general problems of the 1998 Mercury Mountaineer

1998 Mercury Mountaineer. The drivers door will not unlock from the outside with the key and most times will not open from the inside with the latch handle. I have heard that this problem exists with most 1998 - 2001 Mercury Mountaineers, Ford explorers and Ford rangers. In the event of an emergency such as a crash, I might not be able to get out of the vehicle.

Mercury Mountaineer drivers seat latch assembly broke. Seat is in an un-drivable position. Dealer maintenance says it will cost $250 plus labor and taxes and fees to repair this poorly designed Ford component. I believe there are many other people that share this costly predicament and it is all due to poor design and the manufacturer knows it. There should be a recall or scheduled manufacturers repair for this item. In a crash a rear seat passenger could possibly thrust the seat back of the driver forward causing the driver serious injury or worse.

My power doors wont unlock along with its remote, the key and the door lock/unlock button. This has been happening on and off for the past month. However, when the car goes into drive, the doors locked automatically.