"How reliable is the 1997 Mercury Marquis?"

"Based on 62 NHTSA complaints, the 1997 Mercury Marquis has a median complaint mileage of 63000 miles. The most common issue is Manifold/Header/Muffler/Tail Pipe."

"What are common problems with the 1997 Mercury Marquis?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1997 Mercury Marquis is Manifold/Header/Muffler/Tail Pipe, accounting for a significant portion of the 62 total complaints filed."

1997 Mercury Marquis: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 62 complaints

Total Complaints

63,000mi

Median Mileage

Manifold/Header/Muffler/Tail Pipe

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

20,000 25th Percentile

63,000 Median Mileage

83,744 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Manifold/Header/Muffler/Tail Pipe

Engine And Engine Cooling

Automatic Transmission

Vehicle Speed Control

Control Arm

Frontal

Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip

Hoses, Lines/Piping, And Fittings

Carburetor System

Tires

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE WAS WANDERING. WOULD RUN OFF THE ROAD, AND THE VEHICLE HIT A GUARD RAIL, AND THE AIRBAG DIDN'T DEPLOY. *AK"

"VIOLENT DEPLOYMENT OF AIRBAG CAUSED INSTRUMENT PANEL TO COME LOOSE, CAUSING INJURY."

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.

Manifold/Header/Muffler/Tail Pipe 11 complaints

25th: 58,337 mi Median: 83,744 mi 75th: 88,652 mi

Engine And Engine Cooling 5 complaints

Median: 14,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

MI: 10 NY: 8 FL: 8 CA: 5 NC: 4 DC: 4 GA: 3 OH: 3 TX: 3 VA: 2

Who Files Complaints?

45.2%

Original Owners

54.8%

Second+ Owners

Mercury Marquis — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1992	30	-	Gasoline	7
1993	25	-	Air Bags	3
1994	44	100,000	Power Window Devices And Controls	2
1995	26	-	Tank Assembly	0
1996	40	91,000	Engine And Engine Cooling	3
1998	40	75,000	Suspension	1
1999	31	95,052	Vehicle Speed Control	2
2000	24	-	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