Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 1997 record →
DOWN SHIFT PROGRAM EXHIBITS A SEVERE BRAKING PULSE THAT OCCURS AT APPROXIMATELY 34MPH WHENEVER THE VEHICLE COAST WITH THE GAS PEDAL RELEASED, , CAUSING THE DRIVE WHEEL TO SLIP AT THE TIRE TREADS, ON SNOWY, ICY, GRASSY, OR GRAVEL SURFACE.
UNINTENDED TRANSMISSION BRAKING CONCENTRATED IN THE FRONT WHEEL, COULD RESULT IN SERIOUS FRONT-WHEEL-DRIVE STEERING LOSS ACCIDENT.
WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE WAS WANDERING. WOULD RUN OFF THE ROAD, AND THE VEHICLE HIT A GUARD RAIL, AND THE AIRBAG DIDN'T DEPLOY. *AK
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 1997 Mercury Marquis → · Every Marquis year → · How the figures are calculated →