Mercury Tracer
Owners filed 530 complaints across 14 model years of the Mercury Tracer. The 1997 drew the most (142); the 2003 the fewest (0).
Model years14
Complaints530
Recalls18
Fires43
Deaths4
Every Mercury Tracer model year compared
Complaints per year| Year | Complaints | Relative volume | Recalls | Fires | Crashes | Most reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | Routine | |
| 2002 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | Routine | |
| 2001 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | Routine | |
| 2000 | 2 | 1 | — | — | Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline › Belts and Associated Pulleys | Routine | |
| 1999 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 6 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission | Routine | |
| 1998 | 44 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline | Routine | |
| 1997 | 142 | 2 | 17 | 15 | Air Bags | Fatalities reported | |
| 1996 | 12 | 0 | — | 4 | Air Bags › Frontal | Routine | |
| 1995 | 96 | 3 | — | 5 | Fuel System, Gasoline › Storage › Tank Assembly | Routine | |
| 1994 | 66 | 1 | 5 | 18 | Air Bags › Frontal | Routine | |
| 1993 | 62 | 1 | 3 | 11 | Vehicle Speed Control | Fatalities reported | |
| 1992 | 24 | 2 | 5 | 2 | Fuel System, Gasoline › Storage › Tank Assembly | Routine | |
| 1991 | 60 | 3 | 9 | 2 | Seat Belts | Routine | |
| 1990 | 2 | 0 | 1 | — | Structure › Frame and Members | Routine |
Which Mercury Tracer years should you avoid?
On raw complaint volume the 1997 is the weakest year on record, with 142 complaints concentrated in the air bags. It carries 2 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.