2003 Mercury Mountaineer AWD 4.0L. We purchased our Mountaineer in June of 2004, with 22,000 miles on the odometer. Approximately 300 miles into our ownership, we experienced a front bearing wine. Dealership covered defect under 3 year / 36,000 mile warranty. Other defects covered...replacement of the rear speed sensor at 23,454 miles. A 2nd ABS problem required a new actuator speed control switch assembly at 28,419 miles. Transmission shift solenoid replaced at 32,075 miles. Driver side passenger window motor replaced at 33,443 miles. Recall on rear glass hatch lift struts at 27,379 miles. January 23, 2006 our Mountaineer now has 42,777 miles on the odometer. We noticed a low pitch noise starting at 25-30 mph and becoming higher in pitch at higher speeds. Our local Lincoln / Mercury dealership service advisor determined we had a faulty rear axle ring & pinion gear set. They rebuilt our rear axle using the VIN # to determine actual bill of sales date, which was June of 2003. This gave us a warranty until June of 2006 thus nearing the end of our 36 months warranty. We regretfully admit paying a $200 deductible the dealership asked for. We drove off with our newly rebuilt axle in our Mountaineer. Our noisy axle never went away. The dealership blamed this due to worn and noisy tires. We replaced these tires at 47,500 miles or 4,500 miles after the original axle noise complaint with no real apparent change to our noisy problem. Our Mercury Mountaineer went back into the shop at 48,300 miles with a noise still distinctive from the rear. Again our local Mercury dealership took a look at the SUV with the service manager riding in the vehicle. His comment... sounds like an on-going rear axle issue. He would check with his district manager about replacing the entire axle assembly this time around. They contacted us by phone the next day. They didn't believe it was the axle, but one of the rear outer hub wheel bearing assemblies. It would cost us $270.

- Topeka, KS, USA