"How reliable is the 1998 Mercury Tracer?"

"Based on 57 NHTSA complaints, the 1998 Mercury Tracer has a median complaint mileage of 83000 miles. The most common issue is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE."

"What are common problems with the 1998 Mercury Tracer?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1998 Mercury Tracer is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE, accounting for a significant portion of the 57 total complaints filed."

1998 Mercury Tracer: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 57 complaints

Total Complaints

83,000mi

Median Mileage

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

80,000 25th Percentile

83,000 Median Mileage

141,241 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:HORN

SUSPENSION:REAR:SPRINGS

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM

STRUCTURE:BODY

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:STARTER ASSEMBLY

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"CALIPER SEALS FAILED, CAUSING FLUID LOSS AS WELL AS BRAKE FAILURE. ALSO, MASTER CYLINDER FAILED."

"HORN DIFFICULT TO ACTIVATE DUE TO DESIGN."

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

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

NY: 9 TX: 7 OK: 5 MO: 4 CA: 4 OH: 4 NJ: 3 PA: 3 MA: 3 IL: 3

Who Files Complaints?

47.4%

Original Owners

52.6%

Second+ Owners

Mercury Tracer — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1991	76	-	SEAT BELTS	2
1992	26	-	FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY	3
1993	114	28,500	VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL	14
1994	81	67,000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	25
1995	126	85,500	FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY	9
1997	181	82,000	AIR BAGS	19
1999	32	-	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH	8

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