I have a 3 day old mariner hybrid - that I've put about 300 miles on since purchase. At the end of today, after driving about 60 freeway miles, I pulled into my driveway, put it in park, and it died. I can start it, but it will only idle only about 30 seconds then turn off. It does this whether it is in park, or in Drive with my foot on the brake.

Anyone have any ideas on what this is?

 

Just put it into gear, take your foot off the brake, and drive away....The ICE doesn't need to be running for that.

 

JB,

Check the tachometer. When the internal combustion engine (ICE) is running, the tachometer will show the ICE's RPMs. When the ICE is not running, the tachometer needle will drop down to the "EV" zone. That indicates "electric vehicle" mode.

Like wwest stated, put in gear (D or L), take your foot off the brake pedal and go enjoy the benefit of a hybrid!

By design, the Mariner is programmed to run the ICE a lot for the 1st 1000 miles or so. This is the break in period. After you hit that milestone, you'll start to notice the ICE will shut off automatically and you'll be running in electric mode.

Bill

 

We all have the same problem. It is a design flaw with these vehicles.

If you have any doubt it is working correctly, flip the climate control to max a/c and the engine will start right up. Then flip back to vent, save some gas and drive away. It's very addictive.

Enjoy.

 

Wow. The salesman must have really done a great job explaining the features of the vehicle. He should be fired and kicked in the shins.

 

In short these people are trying to tell you its completely normal. Hybrids can shut their engines down at any time to save gas. Just push the gas and you'll start moving on the electric motor and the gas will start up when its needed.

Read your manual.... aparently you dealer was worthless.....

 

Your vehicle didn't "die". It went into electric only operation.

You bought a hybrid. That is what hybrids do when they don't need the extra power of the gasoline engine (such as at highway speeds and generally anything above 25-40mph, depending on the specific make/model).

Definitely read the manual and more about hybrid drivetrains here on GreenHybrid.com. In fact, start here: http://www.mercuryvehicles.com/marin...technology.asp

 

Thanks all - but I guess I wasn't really clear. I KNOW I bought a hybrid. I can't drive away - if you reread my post, this occurs even in drive, with my foot on the brake. I have 600 miles on the car - I know how it idles, how the ICE should work and sound and I love it. This is NOT what the car is doing. It DIES. You can press the gas pedal and the car is DEAD - there is no driving away. I am presently waiting for a tow truck. If I've missed some important aspect of operating this vehicle, I'll be sure and admit that once I get back from service.

 

What do you see on the dash?

Where is the tach pointing, when it dies? Does the car icon over the odometer disappear? Any warning lights 'on'? On the Message Center, what does "Press Set for Sys Chck" yield?

 

It should be beeping and chirping and blinking and wailing at you in that case. The accelerator pedal tells the electric motor to "Go" the same as it tells the gasoline engine to "Go", so sitting still with the vehicle turned on (not just accessory mode) should provide forward or backward movement, depending on if you're in Fwd or Rev gear.

I don't know about the Mariner, but the FEH has a little outline of a car on the dash screen when the vehicle is in a mode that is ready to drive. Serves as a useful reminder for new hybrid owners, as I found myself having to check on occasion to see if the beastie was "alive".

Have you put 300 miles or 600 miles on the vehicle in 3 days? Your initial post says 300, your subsequent post doubles that.