Exact make, model and year evidence from official US sources. Recall campaigns, ODI investigations, complaint allegations and EPA estimates remain separate.
A campaign may cover only certain production dates, plants or equipment. A zero result here is not safety clearance. Use NHTSA’s official VIN tool for the individual vehicle.
Exact model-level NHTSA results for 2005 MERCURY Monterey. Campaign records are official safety actions; applicability to a particular car still requires its VIN.
FORD IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004 AND 2005 FORD FREESTAR AND MERCURY MONTEREY VEHICLES. THE TORQUE CONVERTER OUTPUT SHAFT MAY FAIL.
Consequence
THIS CONDITION RESULTS IN A SUDDEN LOSS OF MOTIVE POWER WITH NO WARNING, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy
FORD WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE TORQUE CONVERTER FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 9, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT THE FORD MOTOR COMPANY CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP CENTER AT 1-866-436-7332.
Ford is recalling certain model year 2004-2007 Freestar and Mercury Monterey vehicles manufactured from March 24, 2003, through November 7, 2006, equipped with a third row seat and originally sold in, or currently registered in, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. The third row stowable seat can experience corrosion and structural degradation at the seat anchor mechanism mounted to the rear wheel wells. As a result of the corrosion, the third row seat may not fully latch into its seating position.
Consequence
In the event that the vehicle is crashed into from the rear, an unlatched seat may increase the risk of personal injury.
Remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will install new third row seat latch striker mounting brackets, free of charge. The recall began on March 28, 2013. Owners may contact Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center at 1-866-436-7332.
ON CERTAIN VANS EQUIPPED WITH THE POWER LIFTGATE OPTION, THE POWER LIFTGATE MOTOR AUTOMATICALLY DISENGAGES AFTER THE LIFTGATE IS POWERED OPEN.
Consequence
IN THE EVENT OF A LIFTGATE STRUT MALFUNCTION, THE LIFTGATE CAN FALL FREELY WITH NO PRIOR WARNING. ANYONE STANDING BENEATH THE LIFTGATE MAY BE INJURED IF THE LIFTGATE FALLS.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE POWER LIFTGATE MODULE TO REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD THAT THE LIFTGATE COULD FALL FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MARCH 15, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD AT 1-800-392-3673.
CERTAIN AFTERMARKET FUEL FILTERS SOLD UNDER THE PUROLATOR BRAND NAME, P/N F65277, SHIPPED FROM JANUARY 16 THROUGH JUNE 2, 2006, FOR USE ON THE ABOVE LISTED PASSENGER VEHICLES. DUE TO INCORRECT DESIGN, THE QUICK CONNECTORS MAY NOT FULLY SEAT WITH THE TUBE INTERFACE, EVEN THOUGH THE PERSON MAKING THE CONNECTION MAY BELIEVE THAT THE QUICK CONNECTOR IS FULLY ATTACHED.
Consequence
FAILURE OF THIS CONNECTION COULD LEAD TO FUEL SPILLAGE AND, IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, A FIRE COULD OCCUR.
Remedy
UFI WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE FILTERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 4, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT UFI FILTERS USA AT 800-230-5876.
02 · Owner allegations
119 NHTSA complaints
Counts are not adjusted for sales, vehicle age, mileage, publicity or reporting behavior. They are allegations, not defect findings or a reliability score.
Crash mentions
2
Fire mentions
0
Injuries reported
7
Most-reported component labels
POWER TRAIN97
STRUCTURE8
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM6
ENGINE5
AIR BAGS3
SEATS3
Complaints across nearby Mercury Monterey model years
Totals for the same nameplate, scaled against its highest year here. They are not adjusted for how many were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received — an older or better-selling year will usually carry more reports. This shows where the reporting sits, not which year is better.
An investigation means ODI reviewed a possible safety issue for this exact model-year identity. Opening one is not a defect finding; closing one does not by itself clear a vehicle.
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.
04 · EPA configurations
Fuel economy & specifications
FuelEconomy.gov records are summarized as ranges where this model name has multiple engines, drivetrains or trims.
EPA configurations
1
Combined economy
18 mpg/MPGe
City / highway
16 / 21 mpg/MPGe
Engine displacement
4.2 L
Cylinders
6
Fuel type
Regular
Drive
Front-Wheel Drive
Vehicle class
Minivan - 2WD
Annual fuel-cost estimate
$3600
05 · Evidence strength
Exact identity. Explicit limits.
No opaque score. Evidence strength is expressed through source availability, exact match method, jurisdiction and honest empty states.
exact match
Recall campaigns
4 exact US model-year records in this bounded view.
exact match
Complaints
119 exact US model-year allegations; narratives and VIN fragments are omitted.
exact match
ODI investigations
6 exact US model-year action numbers in the approved import snapshot.
canonical only
Model aliases
Only the exact NHTSA vPIC model name is published; unverified aliases are not merged.
not published
Manufacturer ownership
No rights-reviewed official ownership record is joined to this exact model-year.
PUBLIC EVIDENCE PASSPORT
Identity, freshness and provenance.
The canonical URL is this file’s permanent public identifier. Source IDs and timestamps show exactly what was matched and when; they do not turn the evidence into a verdict.
Only NHTSA vPIC, NHTSA ODI complaints and investigations, NHTSA recalls and FuelEconomy.gov contribute to this vehicle claim. CPSC equipment notices are searched separately and never joined to vehicle fitment. UK MOT, Canadian, New Zealand and European records are not merged into this US claim.
06 · Research paths
Diagnose first. Confirm fitment.
These are transparent searches, not diagnoses or endorsed parts. Recall remedies come before purchases; exact part fitment requires VIN, trim, powertrain, production date and OE number.
97 complaint labels
POWER TRAIN
Check recalls and diagnostic information before replacing anything.
Awin US and R2 affiliate inventory are not published until a US programme, merchant and exact-fitment projection are approved. No offer currently has both merchant approval and exact vehicle fitment, so commercial links never count as evidence.