1997 Mercury Villager problems
NHTSA has received 152 complaints about the 1997 Mercury Villager, and 18% of them involve fuel system. Next are body & structure (14%) and latches & locks (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 152 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Fuel system 18% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 9 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 2 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 100,000 miles 23 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 | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 5 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 2 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 3 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 23 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 100,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 9 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 2 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 6th most-complained-about out of 8 model years of the Mercury Villager with enough data (78 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 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.
Driver reports he must have had his foot on the brake and accelerator at the same time (semi-panic brake application). Police report states "tire marks" on the (dry) pavement. One does not produce "tire marks" on dry pavement (no turning involved) without brake application. Driver had episode of microsleep: when alerted by the event taking place, he could not get the vehicle stopped in time to prevent hitting and fatally injuring a pedestrian.
Was driving vehicle and was involved in a crash. Upon impact, middle row passenger's seat belt failed to lock up , and threw passenger on floor. Seat belt remained buckled , and was still around passenger. Third row passenger had also experienced same problem with the seat bel, failed to lock up. Driver's seat belt worked.
Consumer complained about automatic door lock problem. The doors locked without notice. Currently, hatchback will not open. Also, driver's side seat belt did not retract.
I am one of tons of people with the notorious exhaust manifold studs breaking issue! Which causes the check engine like to come on, and dangerous fumes to enter the vehicle. With 4 children, this is not a good thing...and the price is more then a family of 4 children can afford at $1500-3000 depending on the damage and now I cannot have my vehicle safely inspected due to this issue. Please have them issue a recall on this and protect our families.