Six problems related to cruise control have been reported for the 1997 Mercury Mountaineer. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
When I use the cruise control and then turn it off I can't seem to push my gas pedal when you are driving the vehicle. I have to keep putting extreme pressure on the accelerator pedal until something breaks or pops and then it allows me to push the pedal. I keep having problems with smoke coming from on top of the steering column like something is burning when you are driving, now I have electrical problems to where my horn will not work anymore. I keep having problems with the front frame of the SUV. The frame sounds and feels like it is going to fall apart and it doesn't matter if you are driving or stationary. The mechanic says it is the sway bar that is causing that problem. I have been calling Ford about it and they keep saying there is no recall on my vehicle.
Cruise control works at times and sometime does not work.
1997 Mercury Mountaineer. I the consumer bought the car used, and when using the cruise control for the first time it would not disengage. It was at 70 mph and it accelerated to 85 mph. To stop vehicle had to put it into neutral and turn the key off. Then vehicle coasted until it would stop. Also had to pump the brakes many times to stop. There was no crash. Had the car looked at by a mechanic.
While parking at a right angle on a steep hill overlooking a busy road, the car almost at a standstill, the driver's foot on the brake, the car engine suddenly started screaming, the gas pedal depressed on its own and the car surged forward over a concrete parking curb and mowed down a tall palm tree. My daughter-in-law would have been killed if not for hitting the tree, as she had already taken off her seatbelt and opened her door - we were so close to a standstill. The tree stopped the car from going over a very steep hill at a high rate of speed onto traffic on the road below. The replacement value of the tree is not yet known. I have since discovered via channel 4 tv in uk, and dateline nbc that this is a known problem with this vehicle and people have been killed, as my daughter-in-law and I would have been if not for the palm tree. I have now had the cruise control disabled on the vehicle so that I can drive it, as I can not ethically trade it in and let someone else buy it when I know it has a problem. I hope that by registering this brief complaint that it will help you to influence Ford Lincoln Mercury to acknowledge the fault recall these vehicles. Thank you.
While driving on freeway placed automobile in cruise control. After a while automobile began to speed up out of control. Consumer could not disengage automobile. Applied brakes until rear brakes caught on fire. No injuries.
Throttle sticks while in cruise control. Vehicle was taken to the dealer , who fixed the ieg valve. Vehicle is still experiencing the same problem.