2004 Mercury Monterey problems
Owners have filed 346 complaints about the 2004 Mercury Monterey with NHTSA. Power train accounts for 61.8% of them, far more than any other system, ahead of structure at 5.5%.
Complaints346
Crashes2
Fires10
Injuries2
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Power train 61.8% · 214
Structure 5.5% · 19
Seats 4.6% · 16
Electrical system 3.2% · 11
Vehicle speed control 3.2% · 11
Steering 2.3% · 8
Engine 2.0% · 7
Engine and engine cooling 2.0% · 7
Severity
Of those complaints, 2 describe a crash, 10 describe a fire and 2 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Filings have fallen off, 5 in the last three years against 14 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 85,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Vehicle was in several time for repairs on the shifting of the vehicle. Nothing found until the vehicle suddenly would no long drive in gear. Vehicle was towed to dealer and repaired with a new torque converter around august 2004. The shifting of the vehicle is still a problem and on top of that the gas mileage and decreased significantly. The shifting problems is just a continuation of my original complaint. Power train · reported at 50,000 miles
Thursday may 23 2019. Driving down the road and my van just cut off. I was able to restart the van and get into a parking lot. I sat for a bit and tried it again. It started. But I had no power to go forward or reverse the transmission was just gone. Absolutely no warning or anything like this had happened. No service engine light .. I was on a city street. I had just pulled forward from waiting for a red light. Power train · reported at 92,650 miles
With 54k miles on vehicle, and no previous problems, the transmission completely failed while driving, with the car having to coast to the side. It has required a transmission replacement. It is a 2004 Mercury Monterey, and it appears that many ford/Mercury owners have had this same problem. It's bad enough that it fails, but I was thankful we weren't on the freeway when it happened, just a city street. Power train · reported at 54,000 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…