Problems · NHTSA complaints

2004 Mercury Grand Marquis problems

Owners filed 360 complaints about the 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis with NHTSA between Jan 2004 and Aug 2026. The most-cited component is exterior lighting (214).

Complaints
360
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
17
Reported by owners
Fires
4
Reported by owners
Injuries
10
People reported injured
Deaths
1
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Exterior lighting214
  2. Steering69
  3. Electrical system43
  4. Vehicle speed control23
  5. Engine and engine cooling10
  6. Power train9
  7. Structure8
  8. Visibility7
  9. Air bags6
  10. Interior lighting6
  11. Tires5
  12. Engine4
  13. Visibility/wiper4
  14. Service brakes, hydraulic4

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 9, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
200414
200517
20066
20076
20085
200911
201022
201133
201214
201339
201454
201541
201632
201720
201817
20196
20204
20214
20224
20235
20242
20253
20261

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Exterior lighting

214 reports2 crashes1 related recall
“The contact owns a 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, a local Police Officer stopped the vehicle and made the contact aware that both taillights were inoperable. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the diagnostic result was unknown. The vehicle was serviced under an unknown recall; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 24, 2026Exterior lightingODI 11759060

Steering

69 reports4 crashes
“The contact owns a 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel was loose and made an abnormal sound while turning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the steering shaft was corroded, and the bearing had collapsed. The contact was informed that the steering shaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 116,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 14, 2023SteeringODI 11532214

Electrical system

43 reports1 crash1 fire
“The contact owns a 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the key fob became inoperable. The contact was not able to start the vehicle with the security warning light illuminated. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 4, 2025Electrical systemODI 11678246

Vehicle speed control

23 reports5 crashes1 fire
“While driving, I came to a stop light and suddenly, the car idled high and lurched forward while my foot was on the brake, luckily, I was stopped well away from the vehicle in front of me. The car idled high and seemed to have a mind of it's own. I took the back roads home and backed into our garage. The car smelled hot, and I though I had smoked my brakes, trying to keep control of it. Later that night, I told my husband about the car's actions and he did not believe me, though my daughter who was with me at the time confirmed that the car had indeed accelerated on it's own. My husband started the car and it did idle high and get hot once again, although only parked with no one in it. He thought he knew what the problem was and we turned off the car and closed the hood and went inside to order the part. A few minutes later, we heard a couple popping noises and I opened the door that led into the garage from the basement. Smoke was coming into the house and my husband said that a flame shot over my head. The car had caught on fire under the closed hood. We called the fire department, but by the time they arrived, a good portion of the basement was on fire. The…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 1, 2022Vehicle speed control, Engine, Fuel/propulsion systemFire reportedODI 11482417

Engine and engine cooling

10 reports1 fire
“The contact owns a 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that she noticed a leak underneath her vehicle with the check engine and coolant warning lights illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic where it was discovered that coolant had been leaking from a crack in the intake manifold. The dealer nor the manufacturer had been notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 29, 2021Engine and engine coolingODI 11441976

Power train

9 reports1 crash
“Catalytic converter FAIL, engine idles rough while in park. HIGH Loss of engine power while driving Differentials in back tires are imbalanced…timing FAIL. Steering not calibrated, drivetrain out of sync altogether. Back wheels, left and right; randomly spin & torque hard while car is already in motion on any private road, hidden road, domestic road and high capacity, high speed highway, causing vehicle to fishtail uncontrollably and dangerously, and wildly side to side potentially veering off the road which could result in death unless the driver regains proper control of vehicle. Out of sync car computer and the mechanical devices built into car do not have proper timing performed on those particular moving parts altogether. The car was not manufactured properly mechanically nor electrically altogether. Headlights & electric system etc have an incomplete recall on my vehicle. [XXX] PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 7, 2021Steering, Power train, Electrical systemODI 11428138
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 9, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.