1997 Mercury Marquis problems
The 1997 Mercury Marquis has 62 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (29%) concerns engine. Next are exhaust system (19%) and suspension (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 62 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 29% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 8 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 10 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 63,000 miles 25 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 | 6 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 3 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 5 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 6 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 25 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 63,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 68,000 miles (10 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 8 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 10 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 90% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 10 model years of the Mercury Marquis with enough data (23 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
Dt: the air bags deployed so badly that it slapped consumer's grandson''s face. He has a permanent scar from it. The air bags smoked up everything like the vehicle was on fire. Also, consumer's grand daughter was riding in the back seat on the passenger's side, and her teeth print was in the back of the seat. Both of the children were in their seat belts. Consumer felt the seat belts should have held up better. This happened on june 18, 2005. The intake manifold was replaced before the accident.
When applying the brakes, the brake pedal went all the way to the floor. I was able to stop the car and pull into a parking lot. I started the vehicle but was unable to take out of park. I then refered to the vehicle manual and found out that if this happens then I should check the brake lights. They were out so I checked the fuse and it was blown. I replaced it and the brakes, lights and transmission worked. I drove home (16 miles) and parked the car. About 30 minutes later the car was on fire.
(this complaint received via e-mail) my wife was driving today around 70 MPH or under on the freeway when she turned a corner and the car fell down low with a clung on the passengers side. She had to have it towed home, where I and the tow driver saw the most horrifying sight, the ball joint just came apart. The ball came right out of the socket. The socket should have been constructed so the ball, even if badly worn would never leave the socket.