Transpower

You can voice your concerns to Ford Motor Company about the Mercury shutdown by calling (888) 333-7813. I did, and it felt good to let loose....

Try sedans: the Scion XD lists (on Kelly Blue Book) at $16370. Toyota Corolla sedans vary from $17000 to $20900. Lexus sedans vary from $34190 to $48425 and higher. Again: Ford Motor Company should have made Mercury considerably more luxurious than Ford, and Lincoln considerably more luxurious than Mercury. But they didn't, so now we're left with only two brands--and no middle class.

Nah, the Scions cost considerably less than the Toyotas. So: the Scion, Toyota, Lexus branding makes MY point....

BMW 3, 5, and 7 series. Audi A4, A6, A8. This is called good-better-best marketing, and Ford/Mercury/Lincoln blew it.

Sure: Intel Core CPU's--i3, i5, i7.

According to Edmunds' InsideLine, June 2, 2010, the Mercury brand will be discontinued. This is very sad and frustrating to me, as I feel that there needs to be a brand midway between Ford and Lincoln--just as there is Buick (and formerly Pontiac and Olds) between Chevrolet and Cadillac. The problem has been that Mercury has not differentiated itself more from Ford. C'est la vie.

Compared to my 2008 MMH, the only things different for the 2011 FEH are 1) disk/drum brakes (like 2009/2010, unlike the 2008 disk/disk) and 2) the travel link navigation system--which is, admittedly quite nice. I'm still waiting for a Diesel-Electric Hybrid plug-in....capable of over 60 mpg.

Yesterday I too purchased a 12 V air pump. So the plan is: before using Fix-a-Flat I'll see if I can just keep sufficient air in the tire to be able to get to a tire repair center when it's convenient.

Right after purchase of the MMH, I switched from the stock tires to the Pirelli Scorpion ATR tires--because driving on-road in Pennsylvania is like driving off-road. But nothing can protect against screws and nails...

The Fix-a-Flat Web site says, in no uncertain terms, that Fix-a-Flat is safe to use with a TPMS. I have therefore filed a claim with Shell (which owns Fix-a-Flat); I hope to get back what I paid the dealer for the sensor and labor ($166.93 total!). Of course, I could have jacked up the MMH and replaced the tire with the spare--but I'm on a very tight schedule as it is and this is usually not an option. Fix-a-Flat is very handy and I would like to continue to use it.

The low tire pressure warning light came on in my 2008 MMH. I was on a trip and couldn't wait for a service truck to come, so I used Fix-a-Flat to seal the leak. The following day I had STS repair the tire--there was a construction screw in the tread. The low tire pressure light went out, only to be replaced by a tire sensor fault warning light. The STS mechanic dutifully showed me that there was no physical damage to the band sensor. The Ford-Mercury dealer told me that the problem was Fix-a-Flat. So I called the Fix-a-Flat people and they assured me that their product is safe to use with the TPMS. They said that all I had to do was clean the sensor and that it would then work. I've cleaned the sensor, and will see if I can get it tested. The new sensor and labor put in by the dealer cost approx. $130, which is ridiculous. Anyway, does anyone on this forum have experience with this topic?

Very accurate. I just got the December 2009 issue of Car and Driver. On p. 34 of this issue is a very negative review of various extended warranty companies, including US Fidelis. The St. Louis BBB has received 1146 complaints about US Fidelis!

It could be, simply, a faulty wheel sensor--which I had a while back. It was very difficult to tell if there was a problem with the engine, transmission, or something else.

The article in Wikipedia does not say that it will be discontinued in some year; in the writeup for the 2008 model, the article says that it will be discontinued--but this doesn't make sense because there are paragraphs for the 2009 and 2010 models...

Thanks for the information. So if I do decide to do this I'll go with the Mercury ESP, and not some third party. I checked the prices: 1. PremiumCare Extended Warranty for 7 years/100k miles, $200 deductible: $2145 (ouch) 2. BaseCare Extended Warranty for 7 years/100k miles, $200 deductible: $1350 I'd have to say that, once again, I'm going to take my chances...but I really am more uncertain about the wisdom of this choice than I've ever been before...

Could we please get back to my question? Aside from the Ford/Mercury ESP, what about all the others advertised? Specifically, what about Fidelus? I'm tempted to take my chances, once again, and not get an ESP, but I would really like to hear about the experiences of others before deciding.

Has anyone here conducted a serious, thorough, comparative study of extended warranty plans for the Mercury Mariner Hybrid or Ford Escape Hybrid? I'm not talking here about individual dealer plans; I'm talking about plans available nationwide. If you have an extended warranty, what has your experience been like? I currently have 34500 miles on my 2008 MMH. I really don't know whether to get an extended warranty at 36000 miles or not. I have never purchased one for my previous vehicles, and have lucked out.

From Edmunds.com: All-wheel-drive Mariner Hybrids have an additional electric motor that provides power to the rear wheels when extra traction or acceleration is needed. However, I cannot find a technical description on the Mercury/Ford Web sites. The options lists seem to imply that the "Intelligent 4WD System" is used for both hybrid and non-hybrid vehicles, which would then imply that it's not driven by an electric motor and, therefore, that Edmunds is wrong.

2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid with 4WD: there is an electric motor in the back which drives the rear wheels. I can (slowly) start in EV mode and continue up to about 40 mph--no problem (unless there are cars behind me).

If there is no one behind you, you can accelerate to 40 mph in EV mode. If you're in engine mode and decelerating, depress the brake pedal at around 40 mph and you should change to EV mode and stay in EV mode all the way to stop. I'm now getting 30 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway (steady 65 mph, level, behind tractor-trailer).

I have a 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid. The one thing that concerns me about the engine block is the periodic stress of shutting the engine off and turning it back on very frequently; this is called cyclic stress. Of course, engines are built to withstand great fatigue and I would think that regardless of the cyclic stress (far more than for a non-hybrid), there shouldn't be a problem. Time will tell; statistically, one failure doesn't mean much. If many 2005 hybrid engines fail then we know there's a problem, and the hybrid engines will have to be toughened up.

Thanks, Gary, for bringing a lot of clarity to this discussion!

The only real changes I see in the new Website for the 2010 Ford Escape Hybrid are: 1) EPA figure of 30 mpg for city driving (versus 29 before), and 2) 44 mph as the speed limit for electric mode (versus 40 mph before). As discussed in another thread, I'm still a bit puzzled why there is so much discrepancy in EPA figures between a Mercury Milan Hybrid (or Ford Fusion Hybrid) and a Mercury Mariner Hybrid (or Ford Escape Hybrid). The difference in aerodynamic drag and AWD would account for some, though not all, of the discrepancy. I think there must be something very different in the powertrain controllers.

All of this brings up another point: why so much discrepancy between the fuel economy of the FWD and the AWD Mariner? In the case of the Milan, even with a change in engines from 4 to 6 cylinders, the loss in going to AWD is only 1 mpg. Ditto for the Infinity G37 vs. G37x (which has AWD). So, I don't see why there would be the huge drop from 34 mpg of the FWD Mariner to the 29 mpg of the AWD Mariner. This is 5 mpg! Seems to me it should only be 1 or 2. As far as changing my driving habits: I live in an Eastern metropolitan area; if, from a standing start, you go very slow to try to stay in electric mode, the drivers behind you will run over you ....

The EPA ratings of my 2008 Mercury Mariner AWD Hybrid are 29 city/ 27 highway. I'm now easily beating both. That's NOT the point. The point is: why is there a huge discrepancy between the EPA ratings of the Mercury Milan Hybrid and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid? The difference in shape and slight difference in engines and batteries would account for some, but certainly not all, of the discrepancy. Therefore I think the powertrain controller must be different. If so, is it possible to retrofit this new controller to the 2008 or 2009 Mercury Mariner Hybrids or recalibrate--again--the existing powertrain controller? I think the current system is not completely optimized.