My car was in drive at a business traffic intersection drive way on a slight hill with the brakes on when the engine surged and the car started to reverse while still in drive. I had to put considerable pressure on the brakes to stop it. I checked and the shift lever was still in drive. My car has been properly maintained and was recently serviced with all required services done. This really scared me and I would have crashed into a car if it was behind me. Ford should look into this safety problem.

- Beverly Hills, FL, USA

The contact owns a 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that the vehicle would stall sporadically and without warning. A local mechanic diagnosed that the intake manifold would need to be replaced. The dealer was contacted, but denied any assistance with repairs to the defect. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 90,200 and the current mileage was 91,000.

- Plano, TX, USA

Vehicle would shake violently at any speed from 45-80mph. Took to a mechanic said the front end needed to be replaced. $800 later it still did it, then took back said the tires needed to be replaced although we had 80,000 mile tires, and only had 35,000 miles put on them. Replaced the tires for $600. Still shook, took to a different mechanic said it was the transmission failing. During scheduled maintenance found cracked intake manifold, antifreeze and oil in spark plugs, cleaned out changed spark plugs, ran fine until the manifold leaked more coolant into the spark plugs and now we are at square one. Researched online found a bunch of places saying it was recalled, when I called the dealership they said no recalls. Price of replacing the part was $615 if I had one alternator, or $650 if I had another.

- Slidell, LA, USA

While driving, (at any speed)the car's engine shut down several times. Each time I heard a "beep" and warning lights came on- check engine, traction control and ABS. After a minute or so, the engine would start normally. The engine shut down 6 times ! each time I heard the "beep" and warning lights illuminated including traction control and check engine lights. I was on my way home with my newborn in the car, it just cuts off, and it nearly caused an accident on the highway as many other cars almost ran into me because the car shut off while I was driving on the highway. This is a very dangerous condition, especially as power steering and power brakes are lost on shut-down. I am literally afraid of driving my vehicle as no one knows what is wrong with my vehicle. This needs to be addressed asap as someone could get seriously hurt or killed. Including children!....by the way, this has been happening all week.

- Mesquite, TX, USA

We never received notification of the manifold defect and recently discovered that there was a recall. Our car is a 1999 Grand Marquis with cracked manifold intake. We took it to the local dealer and they said that they cannot do any warranty adjustments since the deadline was exhausted. We called summer of 2009 to let them be aware of this problem. Though they were nice, they were still firm on denying us repair or adjustments under the law suit and recall. Now what do we do since we never received notification nor were we aware of any problem with the car?

- Lynn Haven, FL, USA

The contact owns a 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis. He could not accelerate past 30-35 mph. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician stated that the failure was because of a plastic intake manifold. The vehicle was repaired with the replacements of a metal intake manifold and spark plugs. The following day after the service repair, he experienced rough idling while starting the engine cold. The authorized dealer was notified of the failure, but no remedy was available. The failure mileage was 54,300. The current mileage was unavailable.

- Brick , NJ, USA

Cracked intake manifold on a 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis with only 52000 miles on it. Cost $1200 to repair. Was not notified of recall. 52000 miles is only about 4.3 years of actual use. It is unfair that low mileage drivers should be punished for conserving energy.

- Clovis, CA, USA

I noticed coolant leaking from somewhere in the engine compartment, but initially had trouble finding where the leak was coming from. I finally discovered that the intake manifold was cracked at the plastic thermostat housing.

- Salisbury, NC, USA

Cracking plastic intake manifold on Mercury V-8 car over heats due to water/coolant leaking looking into getting fixed.

- Ashton, IL, USA

Complete cracking of plastic intake manifold causing completer loss of coolant and $1400 repair with the new replacement metal manifold.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

I had to fix the leak 3 times. Finally, my mechanic noticed the crack on the intake manifold. It is made of hard plastic! what in the world anyone would design such part in plastic? how can such material sustain extreme heat for long periods of time. I purchased new one and it is plastic again with a little improvement. But it is mostly plastic again. I believe this is service scam. You make parts to only last 4 years and make money from selling auto parts. The dealership person sold me the parts stated that he had sold 6 of them last week alone and he has it in stock all the time. You know the problem but failed to inform consumers. I want a satisfactory answer before buying another american car.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA