What breaks most · 1996 to 2010 model years
Mercury Mountaineer problems by year
Owners have filed 1,992 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Mercury Mountaineer across model years 1996 to 2010. Three years stand out: 2002 for powertrain and transmission complaints, 1997 for tires complaints and 1998 for tires complaints. The quietest years are 1996, 2001 and 2007.
- Years to check closely: 2002, 1997, 1998
- Fewest complaints: 1996, 2001, 2007
- Complaints on file
- 19921996 to 2010, all trims
- Worst year
- 2002372 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 14567 fires · 148 injuries · 3 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 71kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 49Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 2 | Tires (2) | |
| 328 | 41 | 7 | Tires (138) | |
| 236 | 22 | 6 | Tires (95) | |
| 151 | 13 | 9 | Tires (51) | |
| 123 | 15 | 8 | Speed control and throttle (28) | |
| 22 | 2 | 4 | Suspension (4) | |
| 372 | 17 | 4 | Powertrain and transmission (144) | |
| 152 | 6 | 1 | Body and structure (59) | |
| 210 | 11 | 1 | Body and structure (79) | |
| 82 | 6 | 1 | Body and structure (26) | |
| 117 | 6 | 2 | Engine and cooling (43) | |
| 81 | 3 | 1 | Seats (26) | |
| 96 | 3 | 2 | Seats (54) | |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | Steering (2) | |
| 13 | 0 | 1 | Brakes (5) |
What fails on the 2002 Mercury Mountaineer
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 39% |
144 | 3 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 19% |
70 | 0 | Shop body and structure parts for the 2002 Mercury Mountaineer |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 10% |
36 | 0 | Shop suspension parts for the 2002 Mercury Mountaineer |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 9% |
33 | 0 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 2002 Mercury Mountaineer |
| VisibilityMirrors and glass | 8% |
31 | 0 | Shop visibility parts for the 2002 Mercury Mountaineer |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 6% |
23 | 1 | Shop steering parts for the 2002 Mercury Mountaineer |
| Air bags | 5% |
20 | 9 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 5% |
19 | 0 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2002 Mercury Mountaineer |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
At 99,000 miles the transmission started to jump slightly as it shifted gears. Then the od light came on when i tried to go in reverse and it didn't want to move. Then, when it was put in drive it jerked violently. The vehicle has not been abused or hotrodded.
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While driving 50 mph the consumer felt something under h is foot snap. The consumer lost speed, pulled over to the side of the road, to discover the bolt holding the accelerator pedal had fallen off. The consumer was able to drive the vehicle in order to have the repair done. *nm *tc
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While driving at 40 mph the accelerator pedal separated from its linkage and fell off. The dealership indicated that this was caused by the welding becoming detached and needed to be re-welded. *ak *scc *jb
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Mercury Mountaineer years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2002, 1997, 1998 carry the most filings on the Mercury Mountaineer. The 2002 alone has 372 complaints, led by powertrain and transmission.
What is the most common Mercury Mountaineer problem?
On the 2002 model year, the most-reported component is powertrain and transmission with 144 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Mercury Mountaineer problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Mercury Mountaineer complaints that include mileage is about 71,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.