Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full
Data refreshed
Complaints on fileComplaints 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.
21
Latest Apr 5, 2001
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.
5
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Jan 25, 1995
What this page shows
Our database holds 21 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1988 Mercury Tracer. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Complaints, most recent first
Showing 1–21 of 21
Seat belts
Filed Apr 5, 2001
BOTH FRONT SEAT BELTS' RETRACTOR MECHNISM HAVE FAILED-THEY LOCK AT LOW PULL OUT RATE. I CALLED MY LOCAL DEALER AND FORD'S CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPT (800-392-3673/DUANE). I REPEATLY MENTIONED TO THEM NHTSA'S CAMPAIGN ID NO: 89V085000 BUT BOTH FORD AND MY LOCAL DEALER'S SERVICE DEPARTMENT TOLD ME THAT MY VEHICLE IS NOT INVOLVED IN A RECALL AFTER I HAVE GIVEN THEM MY VIN NUMBER AND AFTER THEY SEARCHED THEIR DATA BASE FOR RECALLS. MY CARE WAS MAKE IN JAN, 88 WHICH FALLS INTO THE RIGHT TIME PERIOD AND I HAVE ALWAYS HAD PROBLEMS WITH MY FRONT SEAT BELTS. ONLY RECENTLY DID I SAW NHTSA'S WEB SITE AND FOUND OUT THERE WAS A RECALL THE SEAT BELTS IN MY CAR. I THINK I HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE RUN AROUND BY FORD. PLEASE CONTACT FORD FOR ME AS MY CAR IS INOPERABLE NOW WITHOUT FUNCTIONING SEAT BELTS. THANKS.*AK
NHTSA ID
743574
Incident
Mar 5, 2001
Seat belts
Filed Jun 28, 2000
THIS VEHICLE EXPERIENCED THE SAME EXACT PROBLEMS AS MENTIONED IN MANUFACTURER'S RECALL 5577, SEAT BELT RETRACTOR LOCKED UP AT LOW BELT PULLOUT RATES, WHICH DISCOURAGED SEAT BELT USE. DEALERSHIP HAS ADVISED CONSUMER THAT THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE WAS NOT PART OF THE RECALL DUE TO VIN. *AK
NHTSA ID
864435
Incident
Jan 1, 2000
Seat belts
Filed Jul 28, 1999
PASSENGER'S SIDE SEAT BELT WILL NOT RETRACT. *AK
NHTSA ID
843615
Incident
Jul 16, 1999
Brakes
Filed Feb 25, 1998
BRAKE CALIPER SEALS FAILED CAUSING FLUID LOSS AND BRAKE FAILURE.
NHTSA ID
531406
Incident
Feb 25, 1998
Engine
Filed Oct 14, 1997
SUDDEN ACCELERATION CAUSED ACCIDENT.
NHTSA ID
523748
Interior & seats
Filed Jan 14, 1997
Crash reported
VEHICLE INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT AND THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEATBACK COLLAPSED. CAR WAS TOTALLED. *AK
NHTSA ID
807590
Incident
Sep 24, 1994
Driver assistance
Filed Dec 12, 1996
Crash reported
WHILE BACKING UP TO LOAD PERSONS INTO VEHICLE, WITHOUT WARNING, VEHICLE ACCELERATED AND STRUCK A BUILDING, INSURANCE COMPANY TOTALED IT. *AK
NHTSA ID
806266
Seat belts
Filed Oct 4, 1996
FAILURE ON THE DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S SIDE SEAT BELTS, THE SHOULDER BELTS DO NOT LOCK.*AK
NHTSA ID
803210
Incident
Sep 12, 1995
Engine
Filed Sep 30, 1996
NOSE OF CRANK BROKE.
NHTSA ID
509245
Incident
Aug 19, 1996
Other / unspecified
Filed Sep 23, 1996
LEFT REAR WHEEL CAME OFF, CAUSING LOSS OF CONTROL.(OHIO STATE POLICE REPORT)
NHTSA ID
508902
Incident
Aug 25, 1996
Seat belts
Filed Jun 24, 1996
PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT TRACTOR WOULDN'T RETRACT, PLEASE DESCRIBE . *AK
NHTSA ID
986056
Driver assistance
Filed May 29, 1996
THE ACCELERATOR STUCK AND CAUSED CONSUMER TO RUN INTO A TREE, SHE WAS NOT INJURED. *AK
NHTSA ID
984939
Electrical
Filed May 9, 1996
AN ELECTRICAL SHORT IN THE IGNITION SWITCH, CAUSED SMOKE TO COME OUT OF THE STEERING COLUMN, WHILE DRIVING. PLEASE DESCRIBE. *AK
NHTSA ID
984295
Powertrain (other)
Filed Oct 25, 1995
SPEEDOMETER CABLE BROKE 2 TIMES. *SD
NHTSA ID
487419
Incident
Apr 7, 1995
Seat belts
Filed Oct 23, 1995
THE SEATBELT WILL NOT RETRACT AND IS STUCK IN ONE POSITION AND CANNOT BE USED. TT WHEN A PASSENGER SITS IN SEAT AND TRIES TO BUCKLE UP THEY CAN HARDLY PUT THE BELT INTO THE HOLDER SMOOTHLY IT IS A CONSTANT BATTLE, THEN WHEN IT FINALLY DOES GO INTO LOWER HALF OF BUCKLE THE PASSENGER IS NOT ALWAYS RELEASED WHEN USING THE RELEASE BUTTON IT SEEMS THAT THE BUCKLE STICKS IT IS CURRENTLY NOT USABLE AS CONSUMER'S LAST PASSENGER GOT STUCK IN THE SEAT BELT.*JB
NHTSA ID
973768
Incident
Feb 13, 1995
Seat belts
Filed Sep 1, 1995
THE REAR DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE WHEN LOCKED CAME LOOSE . *AK
NHTSA ID
971472
Brakes
Filed Aug 28, 1995
FRONT BRAKE HOSES CRACKING, REPLACE ONE. OTHER ONE CRACKED. TT
NHTSA ID
971140
Incident
Sep 30, 1994
Exterior lighting
Filed Jul 18, 1995
Fire reported
THE HALOGEN HEADLIGHT BRACKET BROKE AND IT CAUSED THE LIGHT TO FALL UNDER THE BUMPER AND IT CAUSED A FIRE. TT
NHTSA ID
968955
Incident
Jul 15, 1995
Powertrain (other)
Filed Jun 20, 1995
Crash reported
CONSUMER SISTER WAS DRIVING CAR AND THE REAR AXLE BROKE AND THE LEFT REAR WHEEL CAME OFF, RESULTING IN AN ACCIDENT/ROLLOVER. *AK
NHTSA ID
967293
Incident
Mar 8, 1995
Powertrain (other)
Filed Jun 9, 1995
Crash reported1 injury reported
THE AXLE BROKE ON THE VEHICLE CAUSING THE REAR WHEEL TO DETACH FROM THE VEHICLE AND OVERTURN A NUMBER OF TIMES. TT
NHTSA ID
966570
Incident
Mar 8, 1995
Engine
Filed Jan 25, 1995
CRANK SHAFT BROKE, RESULTED IN STALLING. TT
NHTSA ID
959146
Incident
Jan 22, 1994
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.