Two problems related to transmission not go into gear have been reported for the 2005 Mercury Monterey. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2005 Mercury Monterey based on all problems reported for the 2005 Monterey.
I was driving off of an exit ramp onto a secondary road, had just made the turn and was beginning to accelerate when the van completely lost its "pull" and would not go into gear. The electrical system still functioned fine, and the engine would rev, but the vehicle would not go. There were no warning signs whatsoever prior to the complete loss of pull. This situation was very concerning because had I been performing another action like crossing a 4 lane highway, I could have easily been hit. Additionally, with only 65,000 miles on the vehicle, I feel that this failure must be a defect in the transmission as there has not been a sufficient amount of wear and tear on the vehicle to justify this level of repair. (my in-laws purchased the vehicle new and were both conservative drivers and I am a mother of two small children and also tend to be a very conservative driver so the vehicle has not been exposed to any rough driving conditions. ) I had the vehicle towed to a transmission shop where they indicated that there was an internal problem with the transmission and it would have to be rebuilt at a cost of approximately $1,800. I am reporting this because I am concerned that the sudden loss of power could cause an accident and I want other Mercury Monterey owners to be aware of this possibility.
We were driving our 2005 Mercury Monterey minivan about 45 mph on a fairly busy street when the car began losing speed. My husband thought maybe the car had slipped into neutral so he downshifted from drive to 3 but still no power. He tried lower gears and he stepped on the gas several times. The tachometer responded but the car would not accelerate or go into any gear. We were fortunate enough to be able to coast to a nearby parking lot without being struck but the car would not go into any gear. It was like the transmission totally failed. No warning lights, no noises, nothing alerted us that the transmission was about to fail. It was a little frightening and very frustrating.