"How reliable is the 2003 Mercury Mountaineer?"

"Based on 220 NHTSA complaints, the 2003 Mercury Mountaineer has a median complaint mileage of 78898 miles. The most common issue is STRUCTURE:BODY."

"What are common problems with the 2003 Mercury Mountaineer?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2003 Mercury Mountaineer is STRUCTURE:BODY, accounting for a significant portion of the 220 total complaints filed."

2003 Mercury Mountaineer: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 220 complaints

220

Total Complaints

78,898mi

Median Mileage

STRUCTURE:BODY

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

50,596 25th Percentile

78,898 Median Mileage

104,275 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STRUCTURE:BODY

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE

POWER TRAIN

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

STRUCTURE

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE:HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"CONSUMER STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AND WITHOUT WARNING THE VEHICLE WILL SURGE FORWARD CAUSING A DISTRACTION TO THE CONSUMER. DEALER NOTIFIED"

"INTERMITTENTLY THE BRAKE LIGHTS STAYING LIT AFTER VEHICLE IS TURNED OFF AND KEY IS REMOVED. LIKELY THAT THIS FAILURE ALSO CAUSED THE BRAKE LIGHTS TO REMAIN LIT WHILE DRIVING, RENDERING THE SIGNAL INEFFECTIVE. LIGHTS ACTUALLY STAYED ON TWO OCCASIONS CAUSING A DEAD BATTERY ONCE. LIGHTS WERE NOTICED T..."

"WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE HAS A VERY DANGEROUS VIBRATION MOTION. DEALER REFUSES TO REPAIR. *AK"

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

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