NHTSA complaint: 2005 MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
THIS CAR HAS A DANGEROUS DEFECT. RANDOMLY WHEN IN A STATIONARY POSITION, BY HOLDING THE BRAKES, THE ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION SOMETIMES SUDDENLY ACCELERATES POWERFULLY, MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO HOLD THE CAR. I NOTIFIED THE DEALER ABOUT THIS DEFECT, SEVERAL TIMES IN WRITING AND BY PHONE. DEC, 29, 2005 THEY TOOK IT ON A DRIVE, AND CLAIMED TO HAVE FOUND NO DEFECT. SUBSEQUENTLY, JAN, 15, 2006 AT APPROXIMATELY 1:00 PM, I WAS STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT ON GRAND ST. NYC BEHIND AN SUV, BY HOLDING THE BRAKES, ALL OF A SUDDEN IT ACCELERATED, AND IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO HOLD THE CAR. IT SLAMMED INTO THE SUV IN FRONT OF ME, SMASHING MY FRONT. LUCKILY, THE SUV WAS NOT DAMAGED. BUT EVEN MORE LUCKILY, WE DID NOT GET HURT, (I HAD IN THE CAR MY WIFE, AN ADULT DAUGHTER, AND 2 GRAND CHILDREN). IN ADDITION, I GUESS WE WERE EXTRA LUCKY THAT WE HAD THE SUV IN FRONT OF ME, WHICH AVERTED A CATASTROPHIC MOWING DOWN OF PEDESTRIANS CROSSING. THE DEALERS TOOK IN THE CAR, AND NOTIFIED ME YESTERDAY, JAN, 19, 2006, THAT THEY RAN TESTS AND FIND NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR. *JB
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation