Attn TJR...

[shawn stonbraker 2]

Just read about you having a complaint in to the Lemon Law about your '04 Mountaineer. I didn't want to hi-jack that thread to ask you, but what problem were you having with it? I'm asking because my wife has a '05 Mountaineer and it has a "chirp" comming from somewhere. It sounds like a brake pad "chirp" when they aren't getting far enough away from the rotor but it doesn't do it all the time. We took it in and of course got the "failure to duplicate problem" BS. They told my wife to just bring it in when it's doing it. Well, needless to say, it does it enough to be annoying but will not do it at all when it's anywhere near the dealer. Just wondering if this was the problem you were having. Thanks.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Our problems were quite profound:



- Leased the '04 Mountaineer "new" in April, 04. It was a demo vehicle with almost 4K miles on it, so we got a fully equipped vehicle, no money down, low monthly lease for 39mo.



- After 6 months and about 6K miles (vehicle now has around 10K) started getting a shift lurch between 2 and 3rd, and hesitation when shifting into drive and reverse. These problems were intermittent.



- A couple months and as many K miles later the dealer reproduced and replaced the main valve body and solenoid pack.



- About 3 months later the trans friction modifier recall work was done...all still okay.



- Around 2H 05 the vehicle started its trans slipping, delay and lurching again...took about 6 months to reproduce, but several band-aid fixes along the way that "seemed" to help.



- Last August the after me stamping my foot and getting a tech to ride in the vehicle the dealer stated they reproduced the problem and AGAIN replaced the main valve body and sole pack.



It's been about 1/2 dozen complaints and visits, and at least 3 major efforts to fix a problem that started in the first 12mo and 12K miles, with no real appreciation on my part that the problem is fully fixed.



That's what is happening to us...



TJR

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

Man, that sucks! My wife loves the "Big M". Before all the "lurching", did yours shift like a manual? Ours actually acts like a manual tranny unless you really get on it. It doesn't sound like a slip (RPM's go up), it just has a little pause in between where the engine RPM's go down (a little) and it shifts to the next gear. I've never had an auto tranny act this way. I've heard it was normal, but you are the only one that I know that has a Mountaineer close to our year. Of course though, mine is a 4.0 V6. You may have the V8. Hope everything goes good for you, good luck.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

That "acts like a manual" phenom you describe I suspect is the "throttle by wire" aspect of the Mountaineer. It almost seems like stepping on a rotten tomatoe when you hit the gas pedal...it just kinda feels like it dogs, then a delay and then begins to slowly engage, but not really with any too much "umph"



TJR

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Oh, and we have the V6 too, and for the most part my wife LOVES the car. It's a good niche...right size, AWD, 3rd seat...just a great car, major problems not withstanding.

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

That makes sence, Thanks for the info.



I agree. It isa nice vehicle. I like the interior styling, the ride, and the roominess. My wife really likes the AWD and the handling. She had a '98 Jeep GC before this and she was never comfortable with how it handled in 4x4. (winters are a b**ch here in my area) Plus she likes the fact that it tells her when the oil needs changed so she can tell me to do it.