2004 Mercury Monterey: stuck in gear or won't shift

Filed Apr 9, 2014 · Body, Electrical · 123,880 miles · MA

The front end of the car was welded improperly and the weather stripping was faulty allowing water to pour down into the car and onto the powertrain control module (PCM) at any time after it rains causing the car to lose power and the transmission to fail. This is a known and common problem among '04 monterey and ford freestars. When the PCM is wet it shorts out all transmission shifting and engine regulation. The first time this happened the car would not start or run properly, had irregular engine power, and the transmission would not shift. The engine was trying accelerate even in park. The car had been parked overnight and ran fine the day before, but caused trouble the next day. It had rained during the night. When the PCM dried out the car ran normally again. The second time however, the PCM completely shorted out and is irreparable. The engine runs sporadically and the transmission will not shift out of first gear creating a driving hazard. The car seemed alright until I was on the road test driving and the car would not accelerate, causing me to be stuck going a max of 15 MPH in traffic. The car then lost power, forcing me to pull of to the side.

Filed Jan 15, 2013 · Electrical · 116,000 miles · IN

1st - radio started flashing on and off randomly - took to ford dealer - no error code, no answer. 2nd - heated seat on drivers side quit working - took to ford dealer - no error code, no answer. Took to private repair shop - error code of low voltage battery - replaced battery for $125 3rd - automatic lights quit working, dashboard control went blank - took to ford dealer - same low voltage error code - despite new battery. No other answers. 4th - automatic seats started moving when using code to open door - took to ford - found that all problems traced to one relay box - replaced relay box for $650. 5th - engine light came on one week later - no problems starting/running, made appointment to take to dealer in 3 days. 6th - engine died next day, would restart and then die again after 5 feet, towed to ford dealer, tow truck driver noted engine would not go into gear- repeatedly gave no code. Asked them to have tech take car home and drive it. Finally found corroded and wet PCM. Quoted $1400 for the repair. I looked up PCM on merc. Monterey/ford freestar - as these are essentially the same vehicle. Found tons of same complaint. Poor design from ford allowing water to drip onto main computer/electrical supply causing thousands of dollars of repairs to owners. The battery was likely just fine, the relay box likely just fine. I am working with dealer to pay less for the PCM since they should have found this from the first or second electrical complaint. Car still at dealer, I will not pay $1400 to get it repaired.

Filed Aug 26, 2011 · Transmission · 67,000 miles · WI

Without warning (lights, noises, messages) our 2004 mercury monterey, with only 67k miles, would not go into reverse. When we then tried to put it into drive, it would not go forward. When switched back to reverse, it then went forward! Luckily our service garage is only a few blocks away. ...so it only took us a couple of hours to get it there. Mechanic found magnet in tray covered with not only metal shavings, but also larger chunks of metal. Luckily this happened in our alley, so there were no traffic issues to deal with and no one got hurt.

Filed Aug 2, 2011 · Transmission · 142,921 miles · KY

On 7/25/11 I was on my way to work and without any problems, my 2004 mercury monterey just wouldn't go into gear. I had to tow my vehicle to the repair shop which notified me that the torque converter had to be replaced.

Filed Jun 4, 2011 · Transmission · 64,775 miles · WA

We are the owners of a 2004 mercury monterey with just over 64,000 miles on it. I was shocked when my wife called me on the evening of june 3rd, 2011 and told me that she had gotten into the van, started it and tried to go in reverse and the van wouldn't move. She then put it into "drive" and it seemed to work fine for a few minutes and then it made an awful clunking sound a few times and lost power as she was driving near our home heading toward the freeway. I immediately knew it was a problem with the components of the transmission. Thankfully no one was injured as she was traveling at slow speeds on surface streets just before making it onto the freeway. It scares me to think what could have happened had the problem not occurred until 5 minutes later when she would have been traveling at 60 MPH on the freeway. Prior to the incident, there were no other signs that the transmission was having problems, no slipping or missing gears. It had always driven very smoothly. I got online and found that there were many stories like mine with the 2004-5 mercury monterey/ford freestar. I'll be having my van towed to our mechanic on monday, june 5th so I can find out the extent of the damage and cost. I won't be surprised when they tell me it is the torque converter from what I have been reading from others with my same mini-van. The van currently won't shift into reverse, idles horribly and barely shifts into drive.

Filed Jan 25, 2011 · Transmission · 49,842 miles · MI

I am the owner of a 2004 mercury monterey minivan which I purchased new. About a month ago and literally without any sign of problems, I came out of work and discovered that my van would start up fine but would not go into gear (forward, reverse etc.) I had the van towed to the nearest ford dealership and was told that the torque converter had went out and that it would cost me $1600 to repair. After threatening to tow the vehicle to another shop I eventually got them to agree to drop the cost to $1000. I was shocked that the transmission would have such a major break down with less than 50,000 miles. After researching the internet I discovered that there are many complaints about the same problem and that it always seems to occur around the 50k mileage mark. In fact, I discovered that a class action lawsuit has been filed in ny for this very issue. Please investigate and if appropriate force ford to issue a recall. I would like to be reimbursed for these repairs if it is discovered that faulty or cheap parts are to blame for this problem. Thanks.

Filed Aug 8, 2010 · Driver assistance, Transmission · 41,600 miles · VA

Incident first occurred on 6/20/2010, on I-64. I was driving our 2004 mercury monterey when I realized that the transmission had slipped from d3 to d2. I stopped van and it worked fine after restarting, but was afraid to use it; only used several times for short trips in the interim - no problems, however, with the transmission. Took to dealer on 7/30 - 41,779 miles - extended warranty (esp) expired 2/5/10. Dealer replaced transmission range sensor and brake pressure switch at a cost of $325.22, including diagnostic check. Dealer also flushed and filled transmission - twice to remove water - cost: $184.87. I asked for the old parts - dealer did not return them. Picked up vehicle on 8/1/10; transmission worked fine, but the traction control system (tcs) light turned on and stayed on. Did not drive until 8/6 when I took it tire shop to have tires replaced - no cruise control and the tcs light was on. The service manager at the tire shop checked alldatapro.com and found a tsb that indicated that ford had learned that some 2004-2007 freestar and monterey transmissions had water/moisture problems causing problems with the tcs, among other things. Also, in checking other complaints reported to the federal safety agency, found one where a ford dealer noted that a transmission seal had failed allowing water to enter computer (transmission range sensor?) causing both computer and transmission to fail. On 8/7, found that dealer had not reconnected cruise control, and noticed that the tcs light turned on after depressing the brake twice. Then noticed that the transmission would not shift to drive 3 - stayed in d2 - back to the original problem from 6/20! Stopped and started van again, no change in the transmission, and the tcs light turned on after pressing brake twice. Have not tried to drive the car today, and now, after reading many of the complaints regarding transmission failures in 2004 montereys, I'm not sure if I should even attempt to drive it the 38 miles back to the dealer.

Filed Apr 15, 2010 · Transmission · 52,000 miles · OK

No prior warning, working fine then not working at all... Will not go into gear (engine will rev, you can shift to reverse, or drive but nothing). Transmission failure on my mercury monterey 2004. I have not corrected the problem as of yet dealership says new transmission cost is $3500.

Filed Feb 1, 2010 · Transmission · 115,000 miles · MI

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 mercury monterey which was purchased in 2008. While driving at speeds of 50 MPH merging onto the highway, the vehicle stalled without warning. She was able to restart the vehicle and utilize the heating system; however, the vehicle would not shift into any gears. The vehicle was towed to her independent mechanic who stated that the transmission torque converter failed. There were no related recalls. The vehicle was being repaired. The failure and current mileages were under 115,000.

Filed Sep 22, 2009 · Transmission · 91,000 miles · VA

Was on my way home late at night with my three children and had the vehicle on cruise control and suddenly without warning, the RPM needle went all the way over and I realized that pushing on the gas pedal was not making the vehicle speed increase and I was losing speed. I had an 18 wheeler on my bumper and was fortunate to have been able to get to the side of the road. Stopped the vehicle and checked under the hood. The vehicle would not go into drive, 3rd gear, low or reverse. I had to have the vehicle towed over 80 miles.

Filed Jul 11, 2008 · Transmission · 69,000 miles · OH

Driving home from a family road trip, car began slipping and went into neutral. Will not go into drive or reverse. No accident, but very close calls during stop and go traffic on the way home. Very stressful situation for a 2004 mercury monterey with 69,000 miles on it.