Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2011 Mercury Milan owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
While driving, the ABS, traction control and power steering lights came on. I was coming off the highway and I lost power steering!!! I almost wrecked into the guard rail coming off the exit!!! I got to the light at the bottom of the exit and I had no power steering. I pulled over immediately and called for a tow. I took it to my mechanic and he said the rack and pinion is bad. We looked it up and there are a ton of people with the same year/make/model as me that are getting tier cars fixed under recall. They wont pay for mine because my vin isnt in this campaign. They said take it to Ford for ANOTHER diagnosis just to tell me they will let me know if my car gets added!! Im not paying for another diagnosis when I have one already!! This is a serious safety issue and they arent fixing their product!!! I JUST bought it and its costing me almost $1800 for a repair!!! …
1) The electric power steering system failed. The dashboard displayed the message "Service Power Steering Now," and the steering assist stopped working, making the steering extremely stiff. The vehicle also lost reverse gear, where the engine revs but the vehicle does not move when shifted into reverse. The vehicle is still in my possession and available for inspection upon request. 2) When the power steering assist failed, the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn, which made the vehicle harder to control. This created a safety risk when attempting to turn or maneuver the vehicle in traffic or parking areas. Additionally, the inability to use reverse gear could create a hazardous situation if the driver cannot back out of traffic, parking spaces, or other areas. 3) The problem has not yet been inspected or confirmed by a dealership or independent service center. …
Our car suffered loss of power and erratic throttle (surges of forward movement even when foot not on the throttle) several times in January 2017. Car unsafe to drive, would leave stranded in the middle of high-speed traffic on highway. Diagnosed with a bad electronic throttle body by russel and smith Ford dealer in houston, replaced 1/19/17 under "Ford customer satisfaction program 13n03." on 8/28/17 same symptoms occurred, intermittent power acceleration and loss of acceleration while at speed. Taken to brandon Ford (florida) that day, again diagnosed with a bad electronic throttle body, which was replaced. Picked car up 8/31, and within 1 hour we lost power while at speed. While at a red light, car surges forward even with brake pedal applied and no foot on the gas. Have again been told it must be a bad throttle body.
Power steering continually goes out. Have already had work done for it and still goes out. Have seen recall for power steering but was told by Ford that does not apply to my vehicle. Not sure why since vehicle is 2011 Mercury Milan and recall 15V340000 also lists this vehicle, but VIN does not show in recall system?? Need to be fixed.. Dangerous and hazardous to drive an infant when steering intermittently goes out
Returning to baltimore from working in harrisburg pa and driving on interstate 83 at a rate of 65 miles per hour. I was driving in the left lane and the shoulder was to the far right on this particular stretch of road. The Mercury Milan that I had purchased no more than 2 to 3 months prior simply loss all power. To further explain the loss of power ( applying pressure to the gas pedal did nothing to make the car go forward) this had me in a very dangerous place as in order to get the car safely onto the shoulder I needed to drift uphill and across several lanes of fast moving traffic. Fortunately I was able to get the car off the road but found later that the issue that caused this was a throttle body piece that Ford knew had problems. …
I had just pulled out of my driveway, pushed on the gas, and the car started sputtering and jerking and came to a stop. The "wrench" light and "check engine" light were lit up on the dash.thinking perhaps just a fluke, I turned the car off for a few minutes, then turned it back on and let it idle for a minute. The wrench and engine light were no longer displayed, so I drove again.my max speed was maybe 15 or 20 MPH. Not 30 seconds later, the car again did the same thing, with the wrench and engine lights coming on. Luckily I was at a stop sign and in a residential neighborhood. I turned the car off again, and drove back home this time. It was really scary. Luckily I wasn't driving on the interstate at a high rate of speed! Definitely a safety issue here! A friend of mine with a computer diagnostic thing, came over and tested the car about an hour later. …
I was sitting at a red stop light, and then the traffic light turned green. I lightly pressed the gas but the car would not go, and all a sudden I looked down and the check engine light is on. I pulled over to the side of the road (while turning hazard lights on), placed car in park, and turned the car off. I turned the car back on (started just fine) and attempted to go again to get to a safer destination (was right in the middle of the intersection). The check engine light remained on and the car would not go any faster than roughly 5 miles per hour. Then the wrench light came on (which apparently means a transmission problem). I pulled the car over again and called for help. Eventually I got the car into a parking lot (meanwhile traveling at about 5 miles per hour and blocking 5 o' clock rush hour traffic). Car had to be towed to nearby shop. …
2011 Mercury Milan. Traveling on I-494 in minneapolis during rush hour traffic going 60mph. Vehicle jolted hard, wrench light came on and all accerlation was lost. Thankfully I was in the outside lane and was able to coast off the road. Once parked the car was idling violently. Turned off car, waited a minute and started back up. Started fine and continued on my way. Made it 40 miles before it happened again. This time the check engine light came on and stayed on. Turned off and back on and was able to get home. Once I got home, did a quick google search and found numerous postings and complaints about the throttle body being defective and requring replacement at cost to the owner. Brought the car to the dealership where I bought it. Encountered the same issue twice during the 25 mile drive to the dealership. …
I was driving around 70mph in rush hour traffic when all of a sudden my car started to shake a little and the wrench light came on. It went into limp mode and I was unable to accelerate at all. My car started dropping in speed dramatically. I pushed my gas pedal down all the way and there was nothing. The car was still running though. I couldn't get over because it was rush hour traffic. I ended up having to park my car in the fast lane as traffic flew past me. Very scary. The car rumbled while in park so I shut it off and restarted the vehicle. It came back on with no issue and the wrench light was gone. I looked it up when I got home and it looked like a bunch of people have had issues like this and it was their throttle body. I took my car into Ford and they said it was the throttle body and it needed replaced. Of course this wasn't covered under my cpo power train warranty. …
I was driving at about 70 MPH on I-70, when the car lost all engine power, like it died, I was fortunately getting ready to exit, and was in the right lane,so coasted the car off to the side. A wrench light came on, had it towed to dealer, who so far cannot duplicate it or get a code for it to show. He wants to keep it awhile to figure it out. I am advance complaining since I have seen this problem on here for another Milan, and have found the same complaint on this site 21 times for the sister car to this, the Ford fusion. It has been the "throttle body" that was bad on the others. It is very dangerous, whatever it is. Also this car has rolled the windows down by itself, when I have been in a store. It was raining and when I came out both my front windows were down, and interior was wet. They were up , since it was raining,when I locked it and left.
Transmission complaints in other Milan years
Frequently asked questions
How common are transmission problems on the 2011 Mercury Milan?
NHTSA has 31 complaints about the transmission & drivetrain of the 2011 Mercury Milan, 16% of the model year's 191 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2011 Mercury Milan transmission problems?
No. NHTSA lists no transmission & drivetrain recall for the 2011 Mercury Milan, though it has 7 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2011 Mercury Milan transmission problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 46,000 miles, and 4% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.