Mercury to inspect V6, V8 outboard engines for limp-home glitch

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on Monday published a voluntary recall notice for 214 of Mercury’s V6 and V8 FourStroke outboard engines rated at 175-300hp, and Mercury Racing 250-300hp V8s.

“It is possible for water to leak into the shift actuator,” the consumer watchdog’s recall notice says.

“Such water leakage could cause internal corrosion and wire damage, eventually causing the engine to go into Guardian-forced idle, losing shift control (engine remains in its last gear position), or the engine may not restart,” it says.

The notice said the leak could leave boaters laid up on the water once engine power and control was lost. It asks customers to contact Mercury Marine’s customer service on (03) 9791 5822 or anzp@mercmarine.com to schedule a service appointment where the shift actuator could be inspected and, if needed, replaced.

Mercury Marine said letters already had been sent to registered Australian and New Zealand owners notifying them of the recall, and dealers had been “busy proactively working through these”.

Specific models affected include the Mercury 175-225hp V6 outboard engines, the 200-300hp V8 outboard engines, and the V8-engined Mercury Racing 250R, 300R and 300R HD race engines.

Mercury’s Marine's new 3.4-litre V6 175-225hp four-stroke outboard engine range was released to worldwide acclaim in 2018.

The configuration of the new engines is a polar opposite to the models they replaced. The outgoing 135-200hp L4 Verado four-strokes were small displacement, 1.7-litre in-line four-cylinder engines that used superchargers to develop big power and torque despite their small size.

In contrast, the compact, angular looking new engines are naturally aspirated, large displacement V6 engines featuring dual overhead cams and 24 valves - big displacement engines produce plenty of power and torque.

Mercury’s eight new V8 engines arrived a few months later, and comprise 250 and 300hp Verados, 250 and 300hp FourStrokes and 200, 225, 250 and 300hp Pro XS models. All are based on a new 4.6-litre block.

Mercury’s Verado outboard engine range, meanwhile, carries over the a supercharged 2.6-litre in-line six-cylinder engine for its 350hp and 400hp engines, and a 4.6-litre V8 for its 250 and 300hp versions.