Mercury / Mountaineer / 2003
2003 Mercury Mountaineer problems
Owners have filed 220 complaints about the 2003 Mercury Mountaineer with NHTSA. Structure accounts for 28.2% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of power train at 20.5%.
Complaints220
Crashes8
Fires7
Injuries11
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Structure 28.2% · 62
Power train 20.5% · 45
Suspension 5.5% · 12
Electrical system 5.0% · 11
Vehicle speed control 4.5% · 10
Engine and engine cooling 4.5% · 10
Air bags 4.1% · 9
Service brakes, hydraulic 3.6% · 8
Severity
Of those complaints, 8 describe a crash, 7 describe a fire and 11 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 11 model years of the Mercury Mountaineer in this data, 2003 sits 5th by complaint volume. 2002 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 7 in the last three years against 21 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 78,898 miles.
In owners' own words
I have a 2003 Mercury Mountaineer and the liftgate has cracked around the Mercury emblem. I have seen several other mountaineers with exact same cracking around emblem. This makes me wonder if panel could fail causing glass to fall out. Since this problem has been reported in numerous websites , is there going to be a recall to fix this problem. It is obviously a defect or this problem would not be rampant. Structure · reported at 112,000 miles
There is a crack from the bottom of the rear window right by the Mercury emblem, all the way down. I've seen nearly identical cracking on many other mountaineers and explorers. I see a rather large number of the same complaints on several websites. Obviously this is a defect that could result in injuries and needs to be recalled for safety reasons. Mercury/ford needs to stand behind their product. Structure · reported at 65,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Mercury Mountaineer. The contact noticed that the rear lift gate windshield assembly was cracked. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in any recalls and any repairs would be at the expense of the owner. The failure mileage was 80,000 and the current mileage was 84,000. Structure · reported at 80,000 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…