1997 Mercury Tracer problems & reliability
142 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1997 Mercury Tracer, alongside 1 safety recall campaign. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
15 complaints report injuries (17 injured, 1 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 1997 Mercury Tracer vehicles were involved in 1 fatal crash with 0 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 47 | 33% |
| Electrical System | 22 | 15% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 21 | 15% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 11 | 8% |
| Suspension | 11 | 8% |
| Tires | 9 | 6% |
| Unknown OR Other | 9 | 6% |
| Visibility | 9 | 6% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 5 | 4% |
| Seat Belts | 4 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 73,547 miles (middle 50% between 51,550 and 106,500 miles), based on 26 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“1997 mercury tracer trio vin [xxx] my wife and I bought this car from wanted auto sales in worley idaho. My we have a one year old daughter. We heard a noise from the rear of the car. My wife thought we were bottoming out. I came to discover that both rear factory struts the coil springs were broken near the bottom of…”
Suspension · filed Oct 11, 2010
“We had taken my vehicle to get it checked by a computer at a local service parts shop. When we came back we stopped my car and it was not running, ignition off. About an hour later we heard a loud noise and its air bags had gone off, breaking my car's windshield and obviously making a mess in my car. This concerns me…”
Air Bags · filed Jul 19, 2010
“While driving felt severe vibration and loud noise at all speeds and car pulling to the right hard. Vibration became worse about 8 miles later, car was not drivable and almost ran off the road. The tread separated from the tire. Pulled over, put the spare on. Pep boys replaced both front tires, the other tire had…”
Tires · filed Jun 22, 2010
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- WATER INTRUSION INTO AIRBAG MONITOR
Engineering Analysis EA02008 · opened Jun 10, 2002 · closed Dec 11, 2002 · led to recall 02V323000
- INTEGRATED AIR BAG MONITOR WATER
Preliminary Evaluation PE02010 · opened Jan 30, 2002 · closed Jun 10, 2002
Technical service bulletins
143 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1997 Mercury Tracer. The 10 most recent:
General (pcm) power train control module programming procedures. *tt
042107 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 13, 2004
General power train control module (pcm) programming procedures. *tt
04217 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 1, 2004
Trw vehicle safety systems, inc. Is recalling certain service replacement seatbelt retractors (driver's side front retractor in gray) manufactured in december 2002 and sold as a service replacement part between december…
04V09 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 12, 2004
Malfunction indicator lamp illuminated with diagnostic trouble codes (dtcs) p0442, p0455, p0456, p0457 or p1442 or a check fuel cap lamp illuminated with dtc p0457 for the evaporative emission system. *tt
03203 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 13, 2003
Remote keyless entry (rke) - service tips. *tt
03181 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 15, 2003
Idle vibration on vehicles equipped with 2.0l spi or zetec engine only. *tt
031515 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 4, 2003
New transmission cooler flusher - service tips. 2003 escort and super duty f series included. *tt
03148 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 21, 2003
Malfunction indicator lamp (mil) illumination with diagnostic trouble codes p0442, p0455, p0456, p0457, p1442 or check fuel cap lamp illuminated with diagnostic trouble code p0457. *tt
0398 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 12, 2003
Climate control a/c service tech tips. *eh
02208 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 14, 2002
Lamp-brake-invadvertent disabling of brake shift interlock. *mj
02176 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 2, 2002
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 1997 Mercury Tracer has 1 NHTSA recall campaign — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 1997 Mercury Tracer?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 73,547 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.