"How reliable is the 1996 Mercury Marquis?"

"Based on 40 NHTSA complaints, the 1996 Mercury Marquis has a median complaint mileage of 91000 miles. The most common issue is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING."

"What are common problems with the 1996 Mercury Marquis?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1996 Mercury Marquis is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, accounting for a significant portion of the 40 total complaints filed."

1996 Mercury Marquis: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 40 complaints

Total Complaints

91,000mi

Median Mileage

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

70,000 25th Percentile

91,000 Median Mileage

100,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

SUSPENSION

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:ROTOR

WHEELS

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"TILT STEERING COLUMN POINTED DOWNWARD. TRAVELING MINIMAL SPEED VEHICLE SLID OFF RAMP AIR BAG DEPLOYED HITTING DRIVER UNDER THE NECK. *AK"

"FRONT SUSPENSION BROKE WHILE DRIVING, COULD NOT STEER CAR.*AK"

"OWNER STATES WHILE DRIVING HEADLIGHTS AND INTERIOR LIGHTS FAILED, DEALERS REPLACED A MODULE WHICH CONTROLS THE HORN,LIGHTS, SETC. THE PROBLEM WENT AWAY AND THEN RETURNED.OWNER IS VERY CONCERNED FOR HER SAFETY. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 4 complaints

25th: 66,279 mi Median: 80,646 mi 75th: 96,167 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

FL: 13 OH: 4 TX: 3 NY: 3 AZ: 3 CA: 2 NJ: 2 PA: 2 AK: 1 MI: 1

Who Files Complaints?

55%

Original Owners

45%

Second+ Owners

Mercury Marquis — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1992	30	-	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE	7
1993	25	-	AIR BAGS	3
1994	44	100,000	VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS	2
1995	26	-	FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY	0
1997	62	63,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE	8
1998	40	75,000	SUSPENSION	1
1999	31	95,052	VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL	2
2000	24	-	STRUCTURE:BODY	1
2001	27	57,902	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING	4
2003	42	42,377	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	4

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28