We really don't have any information regarding the incident. The car had been parked outside for approximately 4 hours, when upon waking at around 3:50 am on sunday morning, I smelled a strange odor emanating from somewhere in the house. As I investigated, I soon found out that the smell was not in the house, but outside, and that's when I found my car ablaze. The fire department had already been called by the time I realized what it was, and the fire was put out. No police came, and no report was filed. The only information given to any official was my name, my cell number, the license plate number, and possibly the VIN. The 1997 mercury mountaineer now sits in my driveway.
1997 Mercury Mountaineer engine problems
14 complaints (4% of all complaints for this car).
- owner complaints
- 14
- of this car's complaints
- 4%
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Engine: gasoline4
- Exhaust system: manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe3
- Engine3
- Engine: gasoline: belts and associated pulleys2
- Exhaust system: emission control: gas recirculation valve (EGR valve)1
- Cooling system: radiator assembly1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Mercury Mountaineer engine problems in other years
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehicle stalled without restart.information contained in the odi consumer complaints and obtained from 72 telephone interviews with complainants showed the following:(1) 99% of the complaints were on my 1997 to 2002 subject vehicles.(2) most the complainants reported hearing a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound.(3) many of the complainants reported that the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power; however, in 99% of the incidents reported, the vehicle did not stall.in the very few incidents where the vehicle did stall, most vehicles could be restarted.(4) only a small percentage of the complainants cited that they smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.(5) in all but a very few incidents, vehicle damage was limited to the engine.in one incident, the complaint reported that the fuel rail was damaged and replaced after one of the spark plugs ejected from the engine; however, the complainant reported that the damage did not result in any type of fuel leak or fire.in another incident, the only incident where a fire was alleged, the complainant reported that no fluid leak was observed, but that a fire resulted after the spark plug had ejected from the engine and he had restarted the vehicle and driven to another location.none of the complainants reported any damage to the vehicle hood.(6) only two complainants reported that they observed what appeared to be some drops of fuel coming from the cylinder where the spark plug had failed or on the spark plug itself; however, each of these complainants reported that there was no smoke or flames as a result of his incident.as the petitioner noted, and odi?s analysis showed, it is possible for a spark plug to detach from the engine cylinder threads in the subject vehicles.however, odi?s analysis of 474 complaints describing such incidents found only a very few alleged any safety-related consequences.none of these showed any evidence of a serious safety consequence.given the large population and relatively long exposure time of the subject vehicles, the complaint analysis indicates that the risk to motor vehicle safety from the alleged defect is very low.in view of the foregoing, it is unlikely that the federal safety agency would issue an order for the notification and remedy of the alleged defect at the conclusion of the investigation requested in the petition.therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize the federal safety agency?s limited resources to best accomplish the agency?s safety mission, the petition is denied.
DP05005
What 1997 Mercury Mountaineer owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
If driving through a puddle right front wheel splashes water onto serpetine belt, resulting in temporary loss of power steering control/ alternator charge, and air conditioning. Vehicle has been checked by dealer, who advised consumer that since there was no recall it was not their problem.
The exhaust manifold has failed more than once; therefore, leaking a considerable amouunt of carbon monoxide which causes passengers and driver to become sleepy.
Problem mentioned on visit in december 01. My son and I experienced carbon monoxide poisoning on a trip to chicago 3/15/02. There are many similar vehicles in the rural area in which I live. I feel a service alert should be sent for similar age make vehicles that come in for service. Especially if they mention a tick in the engine. Have there been other reports of cracked egr tubes? Nlm
The manufacturer recommended that all the firestone tires be replaced, two of the original wilderness at tires that consumer had on his vehicle was replaced prior to recall, therfore consumer was denied reimbursement.
I don't know that if this is the right place I need to be, but my SUV has quite a bit of rust underneath and in the wheels, I can scratch some off with chipping coming off, I have met with the dealership and the ford rep, they say I have surface rust and it won't rust threw the steel, in my life time, and I am unease about that, my seat belts have a smell to them and I feel like it has had some water damaged to it, but I do not feel safe in it, they have had to replace gaskets, oil pan, crankshaft rear seal, and rear main seal, and it is in the shop now for a poping sound. I need to know what I can do next to get this matter taken care of, I have never seen this much rust, can you please help me, and give me the right direction to go now. I thank you so much.
While traveling engine will hesitate or stop momentarily when vehicle is slowing or starting to accelerate. Mercury knows of the problem, but doesn't know how to fix it. *ak.et
Radiator leaks around the plastic tank which is connected to core of radiator. Problem happens only when weather is cold. Once vehicle had heated it did not leak. Contacted dealership & informed vehicle out of warranty & no recalls or bulletins on vehicle. *ak
While parked vehicle caught fire inside the engine compartment. Dealer has repaired the vehicle. *ak
Vehicle loses power steering completey for up to 1 minute after going through puddles of water. Loss of steering at speed is very dangerous. Dealer maintenance personnel claim this is ford-wide problem and there is no known fix. I believe this problem could result in severe accidents.
Questions about the 1997 Mercury Mountaineer engine
Does the 1997 Mercury Mountaineer have engine problems?
Owners have filed 14 complaints about the engine of the 1997 Mercury Mountaineer, 4% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 1997 Mercury Mountaineer engine problems start?
Not enough complaints include the mileage to tell.
Was there a recall on the 1997 Mercury Mountaineer engine?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Mercury Mountaineer have bad engine?
The Mercury Mountaineer model years with the most engine complaints are 2006 (56 complaints), 2002 (35 complaints) and 1998 (22 complaints).
Other 1997 Mercury Mountaineer problems
Tires 138Acceleration 59Brakes 40Electrical 15Suspension 15Seat belts 12Visibility 11Body 9Transmission 8Airbags 7Fuel system 6Locks 5Steering 5Seats 4Lights 3Wheels 2
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