hub assemblies that were not heat treated correctly. This condition may lead to the development of small cracks in the hub.
Steering: hose, piping, and connections
Risk: If this line becomes disconnected, it may create the potential for fluid to come into contact with the exhaust system, which could result in smoke or fire.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the power steering low-pressure line to ensure that it is seated properly at the rack and pinion steering gear. Owner notification began november 10, 2003. Owners should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Full defect summary
On certain minivans, the power steering low-pressure line may not be fully seated at the rack and pinion steering gear.
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
Stabilus rear liftgate struts failing
Summary
Please see the attached closing resume summary.it has been attached to this document as a pdf.
Corrosion of third-row seat attachment
Summary
Ford is conducting a safety recall to repair the third-row seat's latch mechanisms in approximately 196,667 model year (my) 2004 through 2007 ford freestar and mercury monterey vehicles (see NHTSA recall 13v-081 for more details).the recall covers vehicles originally sold, or currently registered, in the salt belt states or high corrosion areas of the united states: connecticut, delaware, the district of columbia, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, and wisconsin.approximately 100,000 remaining my 2004-2007 freestar and monterey vehicles--those ve
Corrosion of third-row seat attachment
Summary
Odi has received 18 complaints on the subject vehicles from the salt belt states that allege severe corrosion at the rear wheel wells.additionally, odi identified 4 similar reports from ford's response to the investigation.ford submitted a total of 10 reports to odi (6 of 10 ford reports are duplicates of odi reports).the complaints indicated difficulty or inability to latch the rear seat as some of the complaints reported the entire anchor plate completely detached from the vehicle (rear wheel well).the first report of this condition was received in march 2011 and subsequent reporting frequency indicates a potentially increasing trend over time.odi seeks to evaluate the potential occupant s
Service jack failure
Summary
The subject vehicles (sv) are all automatic transmission, front wheel drive vehicles with hand actuated mechanical park brakes. The investigation focused on allegations that the service jack failed and caused the vehicles to fall. The subject scissors-type jack appears to fail at the slotted hinge joints where the jack screw is located (bends at mid-point). The failures occur while the jack is in use, and vehicle movement (forward or backward) is typically reported coincident with the failure. Ford reported that most my 2003 windstar and all my 2006-2007 freestar/monterey also use the subject jack, an additional 223,246 vehicles.NHTSA has received six consumer complaints (voqs) involving thr
Engine stalling
Summary
The subject vehicles suffered from a design issue whereby water could run down onto the cowling under the hood and located in the area of the windshield wipers and then drip onto a computer module, the powertrain control module (PCM), which could be manifested in a variety of symptoms depending on which part of the circuit board became wet or which of the connector pins shorted out.in addition to causing an engine to stall, which may or may not then restart, the water intrusion could also cause the transmission to shift poorly, the vehicle to have erratic power, a malfunction indicator light to come on, or result in an inability to start the vehicle, an inability to shift the vehicle into ei
Transmission torque converter failure
Summary
On january 4, 2012 ford motor company submitted a defect information report (NHTSA recall no. 12v-006) to NHTSA regarding a defect in the performance of the transmission torque converter for approximately 205,896 ford freestar and mercury monterey vehicles.the supplier of the torque converter manufactured converters containing a pump shaft spline that did not consistently meet the specified heat treatment requirements.in normal use, the spline may wear excessively and eventually fails without warning.if a torque converter malfunctions due to a sheared pump drive spline, the vehicle will abruptly lose motive power.this problem affected model year 2004 and 2005 freestar and monterey minivans.d
Torque converter output shaft failure
Summary
Odi has received 227 owner complaints alleging a sudden and unexpected loss of motive power due to an internal transmission failure in the subject vehicles.of those complaints, 124 can be attributed to the torque converter output shaft splines stripping causing a sudden loss of power to the drivetrain.the remaining 103 complaints experienced a loss of motive power but the specific internal failure cause within the transmission is not known.odi has upgraded the investigation to an engineering analysis (ea09-016) to continue its assessment of the scope, frequency and safety-related consequences of the alleged defect.
Questions about the 2004 Mercury Monterey
- What are the most common problems with the 2004 Mercury Monterey?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: transmission (203 complaints, typically around 77,500 miles); body and structure (19 complaints, typically around 124,500 miles); seats (16 complaints, typically around 120,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2004 Mercury Monterey have?
- 4 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from March 7, 2013 (seats). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2004 a bad year for the Mercury Monterey?
- It is the most complained-about Monterey model year since 2000, with 283 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.