2008 Mercury Mariner Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 2008 Mariner report mostly two things: loss of electric power steering assist, which can come on suddenly at speed or at startup and leaves the wheel hard to turn, and brakes that need a long or repeated pedal push to stop. Steering complaints dominate the sample and often appear well past 100,000 miles; brake complaints cluster on hybrid versions and involve the hydraulic control unit.

1. 1
   Steering

   Power steering assist cuts out (hard steering)

   Mentioned in 18 of 60 sampled complaints

   Owners describe losing power steering assist at speed, at startup, or while turning, often with a 'power steering assist fault' message and a wheel that needs heavy effort to move. Some say restarting the vehicle restores assist temporarily and the failure returns. Several report that a dealer software update or reprogramming under recall 14V284000 did not resolve the symptom, and others were told their VIN was not included in that campaign. Reported from roughly 50,000 to 260,000 miles, most often between about 90,000 and 200,000 miles, at city and highway speeds.

   Recall 14V2840001 related service bulletin

   What to check: Confirm on the steering wheel whether recall 14V284000 was performed and whether the torque sensor or power steering control module was replaced afterward. Ask to start the vehicle cold and turn the wheel lock to lock to check for assist.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “While driving down the baja peninsula my steering wheel began to vibrate and make strange noises. Shortly after I lost all power steering making navigation over the mountain roads extremely dangerous and hard. Once home in the us I contacted a local ford/Mercury dealer and was told the recall had already been satisfied. But now I'm seeing hundreds of complaints about steering issues occurring within the same time frame as my own.”

   NHTSA complaint #11302707, filed 2020-01, 120,000 miles

   “My 17 year old daughter came home saying a message was on her dash about her brakes in our 2008 Mercury Mariner hybrid. I was about to leave so I decided to take her car, as soon as I pulled out of the driveway and started down the hill we live on, I noticed the brakes didn't feel right, I pressed all the way down to get the car to slowly come to a stop, as I did this, I noticed a warning sound and the message on the screen said check brake system, regen brakes disabled. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11324855, filed 2020-05, 125,000 miles
2. 2
   Brakes

   Brake pedal goes to the floor / long stopping distance

   Mentioned in 9 of 60 sampled complaints

   Owners report the brake pedal sinking close to the floor before the vehicle slows, sometimes after an abrupt stop, and pumping the pedal restores partial braking. Complaints on hybrid versions mention 'check brake system' and 'regen brakes disabled' messages. Several say a dealer or mechanic diagnosed the hydraulic control unit or master cylinder, and a few note parts were on backorder or that a replaced unit failed again. Mostly reported between about 60,000 and 200,000 miles, often during normal stopping from 30-60 mph.

   2 related service bulletins

   What to check: Ask for brake service records, especially any hydraulic control unit or master cylinder replacement, and test the pedal for firmness and travel on a test drive.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Brakes are intermittent, ABS light will come on along with red brake light and hybrid regen brakes disabled. Sometimes car stops sometimes car does not stop. I have looked into it and several people have reported failure. I do not understand how such a well documented oe failure can go for so long without rectification.”

   NHTSA complaint #11321458, filed 2020-04, 150,000 miles

   “Jerking back and forth of steering wheel would occur occasionally until power steering assistance failed. Power steering assist fault code would come on every so often . I was driving down the highway while the code came on and didn't notice any difference in steering difficulty until I parked the car and shut the engine off then back on. Power steering is completely failing now resulting in increased force to get the car to turn.”

   NHTSA complaint #11307607, filed 2020-02, 115,000 miles
3. 3
   Steering

   Steering wheel shake or vibration

   Mentioned in 7 of 60 sampled complaints

   Owners describe the steering wheel vibrating or shaking uncontrollably while driving or at idle, sometimes accompanied by noises and a check engine light. Some mechanics attributed it to the steering sensor, rack and pinion, or steering column; in several cases the shaking preceded a full loss of power assist. Reported from about 60,000 to 230,000 miles, at idle and at highway speeds.

   Recall 14V2840001 related service bulletin

   What to check: During a test drive, watch the wheel at idle and at highway speed for vibration, and ask whether the steering column or torque sensor has been serviced.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Lost my power steering on the freeway. Problem: steering: electric power assist system failure - recall #14v284000 date of recall 05/29/2014 safety recall 14s05 steering problem ford claimed this was not covered under the recall and I had to pay $2100 for this repair. The part replace were on the recall notice!!I I bought this car from caruso in feb 2017 with 52,000 miles and the carfax supplied at the time of purchase had no recalls listed on it. The car only has 76600 mile now. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11297972, filed 2020-01, 76,657 miles

   “I started having problems with my brakes. When I step on the brake the pedal would go almost all the way to the floor. I would react by pumping the brake which would make them work. I didn't drive with the brakes doing that very long because I took the car to a repair shop and I spent 450 dollars on brake work with being told that the problem was with the ABS system and the disabled the ABS system so that it didn't interfere with stopping the car. There have been recalls on other ford products because of ABS problems. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11330650, filed 2020-06, 60,000 miles

Buying note. Check the power steering recall history and the brake system records before buying, since those two areas account for most of what owners describe. A pre-purchase inspection that includes a cold start, a lock-to-lock steering check, and a firm-pedal brake test is worth the cost on this model year.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Counts refer to that sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.