2003 Mercury Marauder problems
NHTSA has received 91 complaints about the 2003 Mercury Marauder, and 19% of them involve lighting. After that come suspension (12%) and drivetrain & axles (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 91 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Lighting 19% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 4 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 33,000 miles 68 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 | 32 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 5 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 9 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 7 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 3 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 9 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Among the 68 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 33,000 miles. For lighting specifically, the median reported mileage is about 74,000 miles (13 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 4 injuries reported.
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.
While test-driving a 2003 mercury marauder, my foot became entangle with a driver-side cockpit lower panel that trapped my foot onto the throttle and prevented me from accessing the brake pedal, causing the vehicle to spin out of control and crash.
Was traveling about 20 MPH in my 2003 mercury marauder and was hit from behind at ~45 - 50 MPH. During the impact the driver's seat back failed and fell backwards. Luckily my daughter (5 yrs old) was not in the booster seat that is directly behind me. If she had been with me, she most certainly would have had serious injuries. When the seat fell back, my instinct was to try to stay upright. This caused significant neck strain.
On my 2003 vehicle, there was apparenetly a spare axle pin contained in the rear differential from the factory. While I was driving in town, this pin was thrust against the pumpkin (differential cover), punctured the rear differential cover and caused the differential to leak fluid. The dealership found the "spare pin" when they repaired the differential cover.
When driving between 40-60 MPH consumer heard a thumping sound coming from the rear floor boards of the vehicle. Also there was vibration in the gas pedal. Dealer examined the vehicle, and found that the differential needed to be replaced.
My 2003 mercury marauder suffered premature wear on the inner edges of the front wheels. It was found to be within specification for the camber alignment while this wear is indicative of a camber issue. I replaced the front tires and had an alignment. 12,000 miles later the new set of tires is exhibiting excessive wear on the front inner edges. Doing further research, I have found this is a problem caused by the loose tolerance of mercury's alignment specification.
Other model years of the Marauder
- 2004
- 2003