While driving I noticed my third row seat was bouncing some, when I stopped I found that the latch holding the seat down was unattached. When I took it into the dealer he said that it is rusted through. I had my special needs son in that seat, hit his head but nothing major. Unfortunately I now am unable to transport my special needs son because he has to be in the third row seat. My drivers side wheel well is also totally rusted through and water is getting into the car. I am not sure if it is related but my traction control light is always off and on along with the tire pressure indicator. I already replaced the PCM last year when my car became un-drivable due to major electrical issues.
2004 Mercury Monterey body complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 19 of 19, newest first, as owners wrote them.
When my 10 year old son was getting in the car today he noticed that the 3rd row seat was wobbly and moving around. We saw that the latch that holds the seat in place was no longer there! In its place was a hole to the outside of the car. I looked in the drivers-side rear wheel well and saw that the entire latch anchor plate had rusted completely off! Thankfully I noticed this before we got on the road because the anchor plate was laying lodged between the wheel and the body of the car - who knows what type of accident or further damage could have occurred to our own vehicle or to others who could have been in the path of the falling, detached plate. I have 3 children and can no longer drive my van since the rear seat is not fully attached to the vehicle and my children are too young to ride in the front seat - not to mention the large, gaping hole in my car. It appears that the passenger-side plate is rusting through as well. This is a 2004 and should not be having such severe rust issues that entire pieces of the body are falling off.
While driving car, the rear of vehicle started making loud grinding noise while making right turn. Result-rear wheel wells corroded causing the 3rd row seat anchor to completely detach from the vehicle resulting in exposing the interior of vehicle and rendering the third seat unsafe to use.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mercury monterey. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the contact's personal mechanic and the transmission was replaced. Several months later while driving 25 MPH, a child passenger noticed that they could see the roadway from the third row seat. Upon investigation, the contact noticed that the vehicle had rust along the driver and passenger sides of the frame where the third row seat was connected. Two months later the vehicle would not start and was towed to the contact's personal mechanic but the failure had not been diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 138,306 and the current mileage was 173,476.
Powertrain: front wheel bearings went out (squeeling sound) in 2006 with 8k miles on vehicle. A tsb was out for that issue and the wheel bearings(2) were replaced. The front bearings went out again in 2009 at about 27k miles. The vehicle was covered by a ford esp. The dealer said that they couldn't hear the noise - the noise would come and go - so no repair was done at that time. I have the repair order stating "no problem found". Now at 35k miles the bearing noise has become much worse and much more frequent but now the warranty is over and it will cost about $700 to repair. What kind of poorly made bearings are these? Body: in 2009 I noticed rust at the left rear wheel well area and it is now coming through the left quarter panel. There is also rust at the right rear wheel well area although it has not gone through the right quarter panel. Left and right front doors also rusting at the bottom facing the passenger compartment.
Large section of driver side rear wheel well/underbody, broke off from vehicle including an anchor for the third row seat. This left the third row seat unsafe to use and the interior of the vehicle exposed to the elements. Piece was clearly rotted through. We are told it will cost $1200 to repair, parts are scarce and difficult to obtain. Unable to safely utilize third row seat until repaired. Water is trapped in the underbody and could be damaging to the electrical system. Pictures available upon request.
After a rainstorm I opened the tailgate of my vehicle and was surprised to find that the rear wheel well was wet. I vacuumed the water out and brought it to the dealer almost 2 months later after finding moisture several other times. The dealer had a service tech try to recreate how the water got in and "determined" that I had cracked a panel. The only crack visible to me was in a trim piece around the license plate. They told me it would cost over $600 to repair. I told them nevermind. That much water could not come from that crack. Fast forward to a time near the present. Most recently, the "pull", a plastic and nylon piece on the back of the seat failed. Soon there after, one of the nylon straps used to retract the seat failed. I cannot get my seat back in to the "stowed" position. After removing the trim from the back of the seat I found all sorts of rust and corrosion to the seat base. I wouldn't feel comfortable driving with a passenger in my 3rd row seating anymore. I understand there may also be a recall on this car for some sort of leak in the wheel wells. I've been driving around with dampness in the back of my van for two plus years now and I feel like ford motor co. Is passing the buck on to the consumer to save some money. I have no faith in american made vehicles between this and a separate transmission incident. I don't even want to get on the stereo.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mercury monterey. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH the rear wheel well that secured the rear seat was covered with rust and broke away. The vehicle will be taken to the dealer to be repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and a claim was filed. They offered no additional assistance. The failure mileage was 123,000. Updated 09/02/11*lj updated 10/31/11
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 mercury monterey. While driving between 3-5 MPH out of the driveway, the vehicle just stopped moving. The vehicle would drive in reverse, but would not go forward. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic and the contact was informed that a new transmission was needed. In addition, both sliding doors on the vehicle failed to close properly. The doors would pin an adult or bounce back open instead of closing as they should. The doors were repaired. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 52,000.
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