1996 Mercury Villager problems
Owners have filed 253 complaints about the 1996 Mercury Villager with NHTSA. Engine and engine cooling accounts for 16.2% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of latches/locks/linkages at 11.5%.
Complaints253
Crashes12
Fires8
Injuries6
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Engine and engine cooling 16.2% · 41
Latches/locks/linkages 11.5% · 29
Fuel system, gasoline 10.3% · 26
Structure 9.9% · 25
Visibility 9.5% · 24
Service brakes, hydraulic 5.9% · 15
Air bags 5.5% · 14
Seat belts 4.3% · 11
Severity
Of those complaints, 12 describe a crash, 8 describe a fire and 6 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 7 model years of the Mercury Villager in this data, 1996 sits 4th by complaint volume. 1993 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 3 in the last three years against 25 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 86,088 miles.
In owners' own words
Engine noise, kind of loud. Also, engine light came on. Contacted dealer, and the dealer said they should replace tensioner.*Ak after the defective tensioner was replaced, the dealer indicated that the engine needed to be replaced as well. However check the engine light came on and stayed on after the engine was replaced. The air bag light was flashing continuously. Engine and engine cooling
A day after taking vehicle for manufacturer's recall awf40c-f 00 s 59 repairs filler hose had to be changed because it could cause a fire. When consumer was driving about 40 mph engine started jumping. Then, caught on fire just like it said in recall. *Ak the vehicle had exhaust leak at the manifold. The consumer says he does not know the cause of the fire. Engine and engine cooling
My 1996 Mercury Villager has been diagosed as having broken exhaust manifold bolts. After searching the web, it's become apparent that this is an extremely common problem with certain model years of the Mercury Villager, including mine. The design of this part of the car is definitely flawed because of the commonality of this problem. Engine and engine cooling · reported at 60,050 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…
Other Mercury Villager years
1993 516 complaints · 29.5% engine and engine cooling 1994 323 complaints · 31.0% engine and engine cooling 1995 477 complaints · 21.2% engine and engine cooling 1997 152 complaints · 17.8% fuel system, gasoline 1998 100 complaints · 14.0% vehicle speed control 1999 252 complaints · 36.5% vehicle speed control