RoadVitals

1996 Mercury Mountaineer Problems

Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
3
Latest Nov 8, 2000
Components namedHow many of our component categories appear on at least one report for this model year. One report can name several.
2
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
0

What this page shows

Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 1996 Mercury Mountaineer, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Reports by component

Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category

  • Tires & wheels266.7%
  • Driver assistance133.3%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Each component in detail

What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words

Tires & wheels

Reports naming tires, wheels, hubs, or the tire-pressure monitoring system.

2
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

I HAD TIRE BLOWOUT WHILE DRIVING AT APROX.55-60 MPH. VEHICLE VEERED FROM THE ROAD . TIRE SHOWS SIGNS OF TREAD SEPARATION IN AN AREA ABOUT 8 INCHES LONG THAT RUNS ALONG THE SIDEWALL AND RAPS ABOUT 1/3 OF THE WAY ACROSS THE TIRE. THE TIRE WAS A RIGHT REAR WILDERNESS AT. *AK (DOT NUMBER: W2HL TIRESIZE: P235 75 15)

NHTSA ID 735972 · filed Nov 8, 2000

MY WIFE PURCHASED A 1996 MERCURY MOUNTAINEER IN HAWAII IN FEBRUARY 1998. THE VEHICLE CAME EQUIPPED WITH WILDERNESS AT TIRES (VNHL IPY 336 235/75 R15). IN DECEMBER 1999, TREAD ON ONE OF THE NEW TIRES SEPARATED WHEN THE VEHICLE HAD 25,005 MILES ON IT WHILE DRIVING IN HAWAII AT A SPEED OF ABOUT 55 MPH. WE WENT TO A FIRESTONE DEALER IN WAIPAHU, HI AND WERE TOLD WE HAD TO BUY A NEW TIRE ($39.97 ) THAT WOULD BE PRORATED BASED UPON THE REMAINING TREAD. THE LOW COST FOR THE NEW TIRE REFLECTED THE LACK OF TREAD WEAR ON THE BAD TIE. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS REPLACEMENT TIRE WAS ANOTHER WILDERNESS TIRE (8XHL 1PY 1100 235/75 R15). WHILE IN EL PASO IN MAY 2000, AS WERE DRIVING THE MOUNTAINER ACROSS COUNTRY, A SECOND OF THE ORIGINAL "VNHL" TIRES SUFFERED TREAD SEPARATION AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. AS WE WERE REPLACING THE SECOND TIRE, WITH ANOTHER WILDERNESS AT (8XHL 1PY 269, 235/75 R15 ), AT A PRORATED COST OF $64.99, THE MECHANIC, AT BOB MUSEL MESA FIRESTONE IN EL PASO, NOTICED THAT A THIRD "VNHL" ON THE GROUND WAS BAD BECAUSE IT HAD A CHUNK OF TREAD MISSING FROM THE TIRE. HE TOOK THIS BAD TIRE OFF THE GROUND AND IT IS NOW MY USELESS SPARE. FORTUNATELY, NO ONE WAS INJURED DURING EITHER INCIDENT. BUT I THINK OUR LUNCK MIGHT BE RUNNING OUT. THE TREAD SEPARATION LED US TO CONDUDE IN MAY THAT THE ORIGINAL WILDERNESS AT TIRES THAT CAMNE WITH THE VEH WERE CLEARLY DEFECTIVE, AND THE RECENT FIRESTONE RECALL SUGGESTS THAT ALL OF THE WILDERNESS TIRES ARE PROBABLY DEFECTIVE, DESPITE THE DISTINCTION THAT IS CURRENTLY BEING PROFERRED. WE VISITED FIRESSTONE DEALERS IN NEWARK (COCHRAN & TREVITS) AND NEW CASTLE (SCOTT BALMANN, MANAGERE) DELAWARE THIS PAST WEEKEND TO ATTEMPT TO HAVE OUR DANGEROUS, DEFECTIVE TIRES REPLACED. WE SHOWED OUR RECEIPTS, TOLD OUR STORY AND GOT NO RESULTS. IN EACH CASE, THE DEALERSHIP STATED THAT NEITHER "VNHL" OR 8XHL" DOT DESIGNATED WILDERENESS AT TIRES WERE PART OF THE RECALL ESTABLISHED BY FIRESTONE. MY FORMER/CURRENT "VHNL" TIRES ARE BAD!!!!

NHTSA ID 728356 · filed Aug 18, 2000

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Driver assistance

Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH THROTTLE REMAINS OPEN, CAUSING UNATTTENDED ACCELERATION. CAUSE UNKNOWN. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK

NHTSA ID 855301 · filed Jan 21, 2000

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .