Other fuel system problem on the 2011 Mercury Mariner
When other fuel system problem gets reported
Owners of the 2011 Mercury Mariner report other fuel system problem at a median of 45,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 35,000 miles and a quarter after 55,000 miles, from 15 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 90,000 miles. It is the 1st most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 30,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 95,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 68,596 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
27% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28,604 miles | 36,444 miles | 46,000 miles | 57,161 miles | 97,200 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $300–$2,200 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 6 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2011, at a median of 45,000 miles, and latest on the 2008 at 90,000 miles.
By volume the 2010 carries the most reports, with 50; the 2011 has 26. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
I was driving on the interstate at about 65mph. Vehicle became unresponsive to the gas pedal input. Check engine (yellow wrench) light came on. I had to cross over to the right side of the road, while coasting with the engine at idle. Came to a stop and that's when I realized that the car was at idle and would not respond to the gas pedal. Turned off the car, and it restarted after a longer than normal amount of cranking. Check engine light was out. Car drove normally to my destination. Took car to alan vigil ford. They said it has no stored codes, but it would need the throttle body replaced, but it was not covered under the 5/60k powertrain warranty. I also called ford customer service and they said the same thing. They charged $99.95 diagnostic fee for this. They told me to keep the receipt, incase of a future recall. Same problem occurred on 10/31/12, at almost the same place on the interstate. I restarted it and now I am ordering a new throttle body. It can be found online, from a ford dealer for $120, but alan vigil ford wanted $475 to replace this part that takes no more than 10 minutes to replace. Ford is aware of this…
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 mercury mariner. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would stall without warning. The vehicle would sporadically hesitate when accelerating with the immediate illumination of the transmission warning light. The vehicle was later towed to the dealer where the contact was advised that fuel emission and the throttle body would require reprogramming. The vehicle was repairer however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000. The current mileage was approximately 40,000.
Started vehicle in the morning for work & yellow wrench light came on, combined with "limp mode" symptoms of no throttle response. Googled & found multiple complaints for similar issues with this motor. Called local ford dealer who said the throttle body has had 3 different part numbers which leads me to believe that this has been a know issue for a while now. Ordered the latest version of the throttle body & will have it replaced by my mechanic who said its a 1/2 hr install. I will be keeping the receipts & hopefully ford will be kind enough to reimburse those who have had this fixed, if the issue does end up becoming a recall. What a headache. *tr
Also reported on the 2011 Mercury Mariner
Other powertrain problem
Other speed control problem
Other engine problem
Other steering problem
Other visibility problem
Steering column or shaft failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 26 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other fuel system problem happen on the 2011 Mercury Mariner?
Across 15 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 45,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 35,000 miles and a quarter after 55,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other fuel system problem on the 2011 Mercury Mariner?
26 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.3 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed