Seat beltsPart report

1997 Mercury Villager Seat belts Problems

Complaints: 4about this part
Share: 3%of 125 total for the year
Median mileage: 20,000miles
Trend: Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 4 complaints about the seat belts of the 1997 Mercury Villager, 3% of the 125 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 20,000 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“Consumer complained about automatic door lock problem. The doors locked without notice. Currently, hatchback will not open. Also, driver's side seat belt did not retract.”

NHTSA complaint #10059825, filed 2004-02, 20,000 miles

“My 7 year old daughter thought it would be fun to see how many times she could wrap the shoulder belt around her neck. I was unaware as I was getting my other children buckled in. Before we were about to leave, I turned to see if she too was buckled in and found her using her fingers between her neck and the belt to try to free herself as the slack had been pulled back in. We immediately got some scissors to cut the belt to let her free. The potential for some other kid doing this and not having anyone or anything around to help makes me nervous. …”

NHTSA complaint #10514755, filed 2013-06

“Was driving vehicle and was involved in a crash. Upon impact, middle row passenger's seat belt failed to lock up , and threw passenger on floor. Seat belt remained buckled , and was still around passenger. Third row passenger had also experienced same problem with the seat bel, failed to lock up. Driver's seat belt worked.”

NHTSA complaint #881183, filed 2001-02

“Seat belt buckle holder is missing for third bench seat, closest to sliding door. When driver slides foward it causes lack of protection, especially in event of a lateral impact accident.”

NHTSA complaint #846598, filed 1999-09

Seat belts: other model years

Year	Complaints	Share of year
2001	3	15%
2000	6	8%
1999	7	4%
1998	1	1%
1997	4	3%
1996	10	5%
1995	42	11%
1994	12	5%
1993	27	7%

Other parts of the 1997 Mercury Villager

Fuel system
27 complaints Body and structure
21 complaints Latches, locks and linkages
17 complaints Engine cooling
16 complaints Air bags
12 complaints Brakes
11 complaints Vehicle speed control
9 complaints Transmission and drivetrain
5 complaints Equipment
4 complaints Other or unknown
4 complaints Tires
4 complaints Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
4 complaints

← All problems reported for the 1997 Mercury Villager

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Nov 1, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology