1996 Mercury Grand Marquis Suspension Problems

“I own a 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis. The steering in the vehicle began locking up at a certain spot when turning. This would cause me to push the steering wheel into the turn a little harder which unlocked the steering causing me to veer left or right. I took the car several times to different shops. They would lift the car and check the suspension and give it a clean bill of health. The problem persisted and got much worse. I took the car to yet another shop and insisted they take it out and drive it a long distance. …”

“Dt: while driving the brake lines failed and had to be replaced. The owner came outside and saw the brake fluid on the ground and realized that the brake lines failed. The owner drove the vehicle with no brakes to the dealership and they repaired it. Then the owner realized that the brake lines were rusted. The left rear seat belt was replaced twice. The wiper motor, wiper switch, drivers side mirror switch and rotors were all replaced. The turn signal switch, driver window switch , tail light , catalytic converter were replaced. The consumer was told the ball joints and shocks were bad. …”

“The contact owns a 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis equipped with a duralast ball joint, part number fa2101. The contact stated that the stud on the front passenger side lower ball joint broke after being used for 253 miles. The parts dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the manufacturer would like to examine the ball joint because they believed it was installed incorrectly. The contact expressed concerns about the stud breaking, not the actual ball joint. The current mileage on the vehicle was 102,511. The VIN was unavailable.”

“Pulling out into a street while travelling 10mph front end started to make crunching noise. Steering wheel would not turn smoothly and had to be forced. Contacted dealer , they replaced tie rods. A month later, the same problem. Replaced with a standard lower ball joint instead heavy duty lower ball joint. Mechanic said it was a design flaw.”

“While driving vehicle wanders,; also, steering is very hard to control. Worse when windy or rain ing. In addition, hoode latch needed adjustment and check engine light stays on after starting vehicle. Vehicle has been taken to dealers and they are unable to locate a problem. Notes vehicle is operating according to manufacturer's specifications.”