2009 MERCURY MARINER

SUSPENSION:FRONT:WHEEL BEARING

The Timken Company (Timken) is recalling certain aftermarket front wheel bearings, part number 510072, sold from January 22, 2015, to May 21, 2015, to be used as service parts on 2001-2012 Ford Escape, 2001-2011 Mazda Tribute, and 2005-2011 Mercury Mariner vehicles. The affected wheel bearings have incorrect dimensions of a 42mm bore, 76mm outer dimension, and 39mm width, instead of a 42mm bore, 78mm outer dimension and a 45mm width.

Risk: Use of an incorrectly sized wheel bearing can adversely affect the braking and steering of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

SUSPENSION

Drivers rear shock rusted off the wheel well causing wheel to snap and metal frame to hit the ground while I was traveling 40 mph. At this time the other wheels locked up and started squealing causing loss of control of vehicle shooting me across lanes and hitting curbs on both sides. This was heard all the way inside a church and they came running out. If I had not been able to gain control it would have flipped. The vehicle is available for inspection. It has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service other than the tow truck attendant telling me that the car need to be junk because it could not be repaired. The component has not been inspected by the manufacturer, or insurance company as it only has liability insurance. A police officer did show up on seen to direct traffic around vehicle and did see the issue but no report was taken. There was absolutely no indication that this was an issue until a few seconds before it snapped and that was the wheel started to wobble.

WHEELS

Drivers rear shock rusted off the wheel well causing wheel to snap and metal frame to hit the ground while I was traveling 40 mph. At this time the other wheels locked up and started squealing causing loss of control of vehicle shooting me across lanes and hitting curbs on both sides. This was heard all the way inside a church and they came running out. If I had not been able to gain control it would have flipped. The vehicle is available for inspection. It has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service other than the tow truck attendant telling me that the car need to be junk because it could not be repaired. The component has not been inspected by the manufacturer, or insurance company as it only has liability insurance. A police officer did show up on seen to direct traffic around vehicle and did see the issue but no report was taken. There was absolutely no indication that this was an issue until a few seconds before it snapped and that was the wheel started to wobble.

STRUCTURE:BODY

Drivers rear shock rusted off the wheel well causing wheel to snap and metal frame to hit the ground while I was traveling 40 mph. At this time the other wheels locked up and started squealing causing loss of control of vehicle shooting me across lanes and hitting curbs on both sides. This was heard all the way inside a church and they came running out. If I had not been able to gain control it would have flipped. The vehicle is available for inspection. It has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service other than the tow truck attendant telling me that the car need to be junk because it could not be repaired. The component has not been inspected by the manufacturer, or insurance company as it only has liability insurance. A police officer did show up on seen to direct traffic around vehicle and did see the issue but no report was taken. There was absolutely no indication that this was an issue until a few seconds before it snapped and that was the wheel started to wobble.

STEERING

Vehicle notification stating Power Steering Assist Fault. Power steering locked up on highway going 60 mph while a child was in vehicle and vehicle was extremely hard to get off the highway. Parkway Ford of Pampa, Tx would not honor recall as VIN was not pulling up a recall. But a different auto mechanic repair shop did verify it was a recall.

STEERING

Power steering failure on may 26th and 27th upon start up. Had to disconnect battery terminal to reset torque sensor

STEERING

The contact owns a 2009 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, requiring an increased effort to maneuver the vehicle. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering); but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.