Wheel Rim problems of the 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis

The contact owns a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis. While the contact was examining his vehicle he noticed that the rim on the rear passenger side of the vehicle was cracked. The dealer informed the contact that the rim needed to be replaced. The driver noticed that the tire would need air on a consistent basis. The current and failure mileages were 70000.

The contact owns a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis. After driving between 60-70 mph, the contact noticed that one of the tires had lost air. He found a service station and inflated the tire. The next morning, he awoke to find that the tire was completely flat. He took the vehicle to wal-mart and they diagnosed the cause of failure as a cracked rim. The current and failure mileages were 82,077. Updated 07/24/07.

I recently had to replace two wheels on my wife's 2003 Mercury grand marquis due to substantial wheel cracks along the welds on the outer flange of the wheel causing the tires to deflate (two separate events). I see reported in USA today that interceptor are being recalled for this same 'serious safety' problem. I contacted Ford/Mercury about my vehicle and they say that it is not covered at this time and that "Ford and the national highway traffic and safety administration (NHTSA) work together to proactively identify areas of concern through investigation of consumer and dealer feedback. During an investigation Ford cooperates fully with NHTSA. Ford does not speculate on the outcome of any current investigation or future actions. Due to our rigorous safety standards and constant testing, not all issues result in field service actions or customer satisfaction programs. " I visited the NHTSA website and saw that other Mercury failures of like type have been logged. I'm adding my complaint and experience to the list and suggest that Ford be made to replace all the defective wheels.

The weld separated the steel rim causing air leaks and the weld was letting go which could have caused serious injuries or death. Ford dealer would not warranty this due to 46,000 miles. For safety defects, this should have been warranted.