Selling a broken Mercury Monterey minivan

If yours slips, flares or won't pick a gear, you can sell it unrepaired. We buy whole non-running and junk cars, with free pickup anywhere in the US.

Two cars with one name

The photo above shows the original Monterey, a full-size sedan. Wikipedia covers that car: a full-size Mercury built from 1952 to 1974, which Mercury then dropped in favor of the Marquis. The name came back decades later on a front-wheel-drive minivan, which EPA lists from 2004 to 2007 as the Monterey Wagon FWD. Every complaint and recall on this page belongs to the minivan. Ford's recalls group it with the Ford Freestar.

Where the minivan's problems cluster

Transmission and torque converter

Power train is the top component on all four years. Recall 12V006000, filed in January 2012, covers 2004 and 2005 Freestar and Monterey vans because the torque converter output shaft may fail. The remedy was a replacement torque converter. The campaign counted 206,452 vehicles, Freestars included.

The 2005 still shows 93 power train complaints out of 119, and the 2006 shows 34 out of 44. By the 2007 the van had only 7 complaints in total.

Steering, hubs and the liftgate

The 2004 also had two early campaigns. 03V457000 checked that the power steering low-pressure line was fully seated at the rack and pinion gear. 04V446000 replaced front hubs, rotors and wheel bearings because some hubs were not heat treated correctly and could develop small cracks.

On 2005-2006 vans with a power liftgate, recall 06V069000 reprogrammed the liftgate module, because the motor could disengage after powering the gate open.

Third-row seat latches

After power train, the most named components are structure (21), electrical system (16) and seats (13). Recall 13V081000 covers 2004-2007 Freestar and Monterey vans that have a third-row seat, were built from March 24, 2003 to November 7, 2006, and were sold or registered in certain states. The fix was new latch striker mounting brackets put in by dealers. That campaign's 196,667 vehicles include Freestars.

Monterey minivan: complaints and recalls by year

NHTSA owner complaints, tallied October 10, 2026. The 2007 Monterey is three model years younger than the 2004, so owners had a shorter stretch to file reports on it.

All six fire reports are on the 2004. No complaint reports a death. Nine report the van being towed.

Rebuild the transmission, or sell the van?

1. Enter the VIN in NHTSA's recall search and see whether the torque converter campaign was done on a 2004 or 2005.
2. Have the shop write down the transmission quote, then check the going rate for a working Monterey with your year and mileage. When the repair comes near that number, selling the van as is usually wins. Our bad transmission guide walks through the signs.
3. Won't move at all? See car doesn't run for what to tell a buyer.

Selling a Monterey whole

1. Note the VIN, the miles and what the transmission does (slips, no reverse, no gears).
2. Get an offer, or call (877) 421-6008.
3. Say where the van is and whether it rolls in Neutral, so the truck can load it there. Pickup is free anywhere in the US.
4. Leave the seats and parts in. Tell us if anything is missing.
5. When we collect a Monterey, our driver checks your photo ID and leaves with the title and keys. Plate rules are on after you sell.

Mercury's other people movers: the Villager and the Mountaineer. See every model on the Mercury page.