Mercury Mariner Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 1,296 consumer complaints across the 7 model years of the Mercury Mariner (2005–2011) that have at least 5 complaints. 2008 has the most, with 461. Across all years, the part named most often is steering (557 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
Best and worst Mariner years →
All Mariner model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 87 | 52,440 | 2 | 27 | 51 · Typical | Falling |
| 2010 | 270 | 61,100 | 2 | 34 | 49 · Typical | Falling |
| 2009 | 315 | 97,000 | 1 | 31 | 48 · Typical | Falling |
| 2008 | 461 | 106,000 | 3 | 31 | 72 · More | Falling |
| 2007 | 33 | 77,500 | 2 | 15 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2006 | 63 | 82,000 | 3 | 27 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2005 | 67 | 60,068 | 2 | 35 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Steering557 37%
- Transmission and drivetrain231 15%
- Vehicle speed control179 12%
- Engine162 11%
- Fuel system144 9.6%
- Electrical system105 7.0%
- Brakes66 4.4%
- Other or unknown59 3.9%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
2008: “I realized sometime last year that my throttle was sticking when I would start the car and begin to take off. It was here and there and then I must have gotten use to it but now it does it even when I'm driving, it sticks all the time. Now it doesn't want to shift at the right times and it acts weird a lot, going up hills, when shifting from gears and so on.”
NHTSA complaint #11387585, filed 2021-01, 198,000 miles2006: “The gear shift is not properly shifting. It goes from park to reverse on its own. Sometime it wont reverse and makes a loud noise. It click back and forth between gears. Ive replace the switch to see if that would work but it doesnt. Please let me know if I can do anything to fix this problem but it is the same recall 15v606000 for other vehicals of the same type”
NHTSA complaint #11296840, filed 2020-01, 190,000 miles2009: “My 2009 Mercury Mariner has an issue with the steering. Sometimes it works but most of the time it does not. There will be times when it does work it will go out in mid turn and jerk the wheel straight, sometimes causing me to swerve into traffic or out of my lane. I did hear that this particular vehicle was involved in a recall but I was not sure how to get that information.”
NHTSA complaint #11297955, filed 2020-01, 108,000 milesOther Mercury models
5,379 complaintsMercury Grand Marquis
3,946 complaintsMercury Milan
2,520 complaintsMercury Mountaineer
1,989 complaintsMercury Cougar
1,881 complaintsMercury Villager
1,724 complaintsMercury Mystique
1,013 complaintsMercury Tracer
563 complaints
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology