Cruise control failure on the 2005 Mercury Mountaineer
When cruise control failure gets reported
Owners of the 2005 Mercury Mountaineer report cruise control failure at a median of 35,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 35,000 miles and a quarter after 105,000 miles, from 16 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 72,000 miles. It is the 2nd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 25,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 130,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 108,248 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.
63% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23,252 miles | 34,177 miles | 34,589 miles | 105,000 miles | 131,500 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 $200–$1,400 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 8 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2005, at a median of 35,000 miles, and latest on the 1998 at 130,000 miles.
By volume the 2004 carries the most reports, with 20; the 2005 has 16. 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.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mercury mountaineer. While driving 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled and the engine shut off. This has occurred three times since 2006. The failure is most common while driving down an incline and when the cruise control was activated. The check engine light was illuminated and the power steering does not operate normally. The vehicle restarted after ten to fifteen minutes. The failures occurred on december 18, 2006, january 19, 2007, and december 4, 2007. On each date, the dealer diagnosed the failure for thirty days and stated that they were unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. The dealer advised her to deactivate the cruise control and make sure there is enough fuel in the tank. The mechanic stated that if the failure recurred, the vehicle should be towed to the dealer before attempting a restart. The manufacturer has not offered any assistance. This is the second complaint filed with NHTSA. The failure mileage was 12,327 and current mileage was 27,000. Updated 01/24/08 *bf updated 01/24/08 *tr
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mercury mountaineer. On the day the vehicle was purchased, the contact noticed fluid leaking onto her garage floor. She returned to the dealer and was informed that the pinion seal needed to be replaced, and repairs were made. While traveling 45 MPH, the contact attempted to set the cruise control and the vehicle shut off in the middle of the road. She was able to pull over to the shoulder and restart the vehicle to drive home. After work one evening, she was unable to start the vehicle. After 20 minutes, her father arrived and was able to forcefully start the vehicle. The contact returned to the dealer the following day, but they could not duplicate the failure with the cruise control or the stalling. On june 16, 2008, she took the vehicle to the dealer and they replaced a fuse. Upon further inspection, they identified a bushing that needed to be replaced as well. All of these failures occurred within four months of purchasing the vehicle and with less then 4,000 miles placed on the vehicle by the contact. The failure mileage was 34,177 and current mileage was 37,600. Updated 07/15/08 *bf when the…
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mercury mountaineer. On the day the vehicle was purchased, the contact noticed fluid leaking onto her garage floor. She returned to the dealer and was informed that the pinion seal needed to be replaced, and repairs were made. While traveling 45 MPH, the contact attempted to set the cruise control and the vehicle shut off in the middle of the road. She was able to pull over to the shoulder and restart the vehicle to drive home. After work one evening, she was unable to start the vehicle. After 20 minutes, her father arrived and was able to forcefully start the vehicle. The contact returned to the dealer the following day, but they could not duplicate the failure with the cruise control or the stalling. On june 16, 2008, she took the vehicle to the dealer and they replaced a fuse. Upon further inspection, they identified a bushing that needed to be replaced as well. All of these failures occurred within four months of purchasing the vehicle and with less then 4,000 miles placed on the vehicle by the contact. The failure mileage was 34,177 and current mileage was 37,600. Updated 07/15/08 *bf when the…
Also reported on the 2005 Mercury Mountaineer
Other body or interior problem
Other powertrain problem
Liftgate, tailgate or trunk failure
Other speed control problem
Stalling while driving
Other engine problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 16 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 cruise control failure happen on the 2005 Mercury Mountaineer?
Across 16 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 35,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 35,000 miles and a quarter after 105,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is cruise control failure on the 2005 Mercury Mountaineer?
16 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 762 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