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Problems · NHTSA complaints

1996 Mercury Tracer problems

Owners filed 17 complaints about the 1996 Mercury Tracer with NHTSA between May 1997 and Feb 2006. The most-cited component is air bags (5).

Full 1996 Tracer research
Complaints
17
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
4
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
11
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Air bags5
  2. Steering3
  3. Seat belts3
  4. Seats2
  5. Engine and engine cooling1
  6. Fuel system, gasoline1
  7. Power train1
  8. Vehicle speed control1
  9. Structure1
  10. Other / unknown1

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 10, 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
19975
19983
19992
20002
20013
20020
20031
20040
20050
20061

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

Air bags

5 reports2 crashes
“WHILE DRIVING DRIVING 55 MPH CONSUMER LOST CONTROL AND WENT INTO A DITCH. AIR BAGS DID DEPLOY AND EXPLODE. CONTACT DEALER, AND DEALER HAS NOT RESPONDED.*AK CONSUMER ALSO STATED THAT SEAT BELT CAME LOOSE.*JB”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 6, 2001Steering, Air bags, Seat beltsCrash reportedODI 893567
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Steering

3 reports1 crash
“POWER STEERING FAILED.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 4, 1997SteeringODI 605505
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Seat belts

3 reports1 crash
“RETRACTOR ON DRIVER'S SIDE LOCKS UP, AND WHEN DOOR IS OPENED IT SLIDES QUICKLY BACK. *AK”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 24, 2001Seat beltsODI 878964
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Seats

2 reports2 crashes
“ON 6-25-99 WE WERE INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT. WE WERE AT A COMPLETE STOP WHEN ANOTHER DRIVER REAR-ENDED US GOING ABOUT 35-40MILES PER HOUR. AT IMPACT BOTH FRONT SEATS LATCH BROKE AND THE SEATS SLID BACK AND RESTED IN THE LAPS OF MY 3 CHILDREN SEATED IN THE BACK. THE DRIVERS SEAT ALSO SEEMED TO BECOME UNBOLTED AND TWISTED BEFORE IT SLID BACK HITTING MY 10 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER BETWEEN THE EYES. AT SUCH A HIGH RATE OF SPEED I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED THE AIR BAGS TO DEPLOY AND THEY DID NOT. OUR CAR SLID ONE CITY BLOCK AT IMPACT. THE TRANSMISSION LOCKED AND THE REAR DOORS JAMMED. I HAD TO LEAN AND PULL ON THE FRONT SEATS TO PULL MY CHILDREN FROM THE BACK SEATS. THIS WAS ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT FOR MY 3AND 1 YEAR OLDS BECAUSE THEY WERE LOCKED IN CHILD SAFETY SEATS. *AK”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 8, 1999SeatsCrash reportedODI 708379
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Engine and engine cooling

1 report
“DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE ATTEMPTING TO START THE VEHICLE, THE ENGINE MADE A LOUD KNOCKING NOISE. THE CONTACT IMMEDIATELY TURNED OFF THE ENGINE AND THE NOISE STOPPED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP FOR INSPECTION. THE MECHANIC REPLACED THE ENGINE SEAT, CYLINDER HEAD, AND HEAD GASKET WHICH CORRECTED THE PROBLEM. UPDATED 3/28/2006 - *NM”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 21, 2006Engine and engine coolingODI 10150759
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Fuel system, gasoline

1 report
“VEHICLE HAD A FUEL LEAK WHICH WAS CAUSED BY A CRACK IN THE FUEL TANK NEAR THE EXHAUST.*AK”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 14, 2003Fuel system, gasolineODI 10027207
Get this fixed
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026

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