1996 Mercury Tracer

Routine

Owners filed 12 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the air bags › frontal. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Air Bags › Frontal3
201
Seats › Front Assembly › Recliner2
209
Seat Belts2
000
Structure › Body › Door1
000
Steering › Hydraulic Power Assist › Pump1
000
Seat Belts › Front › Retractor1
000
Fuel System, Gasoline › Storage › Tank Assembly1
000
Engine and Engine Cooling1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Engine and Engine Cooling
Filed Feb 21, 200660,430 milesCA

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE ATTEMPTING TO START THE VEHICLE, THE ENGINE MADE A LOUD KNOCKING NOISE. THE CONTACT IMMEDIATELY TURNED OFF THE ENGINE AND THE NOISE STOPPED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP FOR INSPECTION. THE MECHANIC REPLACED THE ENGINE SEAT, CYLINDER HEAD, AND HEAD GASKET WHICH CORRECTED THE PROBLEM. UPDATED 3/28/2006 - *NM

Fuel System, Gasoline › Storage › Tank Assembly
Filed Jul 14, 200340,809 milesWY

VEHICLE HAD A FUEL LEAK WHICH WAS CAUSED BY A CRACK IN THE FUEL TANK NEAR THE EXHAUST.*AK

Air Bags › FrontalCrash1 injured
Filed Aug 6, 2001AR

WHILE DRIVING DRIVING 55 MPH CONSUMER LOST CONTROL AND WENT INTO A DITCH. AIR BAGS DID DEPLOY AND EXPLODE. CONTACT DEALER, AND DEALER HAS NOT RESPONDED.*AK CONSUMER ALSO STATED THAT SEAT BELT CAME LOOSE.*JB

Seat Belts › Front › Retractor
Filed Jan 24, 2001WI

RETRACTOR ON DRIVER'S SIDE LOCKS UP, AND WHEN DOOR IS OPENED IT SLIDES QUICKLY BACK. *AK

Air Bags › FrontalCrash
Filed Oct 30, 2000ID

THIS VEHICLE REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE AT 45 MPH, AND FORNTAL AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. DEALER HAS NOT BEEN CONTACTED.*AK

Seat Belts
Filed Jan 18, 2000OH

THE DRIVERS SIDE MOTORBELT FAILED. NLM

Seat Belts
Filed Jul 19, 1999VT

DRIVERS SIDE MOTOR BELT FAILED. NLM

Seats › Front Assembly › ReclinerCrash5 injured
Filed Jul 8, 1999CA

ON 6-25-99 WE WERE INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT. WE WERE AT A COMPLETE STOP WHEN ANOTHER DRIVER REAR-ENDED US GOING ABOUT 35-40MILES PER HOUR. AT IMPACT BOTH FRONT SEATS LATCH BROKE AND THE SEATS SLID BACK AND RESTED IN THE LAPS OF MY 3 CHILDREN SEATED IN THE BACK. THE DRIVERS SEAT ALSO SEEMED TO BECOME UNBOLTED AND TWISTED BEFORE IT SLID BACK HITTING MY 10 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER BETWEEN THE EYES. AT SUCH A HIGH RATE OF SPEED I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED THE AIR BAGS TO DEPLOY AND THEY DID NOT. OUR CAR SLID ONE CITY BLOCK AT IMPACT. THE TRANSMISSION LOCKED AND THE REAR DOORS JAMMED. I HAD TO LEAN AND PULL ON THE FRONT SEATS TO PULL MY CHILDREN FROM THE BACK SEATS. THIS WAS ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT FOR MY 3AND 1 YEAR OLDS BECAUSE THEY WERE LOCKED IN CHILD SAFETY SEATS. *AK

Structure › Body › Door
Filed Jan 5, 1998MO

THE DRIVER'S/PASSENGER'S DOORS WOULD POP & GRIND WHENEVER THEY ARE OPENED. AIR COMES THROUGH THE WINDOW. TOOK TO DEALER 4 TIMES & GOING FOR 5TH TIME. PROBLEM GETTING WORSE. DOORS ARE HARDER TO OPEN. *AK

Seats › Front Assembly › ReclinerCrash4 injured
Filed Dec 11, 1997WI

DURING A REAR END COLLISION BOTH FRONT BUCKET SEATS SLID BACK AND THEN FELL BACK INTO ARECLINE DPOSITION ON TOP OF THE PASSENGERS IN THE REAR SEAT, CAUSING THEM TO HIT THEIR HEADS ON THE FRONT SEATS.

Air Bags › Frontal
Filed Oct 28, 1997VT

WHEN DRIVING ON ANY ROAD CONDITION A VIBRATING NOISE COMES FROM THE PASSENGER'S SIDE AIRBAG. THE PASSANGER'S SIDE AIRBAG HAS BEEN REPLACED, AND 3 TO 4 DAYS LATER THE VIBRATION STARTED AGAIN. *AK

Steering › Hydraulic Power Assist › Pump
Filed Jul 1, 1997NV

POWER STEERING PUMP MAKES NOISE WHEN TURNING.

12 of 12 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1997
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20030100Routine
20020100Routine
20010100Routine
20002100Routine
199920120Routine
199844110Routine
19971422171Fatalities reported
1996 — this page12000Routine
199596300Routine
199466150Routine
199362133Fatalities reported
199224250Routine
199160390Routine
19902010Routine

Compare every Tracer year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.