The contact owns a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer. The contact stated that the seat belt became too tight to breathe and would not loosen. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not provided. The failure mileage was unknown.

- New Roxford, PA, USA

2002 Mercury Mountaineer V8 AWD 4.6 transmission failure. Vehicle had under 60,000 miles, but had surpassed extended warranty time frame. Reverse vehicle would not move. Shifted very hard through gears. Sometimes tacking at 3000 RPM. Took to a transmission specialist. Repaired at a cost of $2600. Have since returned vehicle to same place for same issues plus transmission overheat light and leaking transmission fluid. Seat belts locked down for no reason. Would not retract. Called dealer, could not do anything because I was over restraint warranty by 3000 miles. Have replaced all 4 seat belt restraints. Front air bag light stays on or blinks, or is off. Called dealer, stated repair would not be covered due to mileage. I purchased this vehicle brand new June 2002. Today it has 65,00 miles on it. Is driven primarily on the highway for vacations. Have had several small repairs that were covered under extended warranty. I am very disappointed in the performance of this vehicles drive train and safety restraint system to include seat belts and air bag issues. With as many complaints I see on line about the transmission and front air bag issues, seems to me something should be done to help those of us that purchased in good faith what should have been a great vehicle. I have been a Ford/ Mercury owner since 1971. This is the first vehicle I have had that had major issues.

- Muncie, IN, USA

My transmission failed while I was driving on the freeway with my child in the car. This cause my car to "buck" and come to almost complete stop. Thankfully I was in the right lane and able to get off onto the shoulder. My car then would only go into 1st and 2nd gear. It would not shift to 3rd. I took it to a service center (actually 3 of them) who told me I need a new transmission. This is an extremely dangerous situation occurring with these cars. There were not tell tail signs. It was not slipping or rattling previous to this. In searching the internet on google I find there are thousands of people who are have experienced this same problem with Mercury or Ford 2000-2003 vehicles. Why isn't there a recall on this part. This is unacceptable. Eventually someone is going to get hurt. This repair is going to cost me approx. $3000. In addition to this one of my seat belts stopped working. When buckled it comes undone when I am driving. This is a rear passenger seat belt where my child sits. He can not refasten it by himself. I no longer seat him in that particular seat. But how long before the other stop working as well. For some reason your website will not take this number. I just called Ford and they verified the #.

- Chicago, IL, USA