Mercury Tracer Years to Avoid, Problems & Recalls

Which Mercury Tracer years should you avoid?

Going by 530 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the Mercury Tracer years to avoid are 1993 and 1997.

19932.3× the usual share of fires, crashes and deaths for a car of its age (3 fires, 11 crashes, 3 deaths).
1997142 complaints, 2.2× a typical Tracer year, most often about the airbags.

How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →

Year	Complaints	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
1997Avoid	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
1993Avoid	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

Year

Complaints

Relative volume

Recalls

Fires

Crashes

Most reported

Status

2003

—

Routine

2002