1992 Mercury Topaz problems
NHTSA has received 92 complaints about the 1992 Mercury Topaz, and 22% of them involve seat belts. Next are engine (18%) and electrical system (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 92 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Seat belts 22% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 3 and 7
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
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%.
What the data shows
Safety-related details: 3 complaints mention a crash; 7 complaints mention a fire; 3 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1992 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 5 model years of the Mercury Topaz with enough data (44 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
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.
Consumer turned on the heat and anti-freeze started leaking out from under the dashboard on the driver's and passenger's side. The vehicle was on but not in motion. The passenger sustained 2nd degree burns, approximately 8 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide. The owner of the vehicle will contact someone from the ford motor co.
Consumer was traveling at 30-35MPH and started smelling smoke coming through the vents of vehicle. Consumer pulled into driveway & got out. Within minutes, vehicle caught on fire. Consumer will contact manufacturer & federal trade commission.
Vehicle caught on fire from the steering wheel. When the vehicle was started flames burst out from the steering wheel. The vehicle was recalled (96v-071000) but the consumer never received the notice. The ignition switch was the cause of the fire. *nlm
To whom this may concern; I brought my daughter's car in for seatbelt repair. There was failure of the shoulder strap to open when getting into the car. My complaint is with the dealership hammonton auto group white horse pike hammonton nj. On 6/25 the car was brought in- charging $80 to diagnose that the switch on the passenger side needed replacing. The part cost $10 the job was to cost $260 - which I feel was a customer ripoff. We decided to get the job done despite the outrageous cost.
The ignition switch fell apart 3 times on the topaz since 1995, the switches I bought at ford dealership was the exact same one that fell apart. First the accessories stop worked one at a time, A/C, turn signals, radio, air conditioning. Then I pull it out and replaced the switch, I carry an extra one in t car and have the replacement down to 45 minutes. I replaced the switch now when the second sign of failure occurred. I have a small pouch with all the tools.