total collapse of upper immediate steering shaft resulting on total separation/failure and complete loss of steering. this literally separated/fell apart in my hand when i was cleaning the front seat carpeting. i had just finished driving back from a 100 mile trip. if this would have happened on the freeway, i would have lost all steering of the vehicle resulting in catastrophic injury or death TO myself or others. i called ford and told them what happened. i found out there was a recall on this item. i found out this car was service for this before. even though this car went in for the recall, this item (upper steering shaft) has totally failed again. i have seen that this is COMMON for this steering to fail even after the initial recall "repair". this could have easily resulted in death and ford is willing to do nothing about it. one would think that of all components of a vehicle, the steering system would be safe and reliable. apparently ford does not care. they are aware of my auto failure and that it could cause certain death, but they are not interested in repairing this component that should be safe under all normal driving circumstances.
The worst 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Steering23
- Acceleration15
- Brakes10
- Body9
- Electrical9
- Engine9
- Lights5
- Fuel system4
- Airbags3
- Seat belts3
- Transmission3
- Driver assistance2
- Seats1
- Suspension1
Specific symptoms reported on the 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis
Recalls 3
Steering: rack and pinion: pinion shaft
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2005-2011 Ford Crown Victoria, 2005-2011 Mercury Grand Marquis vehicles manufactured March 23, 2004, to August 30, 2011, and 2005-2011 Lincoln Town Car vehicles manufactured March 8, 2004, to August 30, 2011, and on which the upper intermediate shaft was serviced during the course of safety recall 13V‑385. The prior repairs may not have been correctly performed.
- Risk
- Improper servicing of the upper intermediate shaft could cause the shaft to separate, which can then result in a loss of steering control, and increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify the owners of vehicles whose repair records reflect that the upper intermediate steering shaft was repaired during the course of the prior recall 13V‑385. Dealers will inspect and replace the upper immediate shaft if necessary free of charge. The recall began November 17, 2014. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 14S25.
Recall number 14V704000 · Recall details
Steering
- What is wrong
- Ford is recalling certain model year 2005-2011 Ford Crown Victoria (including Crown Victoria Police Interceptors), Mercury Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car vehicles. The affected vehicles are currently registered or were originally sold in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Severe corrosion can seize the lower intermediate shaft which may cause the upper intermediate shaft to collapse and the steering column lower bearing to separate.
- Risk
- If the lower bearing separates, the vehicle may experience a loss of steering, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners and dealers will replace the lower intermediate shaft, free of charge. The upper intermediate shaft and steering column lower bearing will be inspected to identify any damage that may have occurred as a result of lower intermediate shaft corrosion, and repaired or replaced as necessary. If the steering column lower bearing has separated, a retainer clip will be installed. The recall began on October 23, 2013. Owners may contact Ford at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's recall number is 13S08.
Recall number 13V385000 · Recall details
Suspension: front: hub
- What is wrong
- On certain passenger vehicles, a front wheel bearing and hub assembly may fracture due to improper heat treatment.
- Risk
- If a hub fractures, it may potentially detach from the wheel knuckle, resulting in the wheel being retained only by the brake caliper assembly. As a result, the wheel may separate from the vehicle potentially resulting in a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect both front wheel bearing and hub assemblies and replace them free of charge. The recall began on june 22, 2007. Owners may contact ford at 1‑800‑392‑3673.
Recall number 07V270000 · Recall details
See all 3 recalls for the 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis
Defect investigations
Tire valve cracking
On october 14, 2008, odi opened pe08-060 to investigate allegations of cracked and leaking snap-in tire valves in model year (my) 2007 vehicles manufactured by ford motor company.the valves were supplied to ford by topseal auto-parts, a subsidiary of the shanghai baolong automotive corporation in china.valves made by topseal for aftermarket sale were the subject of two recent safety recalls by tech international (08t-018) and dill air controls (08t-028), the latter of which was investigated by odi in pe08-036 and ea08-022.the defect conditions addressed by the aftermarket tire valve recalls both involved inadequate resistance to ozone cracking due to issues with the supply of anti-ozonant chemicals to topseal for a period from july to mid-november 2006.the aftermarket valves were compounded with a blend of epdm and natural rubber, using a relatively low percentage of epdm (epdm provides inherent resistance to ozone cracking).hence, the need for anti-ozonant chemicals and the problems with cracking when those chemicals were missing or out of specification in some lots of valves.both recall campaigns involved inspection programs to identify and replace valves with visible surface cracking.although the topseal valves supplied to ford also appear to have been affected by the anti-ozonant supply issues in mid to late-2006, ford indicated that its valves were made at a different topseal production line and were compounded with a higher percentage of epdm rubber to meet more stringent specifications from ford.odi's analysis of complaint and warranty data provided by ford showed that problems with cracked tire valves were significantly higher for my 2007 vehicles produced from december 2006 through march 2007.ford responded by implementing changes in its material specifications for snap-in rubber tire valves and also increasing the quality and acceptance standards for valves imported for use in its vehicles.while the complaint and warranty claim rates are elevated for subject vehicles produced from december 2006 through march 2007, the rates of leaking valves are well below one percent of production for each of the peak months for all of the affected models.a substantial majority of the subject vehicles are equipped with tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) which warn the driver when any tire pressures drops below 25 percent of recommended inflation pressure. As outlined in a letter to odi dated april 6, 2009, ford has agreed to send letters to owners of certain my 2007 and 2008 ford, lincoln and mercury vehicles to provide information about the cracking concern. Letters will be sent to owners of vehicles built from november 2006 through may 2007.owners can opt for a free dealer inspection.valves exhibiting surface cracks or air leakage related to ozone attack will be replaced by ford under its normal warranty terms.ford expects to send the letter by approximately mid-may 2009. Based on the use of TPMS in the majority of subject vehicles and the relatively low rates of repairs associated with leaking valves and resultant tire damage, odi believes that the actions ford has agreed to take will provide effective and expeditious resolution for vehicles that were built during the period when valves with inadequate resistance to ozone cracking were most likely to have been used in vehicle production.further investigation of this matter would not be an efficient allocation of agency resources.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will continue to
PE08060
Technical service bulletins for the 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis 16
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- This SKU is a Radiator Fan. The customer communication requested return of unsold inventory to inspect the...
- Replacing the original equipment SYNC/Navigation system with either an aftermarket SYNC/Navigation kit or...
- Replacing the original equipment sync/navigation system with either an aftermarket sync/navigation kit or...
- The Powertrain Control/Emissions Diagnosis (PC/ED) manual has been revised for diagnosing electronic...
- For 2005-2012 Crown Victoria, 2005-2011 Grand Marquis and Town Car vehicles, Regional Program 13R01...
- Inpected or repaired under 13R01
- 4R75E transmission
- 4R75E Transmission
- Ford: the lower intermediate steering shaft, has corrosion of swing link joints, combined with collapsed...
- Ford/lincoln/mercury: failure of planetary gear assembly is due to transmission, on certain vehicles,...
2008 Mercury Grand Marquis fuel economy
Official EPA estimates in miles per gallon (MPGe for electric). Ranges cover trims that share the same engine.
| Engine | Drive | City | Highway | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.6L 8‑cyl | RWD | 15 | 23 | 18 |
What 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
My vehicle is from a northern state and came down to [XXX] and my intermediate shaft collapsed after looking up through ford if my recall had ever been done it shows that it had been done but the part that says it was replaced looked like it was never replaced and I had to fix that problem myself and then noticed that my steering wheel was not working properly so I looked under the dash and there was a green retainer that came out of the steering column and now my vehicle has no steering do to this and I believe ford should make this a recall cause a lot of people have had the same problems and I found that out looking it up INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that the vehicle was included in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 13V385000 (Steering). The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the lower intermediate shaft was replaced. The contact stated that it was determined that the upper intermediate shaft and steering column lower bearing did not need to be replaced at the time. Several years after the recall repair was completed, the steering column began lowering unintendedly, and a zip tie was used to keep it in place. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was no longer covered under the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.
See attached document from complainant
The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the steering felt loose. The contact stated that the power steering was still operable however, the vehicle would drift to the left or right with no input on the steering wheel. The contact stated that he would correct the steering and the vehicle would continue to drift to the right and to the left. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that he drove the vehicle to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was diagnosed and the mechanic related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 13V385000 (Steering). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that the wiring harness for the brake pedal sensor was faulty, causing the exterior brake lights to fail to illuminate. The failure almost caused a collision. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact to bring the vehicle in to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
Left home the other day I noticed that the steering had become was stiff when the wheels were straight..it wasn't bad turning till it was going straight..the next day the steering became stiff and erratic. It would work sometimes and it would be stiff...found out the lower steering shaft had frozen up..There was a recall back in 2013 doe the lower shaft with is breaking..My car was a Florida car but Ford supposed have fixed it because I was moving back to NY..Have been back in NY for 3 1/2 years now it froze up..The recall for cars in the northern states..Seeing I was moving back to NY they claimed they did the recall..it shouldn't have corroded that fast..I have no way to prove they did the recall or if they faked it..It is cleared as it had been repaired..
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mercury grand marquis. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds at night, the headlights intermittently failed to operate without warning. The contact also stated that the instrument panel went blank while experiencing the failure. The contact stated that the headlights resumed normal operation a few minutes after failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to a local dealer to have the vehicle inspected. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.
I was driving in town and several times when I slowed down to stop at a stop sign or corner, after braking my car accelerated by itself. The engine revved up and made the car jump forward. I had to slightly release the brake snd brake harder to stop and avoid going into the intersection.
Passengers side seatbelt locks
Compare the 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis
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Questions about the 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis
Is the 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis reliable?
Owners have filed 80 complaints about the 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis, fewer than a typical Grand Marquis model year.
What is the 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis year score?
The 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis scores 72 out of 100 (average). The score compares it with the other model years of the Mercury Grand Marquis: 75 is a typical year, 50 means twice the usual complaints, and serious complaints and recalls lower it.
What is the most common problem with the 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis?
Steering, with 23 complaints, typically around 66,000 miles. Next is acceleration (15).
How many recalls does the 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis have?
3 recalls, covering steering and suspension.
Was there a recall on the 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis steering?
Yes, 2 recalls: 14V704000, 13V385000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Mercury Grand Marquis have bad steering?
The Mercury Grand Marquis model years with the most steering complaints are 2004 (65 complaints), 2003 (28 complaints) and 1995 (24 complaints).
What gas mileage does the 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis get?
Official estimates for the 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis range from 18 mpg combined. The most efficient version (4.6L 8-cyl, RWD) gets 15 city and 23 highway.
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