Certain trw driver's side seat belts manufactured on december 6 and 9, 2002, for use as replacement equipment for 1997 ford escort 4-door and station wagon platform vehicles, ford's p/n f7cz54611b09aac. The seat belt assemblies exhibit a no-lock condition...
1987-2003 · 17 model years
Mercury Tracer Problems by year
Owners have filed 601 complaints about the Mercury Tracer across 17 model years, and it has 12 recalls. The 1997 has the most complaints once its age is allowed for (145), while 1990, 2000 have far fewer than a typical year. The most reported problem area is the electrical system, followed by the engine & cooling.
- Complaints
- 601
- Recalls
- 12
- Crashes
- 74
- Fires
- 47
- Injuries
- 80
- Deaths
- 4
Tracer complaints by model year
Highlighted: the year with the most complaints for its age. Older vehicles have had more time to collect complaints - the Safety Index grade allows for that.
Most common Tracer problems
Mercury Tracer recalls 12
On certain passenger vehicles, the integrated air bag monitor (iabm) can be contaminated with water or other liquids and could experience internal electrical shorting.
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with 1.9L engines, built at the hermosillo assembly plant and originally sold or currently registered in arizona. Cracks can develop in the fuel tank near the heat shield attachment resulting in fuel...
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with 1.9L engines, built at the hermosillo or wayne assembly plants and originally sold or currently registered in nevada, florida, hawaii, texas, california, louisiana, georgia, south carolina, mississippi...
The front safety belt buckle release buttons can break. These red plastic release buttons are marked "press." If a button breaks, pieces can fall into the buckle assembly causing the buckle to operate improperly.
The driver side air bag module can have an inadequately welded inflator canister.
The offset toe adjusting pin can fracture under conditions such as torsional loads, flexing motion, impact loads, and overtorquing.
The roll pins securing the ignition lock in the steering column housing can separate or move out of position.
Fatigue cracks can develop in the solder joint between the fuel return tube and the fuel pump sending unit located at the top of the fuel tank.
The stop lamp switches could intermittently malfunction resulting in the stop lamps not illuminating when the brakes are applied.
Some lap shoulder belt retractors were built with certain out of tolerance components.
Covers1988 Mercury Tracer
Incorrect fuel filler neck attachment screws were used to attach the neck to the rear quarter panels.
Covers1988 Mercury Tracer
Latest Tracer complaints
After 27 years the rubber fuel filler pipe on the car cracked and began leaking fuel. The fuel filler pipe was replaced with a new fuel filler pipe from ford motorcraft, part #kfl-22, focz-9324-aa. The new fuel filler pipe lasted only 6 months before cracking and spilling gas on my driveway creating a hazardous situation. The car was repaired with a new third party [not ford] fuel filler pipe. I'm bringing this to your attention because numerous auto repair web sites have hundreds of complaints regarding...
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defective replacement ford fuel filler pipes [all ford models]. Fuel filler pipes should last more then 6 months. Ford's replacement fuel filler pipes are defective and should be recalled for replacement by ford to prevent a very hazardous situation should a vehicle be parked in a garage, i.E., Near a water heater or other ignition source, creating a life-threatening situation. The leak from the fuel filler pipe occurs whether or not the vehicle is parked or moving when the fuel tank is more then 3/4's full. The pipe deteriorates from the outside with cracks running the length of the pipe. The nylon webbing on the inside of the pipe does not prevent it from leaking. The attached photo shows the defective pipe, but the hundreds of hairline cracks in the pipe cannot be seen in the photo because of photo resolution. The pipe has only been in use on the car for just six months. I use 91 octane gasoline in the car. *Tr
Tl* the contact owns a 1991 mercury tracer. After the vehicle was filled with fuel and parked in the garage, the contact smelled a fuel odor and noticed fuel leaking onto the garage floor. All american ford (3306 bridge ave, point pleasant, nj 08742, (732) 451-3582) was contacted and stated that the vehicle was too old and they did not have parts. The vehicle was then taken to all american mazda (575 burnt tavern rd, brick township, nj 08724, (732) 451-6848) where a diagnostic and repair appointment was scheduled. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 160,000.
There is a stalling problem, even when driving! The were a number of times that I had to be pushed of a main road. It took hours to restart. If I wait over 10 hours, most times the car will restart. The problem seems to be in the ignition module and /or the magnet and/or the rotor. I have spent nearly $2,300.00 Replacing parts. The car still stalls out even when driving! It is possible the problem is with the distributor or the ignition module. The contacts to the relay in the fuse box were cleaned but it still stalls randomly. I believe there was a recall with the ignition module, rotor and magnet set. Is that true?
Tl* the contact owned a 1993 mercury tracer. While driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle accelerated independently. The brake pedal traveled to the floor when it was depressed. As a result, the vehicle struck another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. There were three injuries reported that required medical attention. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. Mailed 10/16/14*ljupdated 11/13/14*lj updated 4/29/2015 *js
Tl* the contact owns a 1995 mercury tracer. While driving 30 mph, the contact smelled fuel inside the vehicle. Once the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed a leak on the ground and the fuel gauge decreased from a full tank to half of a tank. The vin was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 97v144000 (fuel system, gasoline). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 45,000.
The trunk reflector plastic pegs broke and I've seen this on other tracers as well. We are unable to find another. If we were to go to a used car parts lot, most likely, they would break before we could pop one off. We are forced to use tape to hold it in place. The auto repair shop said that part couldn't be ordered anymore. Yes, this is an old car, but still, we should be able to drive on the freeway without our trunk reflector blowing off and causing an accident. The driver rear tail light is doing the...
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same thing too. The light works, but the plastic fittings break and the light could blow off as well--but it is mostly intact at this time and I'm pretty sure I can buy another, however, at this time our tape does run from most of the reflector to the light as well. I just think they should make a trunk reflector that doesn't blow off. I don't care how old the car is. *Tr
Questions about the Mercury Tracer
Which Mercury Tracer years have the most problems?
Which Mercury Tracer years have the fewest complaints?
What are the most common Mercury Tracer problems?
Across every model year, owners report problems with the electrical system (80), engine & cooling (78), fuel system (78) most often.
How many recalls does the Mercury Tracer have?
NHTSA lists 12 recalls across all Mercury Tracer model years. Each year's page lists the recalls for that year; check your own vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether the repair has been done.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked daily. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data