Several of the bolts that hold the exhaust manifold onto the engine block have popped off leaving the stem of the bolt embedded in the engine. As a result, dangerous exhaust gases are seeping out into the engine area because the manifold is no longer tightly attached to the engine. In order to fix the problem the bolts must be drilled out. This is a known defect. This has occured in a number of mercury villagers that use this engine. I have personally talked with several mechanics that have indicated it is a continual proplem with this make. It did not take me long to find out that this is not an issolated insident but one that has occured in many of the villager's.
1994 Mercury Villager engine complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 90, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Crankshaft broke after belt tightening. Vehicle stopped when moving in traffic. Hard to control. Dangerous situation.
Consumer has had this problem for passed 4 years. Only happens when it's cold. Inside of vehicle fills up with fumes. Once vehicle is warmed up fumes go away. Dealer says they've never seen this before. Consumer has an appointment to inspect vehicle.
Electrical:numerous problems with door locks activation/windshield sprayer front and rear inoperative/interior lighting controls for ventilation inop., radio&cd player operation intermittent at all times and replaced radio but still had problems getting power to the unit on a regular basis; hydraulic brakes: front brake calipers not functioning fully/rear brakes make grinding noises. Exhaust system: check engine light at different intervals due to broken hose between egr valve assembly and intake manifold/o2 sensor replaced due to trouble codes.
Crankshaft sheared in half . A tsb has been issued on vehicle.
Fuel tank vent hose deteriorated resulting in serious fuel leak when fuel tank was full or nearly full.
Pulley side of crankshaft broke off. Stoping all power equipment. Nearly killing all occupants. Occured after pulling away from stop sign into traffic
Engine shut down on 11/21/00 while traveling on interstate at 65mph. Auto towed to mercury dealership. We were told we would have to replace the engine at our own expense ($4000). Once engine was replaced, we started having other problems. We started to notice the smell of gasoline around the vehicle. The smell was especially bad on the inside when we turned the heat on. The dealership thought they fixed the problem by tightening the fuel line clamps, but the odor returned. The gas smell is still present. The new engine was slow to accelerate. The dealership did a "fix" on this by adjusting the throttle linkage. The vehicle still does not accelerate as it did originally.
When driving on beltway at 60-65 MPH and without prior warning or indication vehicle cut off, causing loss of all power due to crankshaft breaking which caused damage to engine. Consumer has contacted dealer. Please provide any further details.
Crankshaft broke during hwy driving. Ford service documentation indicates it is a known design defect: "engineering determined the cause was the initial tensile force set on the engine accessory belts during assembly." cost to repair was $4000.
Crankshaft broke at front of engine. Ford oasis report, ssm 04925, acknowledges problem and states it's due to initial over tension of engine accessory belts at assembly.
Bolt that holds exhaust manifold has sheared off due to to stress which is causing a loud noise. Vehicle might not pass state inspection. Please provide further information.
The exhaust manifold has a bolt that has sheared off. This to me seems as though it is a defect in workmanship and a safety hazard. I was unaware of the problem until a mechanic noticed the bolt broke and brought it to my attention. The exhaust system is the original. This problem could cause exhuast to come into passenger compartment at any given time. The dealership lists no recall on this and say they cannot give me an estimate because they don't know how long it will take to get the broke off bolt out of the engine block. I have talked with other people that have had the same problem. It is the same engine that is in the nissan quest. I think car manufactors' should be accountable for there mistakes. I have been told the cost could be from 500 to 1600 dollars to repair this problem which is clearly poor workmanship in the area of this vehicle. Please investiagte this matter.
Crankshaft broke at front of engine, causing loss of power. Dealer notified ,and informed consumer that vehicle would only be repaired at consumer's cost.
This vehicle has a radiator leak due to the radiator coming a loose at the manufactured seams. Dealer has been contacted.
Engine stopped running while backing out of parking space due to crankshaft failure.
Fuel tank vent hose hose was leaking, odor especially strong after fill-up. Very upset that my ford extended warranty didn't cover it, even though it covers "fuel lines and fuel tank." took to dealer; cost $210 to repair. Power window control: control for driver's side window quit working. Took to dealer; covered under my ford extended warranty. Driver's side window operation: window binds when going up; goes up much slower than passenger side window. Took to dealer; cost $187 to fix including $82 for weatherstripping! Egr system: check engine light came on; diagnostics indicated it was exhaust gas recirculation system. Auto mechanic confirmed and isolated it to egr solenoid sensor. Haven't fixed it yet due to high cost estimates from dealer. Broken crankshaft: crankshaft broke at 20535 miles while driving in entering traffic lane at 5 MPH. Dealer fixed under warranty. Note: all of these items have several technical service bulletins associated with them. Also there is currently a the federal safety agency defect investigation (pe9977 opened 28 dec 99) associated with the fule tank vent hose leakage. I would appreciate any further information the federal safety agency can provide me about this investigation.
While driving on highway & exiting off the highway, pulled into a parking lot, shut off the vehicle to go into the building for a doctor's appt, and was notiified that all of a sudden vehicle caught on fire. Contacted the dealer and manufacturer.
Five bolts sheared causing exhaust gaskets to blow out and exhaust to leak into engine compartment. Dealer hinted that design flaw the cause and they have done many repairs. Dealer stated that ford is aware of the problem but is not covering repairs after 50,000 miles or 5 years.
Car lost all power while doing 65mph. Nearest mercury dealer in aberdeen, maryland advised that the crankshaft broke.
This vehicle had seven (7) of twelve (12)exhaust manifold studs shear. I was informed by the queen city service representative, that this condition has been a common occurrence with 1993 and 1994 year model mercury villagers. I was further informed that all twelve (12) studs were replaced with new studs that mercury is now installing in all villagers manufactured subsequent to the 1993 and 1994 year models. The technician at queen city mercury stated that mercury is no longer using the original studs due to the original stud's failure rate. Queen city further informed me that they are routinely checking all 1993 and 1994 villagers that come in for any service for signs of the stud failure. I was informed that failing to make this repair could result in carbon monoxide fumes entering the passenger compartment. The repair cost associated with this manifold stud failure was $641.30. Ford/mercury denied my request for reimbursement of the repair expense stating that, to date, there had been no mandated recall to correct this problem. I would appreciate the federal safety agency's review, if in fact, mercury has experienced significant failure rates resulting from defective studs.
Vehicle stopped running while waiting at stop light due to crankshaft failure. Vehicle at dealer shop. Vehicle at dealer's . Seeking help from the federal safety agency in this matter.
Crank shaft broken. Damaged heads. Dealer suggests engine replacement. Car only has 75000 miles on it and the engine should not be freezing up. We're not talking about an aspire or another 8000 dollar vehicle. We're talking about a 30000 dollar vehicle. No car especially an expensive one should lose it's engine at 75000 miles. It show poor quality and manufacturing. The mechanic at glen burnie lincoln mercury stated that it was a manufacturers defect and not preventable on my part. Ford showed no interest in helping me with the repairs nor did they seem to care that one of their vehicles had such a major mechanical flaw at such a young age. I will also be contacting the bbb and consumer reports as well as a number of newspapers. Thank-you michael g. Driscoll
Crankshaft broke apart immediately behind timing gear. Vehicle idling at a stop sign at time of failure. Total engine failure. / electric locks lock themselves intermittently, without human assistance. Must always have key in hand when exiting the vehicle. Failures are ongoing and unpredictable.
While either starting the engine or shutting the engine down (the vehicle was stationary), the crankshaft broke and the damper pulley was injured. We purchased this vehicle from a private party only 4 weeks earlier and had less than 1500 miles on it. Is there any recourse??
While driving vehicle stalled. Also, brakes to failed. Vehicle has been in repair shop time after time, and dealers can't determine the problem.
On march 25th I was informed that the right side engine camshaft had locked up and there was no compression; a major repair. New head may be needed. My car was maintained at all times. There was no unusual sounds or indications. It was a nissan engine. Please review and let me know. This should not happen after 4 years.
Possible engine failure caused the vehicle to stall intermittently without warning resulting in lose of power steering and brake control.
My wife drove the vehicle on that day. According to my wife, she stopped at a traffic light for a while, and when she departed on green light, there was no response with a loud noise. After that the engine was still in idle with hesitation. The van was towed to a nearby gas station. Mechanics at that gas station could not find out the problem. 1 day later, the van was towed to a dealer and at this time, everything went dead. Two days later, a mechanic in the dealer service called and reported of broken crankshaft. The dealer asked for $4500 (parts+labor) to replace a remanufactured engine.
My vehicle just lost power and shut down in the middle of traffic. I was able to pull over. However, the van would not restart. After the dealer had the van for three days, they concluded the crankshaft broke. Now this mini-van, although a mercury, has a nissan 3.0 6 cylinder engine. It has been serviced with proper oil changes and we have not experienced any problems over the 37,000 miles we have driven it. When we approached ford about any help in repair, the door was shut. No, they said. A crankshaft just doesn't break at 60,000 miles on this type of engine. This is a family van driven for family purposes. When you are talking a $4000.00 + repair bill, it would be nice if someone acted as if they cared and went beyond a computer response, that this is not a problem ford will help us with. We purchased the extended warranty and had warranty until 60,000 miles. We were only 1600 miles out of warranty. Is there any way to get ford to relook at this and somehow get some help?
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