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Research · Midsize Cars

2009 Mercury MilanRecalls, problems, MPG & safety

NHTSA lists 7 safety recalls and 226 owner complaints for the 2009 Mercury Milan. Most complaints involve service brakes (99) and air bags (85). The EPA rates it 20–23 mpg combined.

Check a VINAdd to my garage
Combined MPG
20–23mpg
EPA · 4 versions
NHTSA overall
—
Not rated by NCAP
Safety recalls
7campaigns
Latest Mar 2021
Owner complaints
226
Top: service brakes
Fuel cost / yr
$2,700est.
EPA estimate, best version
01 —Recalls

Safety recalls

7 NHTSA campaigns · applies to some vehicles, check your VIN

Air bags: inflator module

Park It: do not driveFree remedy

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, Ford is recalling certain 2010 Ford Edge, Fusion, Mustang and Ranger, Lincoln MKX and Zephyr/MKZ, and Mercury Milan vehicles ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Ford is also recalling certain 2009 Ford Edge, Fusion, Mustang and Ranger, Lincoln MKX and Zephyr/MKZ, and Mercury Milan vehicles ever registered in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bags), that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

Air bagsReported Jan 11, 2018NHTSA 18V046000

Air bags: inflator module

Park It: do not driveRemedy pending

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2012 Ford Fusion and Mustang and Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Ford is recalling certain 2009 Ford Ranger, Edge, Fusion and Mustang, Lincoln MKX, MKZ and Zephyr and Mercury Milan vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Ford is recalling certain 2007-2008 Ford Ranger, Edge and Lincoln MKX, 2006-2008 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ, 2005-2008 Ford Mustang and 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Air bagsReported Jan 10, 2017NHTSA 17V024000

Air bags: inflator module

Park It: do not driveRemedy pending

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2007-2011 Ford Ranger vehicles, 2006-2011 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, 2007-2010 Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles, and 2005-2011 Ford Mustang vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Ford is recalling certain model year 2007-2008 Ford Ranger, Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2006-2008 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles and 2005-2008 Ford Mustang vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Any vehicle not included in "Zone A", or "Zone B" is not included in the safety recall. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Air bagsReported May 31, 2016NHTSA 16V384000
See all 7 recalls with remedies
Data from NHTSA Recalls API · synced Nov 10, 2026 · All recall detailsNHTSA vehicle page
02 —Complaints

Owner complaints by component

226 complaints filed with NHTSA · Apr 2009 – Jan 2025
  1. Service brakes99
  2. Air bags85
  3. Service brakes, hydraulic17
  4. Vehicle speed control10
  5. Structure6
  6. Engine5
  7. Power train4
  8. Electrical system3
  9. Service brakes, air2

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

By model year

Complaints for each Milan model year we’ve synced.

View as table
Model yearNHTSA complaints
2006214
2007434
2008451
2009226
20101,062
2011192
Crashes reported
12
Fires reported
1
Injuries reported
5
Deaths reported
0
Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 10, 2026 · Full problem breakdownNHTSA vehicle page
03 —Common problems

What owners report most

Verbatim excerpts from NHTSA complaints, by component

Service brakes

99 reports8 crashes
“I RECEIVED A LETTER IN JULY OF 2021 ABOUT THE ABS CONTROL UNIT PROBLEM MY VEHICLE HAS. AT THE MOMENT THAT CONTROL MODULE IS NON-FUNCTIONAL. TO DATE FORD HAS NOT PRODUCED OR MADE AVAILABLE ANY OF THE PARTS NEEDED FOR THIS REPAIR AND WILL NOT EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE THE VEHICLE WHEN I CALLED THEM. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW LONG I HAVE TO DRIVE A VEHICLE WITH KNOWN DEFECTIVE BRAKES BEFORE FORD IS FORCED TO COMPLETE THIS REPAIR? THERE IS ALSO A BRAKE FLUID ISSUE WITH THIS VEHICLE THAT CANNOT BE ADDRESSED UNTIL THE NON-FUNCTIONING ABS MODULE IS REPAIRED. THE DEALER REFUSED TO CHANGE THE SAID CORROSIVE FLUID BECAUSE OF THE NON-FUNCTIONING ABS MODULE.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 9, 2023Service brakesODI 11511028

Air bags

85 reports3 crashes
“THERE IS A FEDERAL RECALL ON MY VEHICLE. I HAVE SET UP AN APPOINTMENT TWICE WITH MATHEWS FORD IN NEWARK, OHIO. THEY HAVE FAILED TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THE FIRST TIME I TOOK IT IN THEY SAID BECAUSE OF COVID THEY WERE NOT FIXING THEM. I SPOKE TO A REPRESENTATIVE FROM FORD WHO SET UP A SECOND APPOINTMENT. THEY WERE SUPPOSE TO PICK UP THE CAR ON 02/24 AND NEVER ARRIVED.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 3, 2021Air bagsODI 11398914

Service brakes, hydraulic

17 reports1 crash
“The contact owns a 2009 Mercury Milan. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed and traveled to the floorboard. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact engaged the parking brake to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the ABS hydraulic control unit had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V904000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 2, 2025Service brakes, hydraulicODI 11633632
All 2009 Milan problemsSend a problem to a mechanic on findmechanic.ai
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026
04 —Key specs

Engines, transmissions & drive

4 versions rated by the EPA
EPA class
Midsize Cars
Engines
2.3L 4-cyl · 3.0L 6-cyl
Transmissions
Automatic 5-spd · Manual 5-spd · Automatic 6-spd
Drive
Front-Wheel Drive · 4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive
Fuel
Regular Gasoline

Towing, payload and dimensions aren’t in the EPA or NHTSA data, so we don’t list them.

Data from EPA fueleconomy.gov · synced Nov 10, 2026EPA listing
05 —Fuel economy

EPA fuel economy by version

City / highway / combined, annual fuel cost and CO₂
EPA
VersionCityHwyComb.Fuel / yrCO₂ g/mi
Milan
Auto 5-spd, 4 cyl, 2.3 L · Front-Wheel Drive
202823$2,700386
Milan
Man 5-spd, 4 cyl, 2.3 L · Front-Wheel Drive
202923$2,700386
Milan
Auto 6-spd, 6 cyl, 3.0 L · Front-Wheel Drive
182621$2,950423
Milan AWD
Auto 6-spd, 6 cyl, 3.0 L · 4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive
172520$3,100444
  • Milan
    Auto 5-spd, 4 cyl, 2.3 L
    20 city · 28 hwy · $2,700/yr
    23
    mpg comb.
  • Milan
    Man 5-spd, 4 cyl, 2.3 L
    20 city · 29 hwy · $2,700/yr
    23
    mpg comb.
  • Milan
    Auto 6-spd, 6 cyl, 3.0 L
    18 city · 26 hwy · $2,950/yr
    21
    mpg comb.
  • Milan AWD
    Auto 6-spd, 6 cyl, 3.0 L
    17 city · 25 hwy · $3,100/yr
    20
    mpg comb.
Estimate your fuel costCost of ownership
Data from EPA fueleconomy.gov · synced Nov 10, 2026 · Fuel cost is EPA’s annual estimate (15,000 mi, 55% city)
06 —Safety

NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings

1 tested variant
NHTSA has not published 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2009 Mercury Milan as of Nov 10, 2026.
Data from NHTSA NCAP Safety Ratings API · synced Nov 10, 2026Vehicle 5123
07 —Maintenance

Maintenance basics

General guidance, not the OEM schedule. Check your owner’s manual.
General guidance
ItemMilesTimeNote
Engine oil & filter5,000–10,000 mi6–12 monthsFollow the oil-life monitor if fitted
Tire rotation5,000–7,500 miEvery oil changeCheck pressure monthly
Engine air filter15,000–30,000 mi1–2 yearsSooner in dusty areas
Cabin air filter15,000–25,000 mi1–2 years
Brake fluid—2–3 yearsAbsorbs moisture over time
Coolant60,000–100,000 mi5–10 yearsLong-life coolants last longer
Spark plugs60,000–100,000 mi—Iridium/platinum plugs at the long end
12V battery—3–5 yearsHeat shortens battery life
  • Engine oil & filter5,000–10,000 mi
    6–12 months
  • Tire rotation5,000–7,500 mi
    Every oil change
  • Engine air filter15,000–30,000 mi
    1–2 years
  • Cabin air filter15,000–25,000 mi
    1–2 years
  • Brake fluid—
    2–3 years
  • Coolant60,000–100,000 mi
    5–10 years
  • Spark plugs60,000–100,000 mi
    —
  • 12V battery—
    3–5 years
Typical intervals for modern cars. Severe service (towing, short trips, extreme heat or cold) shortens them.
09 —FAQ

2009 Milan questions

How many recalls does the 2009 Mercury Milan have?

7 safety recalls as of Nov 10, 2026, according to NHTSA. Recall repairs are free at a dealer. Check your VIN to see whether your car is included and whether the repair was done.

What are the most common 2009 Mercury Milan problems?

Owners filed 226 complaints with NHTSA. The most-cited components are service brakes (99), air bags (85), service brakes, hydraulic (17). Complaints are unverified owner reports and aren't adjusted for how many cars were sold.

What MPG does the 2009 Mercury Milan get?

The EPA rates the 2009 Mercury Milan at 20–23 mpg combined, depending on engine and drivetrain (4 versions rated).

Data from NHTSA & EPA · synced Nov 10, 2026