Hood Latch Problems of Mercury Mountaineer

The contact owns a 1998 Mercury Mountaineer. While checking the fluids in the vehicle, the hydraulic system failed that holds the hood. As a result, the hood released and nearly crashed the contacts hand. The manufacturer stated that there were no recalls on that component, however, they would investigate the failure. The current and failure mileages were 86,000. Updated 10/16/07.

See all problems of the 1998 Mercury Mountaineer 🔎.

- the contact stated that while driving the 1997 Mercury Mountaineer with 120000 failure mileage at 30 mph on a windy day the hood latch failed and the hood opened. The hood hinges stopped the hood from slamming into the front windshield. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer and has not been repaired. The current mileage was 120000.

See all problems of the 1997 Mercury Mountaineer 🔎.

: the contact stated the hood latch corroded and the latch pivot was stuck in the open position. The vehicle was not taken for inspection. There is a NHTSA recall, # 99v164000, regarding the hood latch. The vehicle has the same problems as indicated in the recall; however it is not included in the recall due to the VIN.

I currently own a 1997 Mercury Mountaineer. My wife purchased this Mountaineer in early 1998, and up until now we have been very happy with its performance. Recently, I was charging the battery overnight. I left for work and instructed my wife on disconnecting the charger before she used the car. My wife disconnected the charger and closed the hood on the vehicle and took it out to run errands. Unfortunately, when she closed the hood, it did not latch completely. However, in this case I would expect the secondary, safety latch to hold the hood closed until the vibrating hood was noticed and the hood closed properly. This did not happen. Turning out of our subdivision, and at a relatively low rate of speed (30 mph), the hood released and jammed into the up position. Not only did this create a safety hazard since the hood, in the up position, offers no visual gap with which the driver can maintain a reasonable view of the roadway in order to pilot the vehicle to a safe location, but it also bent the hinges on which the hood is mounted. When I inspected the vehicle, I found that the spring that holds the safety latch in its temporary locked position had broken. Gladly, this happened in a low traffic volume local roadway and my wife was able to guide the vehicle to a safe location, eventually creeping back to our house after she had forced the hood down. Had this happened on a high volume street, chances are that her and my one-year-old son would have been in an accident. We have diligently followed the maintenance schedule for the vehicle, and the secondary, safety latch gave no indication of being broken until it failed. It appears that we will have to have the hood and its mounting hinges replaced.

Electronic controls operated by the generic control module (wipers, rear defroster, power windows etc. ) have locked up. Throttle sticks after full stop and use of cruise control and needs excessive force to move forward. Existing recalls should cover these repairs, as well as two other recalls for the corrosive hood latch, and speed control where the throttle could ice up in prolonged cold weather. I went in armed with documentation and the recall information from the website but the sayville Ford dealership in sayville, NY, refused to service them, stating they were "campaigns" not actual recalls. If your vehicle doesn't come up for service on their computer, they do not acknowledge the legal recalls and won't do the repairs. Recall #'s: 00v072000, 99v062001, 99v164000, 97v074000.

While driving on highway with cruise control on, had to slow down, applied brakes, but it didn't turn off the cruise control. Kept applying brakes, and cruise control finally turned off. Had vehicle serviced for hood latch recall, and let them know about cruise control problem. However, was not able to fix it because they had to order a carburetor kit.

Recall number 99v164000 secondary hood latch, arrived to the dealer on scheduled appointment, but no parts were available to correct the problem. Repaired by dealer on 8/18/99.