1997 Mercury Villager Body and structure Problems
- Complaints
- 21about this part
- Share
- 17%of 125 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 105,000miles
- Trend
- StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 21 complaints about the body and structure of the 1997 Mercury Villager, 17% of the 125 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 105,000 miles.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“I was driving along after shopping and I started to hear this dragging or bottoming out sound so I pulled over to see what was happening and to my surprise the front frame on the passenger side that holds up the engine was broken I then opened the hood and saw that the engine was sitting sideways toward the passenger side. I limped the van home and had my mechanic look at it and he said that it was on fixable and then I called five body shops to see if they could fix it and they said no and that Mercury villagers was known to do this and that they were recalled for this before.”
NHTSA complaint #10671108, filed 2015-01, 190,000 miles“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“All of the doors lock by themselves. It has happened many times. We can be out of the car or in it. The keys can be out of the ignition. It usually happens when we are parked but it has also happened when we were driving. There have been numerour times whenwe have tried to unlock the car with the remote and it quickly locks itself back up; this may repeat itself for or five times before we can get into the car.”
NHTSA complaint #752525, filed 2001-09“We started reporting the problem with the sliding door on 7/15/99. The lock did not lock or unlock consistently whether using the remote or the inside automatic button and the door rattled like something was loose inside. The service dept at capitol lincoln Mercury(richmond, va) decided to replace the antenna on 8/16. This did not correct the problem. On 10/4, I took it back again and they replaced the sliding door lock actuator. …”
NHTSA complaint #713556, filed 1999-10“I have contacted you before & talked to peggy about the side door of the Villager opening. The vechical is leased and being returned 12/14/98 I sent you pics of the inner workings of the door- touching the styroform also makes the door open & a little round thing does too other than just the rod that I told you already. Dealership refuses to fix panel saying I abused the vechical ifeel this is a serious saftey issue since the vechical is designed for families. Thank you”
NHTSA complaint #701279, filed 1999-01Body and structure: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 2 | 11% |
| 2001 | 1 | 5% |
| 2000 | 5 | 7% |
| 1999 | 11 | 6% |
| 1998 | 12 | 14% |
| 1997 | 21 | 17% |
| 1996 | 25 | 13% |
| 1995 | 16 | 4% |
| 1994 | 7 | 3% |
| 1993 | 24 | 6% |
Other parts of the 1997 Mercury Villager
27 complaintsLatches, locks and linkages
17 complaintsEngine cooling
16 complaintsAir bags
12 complaintsBrakes
11 complaintsVehicle speed control
9 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
5 complaintsEquipment
4 complaintsOther or unknown
4 complaintsSeat belts
4 complaintsTires
4 complaintsVisibility (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 Oct 29, 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