2004 Mercury Grand Marquis Engine Problems

“I was driving at a speed of 45mph on a county road in rush hour traffic when my car's engine light came on simultaneously as power of vehicle slowed while making a rattle type noise and cab smelled strongly of gas. I rolled windows down pulled over within a block to a napa store. The employee told me they do not run diagnostics and I would have to take it somewhere. I drove slowly to a 2nd auto parts store 1 mile away to run diagnostics. Once done, diagnostics identified a miss-fire on spark plug #2. Had vehicle towed to home and took 'heli-coil' off and spark plug came out with it damaged. …”

“The left hand (driver side) heat shield that covers the exhaust manifold has completely rusted at the bolting points causing the cover to dislodge and drag against the steering shaft . Several times while turning at intersections, especially when making left turns, the steering would temporarily lock up for a few seconds making turning extremely hazardous. Once I almost struck another vehicle due to the steering being locked while turning. I initially suspected low power steering fluid but fluid checked correct and pump seems to be working fine. …”

“While driving, I came to a stop light and suddenly, the car idled high and lurched forward while my foot was on the brake, luckily, I was stopped well away from the vehicle in front of me. The car idled high and seemed to have a mind of it's own. I took the back roads home and backed into our garage. The car smelled hot, and I though I had smoked my brakes, trying to keep control of it. Later that night, I told my husband about the car's actions and he did not believe me, though my daughter who was with me at the time confirmed that the car had indeed accelerated on it's own. …”

“The contact owns a 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact noticed that the vehicle continuously leaked coolant. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where they stated that the intake manifold needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified, but did not disclose that the part was modified from plastic to metal. The contact experienced multiple leaks before the part was modified to metal. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000. Remailed 08/18/14 updated 9/18/14 updated 02/11/2015”