Mercury Mountaineer
Owners filed 1,992 complaints across 15 model years of the Mercury Mountaineer. The 2002 drew the most (372); the 1996 the fewest (3).
Model years15
Complaints1,992
Recalls49
Fires67
Deaths3
Every Mercury Mountaineer model year compared
Complaints per year| Year | Complaints | Relative volume | Recalls | Fires | Crashes | Most reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 13 | 1 | — | — | Service Brakes | Routine | |
| 2009 | 6 | 0 | — | — | Steering | Routine | |
| 2008 | 96 | 2 | — | 3 | Seats | Routine | |
| 2007 | 81 | 1 | — | 3 | Seats | Routine | |
| 2006 | 117 | 2 | 2 | 6 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission | Routine | |
| 2005 | 82 | 1 | — | 6 | Structure › Body | Routine | |
| 2004 | 210 | 1 | 2 | 11 | Structure › Body | Above average | |
| 2003 | 152 | 1 | 5 | 6 | Structure › Body | Routine | |
| 2002 | 372 | 4 | 7 | 17 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission | Above average | |
| 2001 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 2 | Structure | Routine | |
| 2000 | 123 | 8 | 12 | 15 | Vehicle Speed Control | Routine | |
| 1999 | 151 | 9 | 5 | 13 | Tires | Fatalities reported | |
| 1998 | 236 | 6 | 23 | 22 | Tires | Fatalities reported | |
| 1997 | 328 | 7 | 10 | 41 | Tires › Tread/Belt | Fatalities reported | |
| 1996 | 3 | 2 | — | — | Vehicle Speed Control | Routine |
Which Mercury Mountaineer years should you avoid?
On raw complaint volume the 2002 is the weakest year on record, with 372 complaints concentrated in the power train › automatic transmission. It carries 4 recalls.
Read these numbers with sales volume in mind. A model year that sold in huge numbers naturally accumulates more reports than a rare one, and older cars have had more years to fail. The stronger signal is the severity columns and whether the same component keeps coming up year after year.
Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, September 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.