The plastic intake manifold of my 2003 Mercury 4.6L V-8 came apart and let the coolant leak out onto the engine.this car was built in Canada in mid-2002 the problem is rampant in many years of the Ford co cars. And in 2001 a class action suit was filed, in which Ford was directed to pay damages to all owners (1,800,000 owners) of this type of engine and Ford was supposed to stop installing that item as of then. Clearly they did not stop and that failure cost me over $1000 to repair. The repair part is now partly aluminum and part plastic. See: www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/ford_manifold_suit.html.

- Keyport, NJ, USA

My wife was driving our 1997 Mercury marquis home in heavy traffic. Suddenly steam began pouring out from under the hood and the "hot" light went on. She pulled to the edge of the road and called me. I sent a tow truck to bring the car to our home. I looked and could see water all over the engine and perhaps a hose broken. Rather than tow it to the dealership, 20 miles away, I called a quality garage locally that I had dealt with before. They said the intake manifold was cracked, the water pump leaking as a minimum. The cost to replace and fix everything was $1075. While calling around for parts, the mechanic discovered that this was a common problem and Ford had recalled police and city fleet vehicles for upgrade to fix this problem. Upon checking with the Mercury shop foreman, he confirmed that story. Since I had a 100,000 mile warranty that had expired only a few months prior, I asked why Ford would not help pay for the damage. I was told it was not covered. I asked why, knowing that this problem existed, why they had not fixed it under the warranty. I was told they never thought of it. Lousy service, lousy engineering and I now drive a Toyota.

- Round Rock, TX, USA

Engine made a loud knocking sound. Vehicle was taken to the dealer several times since purchase. Dealer stated that there was no sound, nothing was done. Another outside mechanic told him it sounded like a bearing. Dealer stated that the right cylinder had to be replaced, and the vehicle was still at dealer.

- Mansfield, OH, USA