2002 Mercury Grand Marquis problems
NHTSA has received 101 complaints about the 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis, and 17% of them involve cruise control. After that come engine (12%) and suspension (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 101 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Cruise control 17% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 11 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 8 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 50,000 miles 65 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 20 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 7 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 11 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 7 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 8 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 65 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 50,000 miles. For cruise control specifically, the median reported mileage is about 48,000 miles (10 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 11 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 8 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 18th most-complained-about out of 21 model years of the Mercury Grand Marquis with enough data (45 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Slight white smoke appearing through vents in auto. Then when we parked it extreme smoke came into vents filling passanger compartment. Also extreme white smoke mixed with black came through vents between hood and windshield. I opened hood and it was apparently between firewall & dash. Had terrible smell like rotted tuna. Wife still having breating problems from inhalation. Had car towed to dealership.
While putting vehicle in gear vehicle sped up without consumer applying pressure to accelerator. Vehicle was totaled. Contacted dealer, and dealer was not willing to do anything. The dealer stated that they were waiting to hear from ford on the engine vibration problem. Consumer was getting the vehicle washed and the attendant explained that while attempting to move the vehicle off the conveyor, the vehicle raced across the highway and although his foot was on the brake, the vehicle would not stop.
The consumer stated the front end of the vehicle was lower than normal which caused damage to the front end when parking. The dealership provided a temporary fix by putting shims under the front end. While driving at 15 MPH in the rain, the vehicle suddenly lost power steering. The consumer had to use excessive force to steer. This resulted in injuries to the consumers arm. This failure was due to the tensioner pulley falling off. The parts were replaced.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 mercury grand marquis. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle accelerated independently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and they stated that the cruise control needed to be disconnected. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 85,000. ..updated 05/01/13 updated 05/06/13
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 mercury grand marquis. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power steering malfunctioned making it extremely difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the steering shaft needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 100,000 and the current mileage was 100,200. ..updated 12-30-13