2003 Mercury Mountaineer Structure Problems
Owners have filed 59 complaints with NHTSA about structure problems on the 2003 Mercury Mountaineer, 39% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 78,784 miles. The words owners use most often: “lift gate” (20% of reports).
- 59structure complaints
- 78,784median miles at failure
- 0mention a crash
- 0mention an injury
- 0related recalls
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Lift gate: mentioned in 12 of 59 complaints (20%)
- Rear liftgate: mentioned in 8 of 59 complaints (14%)
- Around emblem: mentioned in 7 of 59 complaints (12%)
- Obviously defect: mentioned in 5 of 59 complaints (8%)
At what mileage do structure problems happen?
Based on 45 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
None of the 59 complaints report a crash, fire or injury.
Mercury Mountaineer structure complaints by model year
| Model year | Structure complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 Mountaineer | 1 | 8% | 31,000 |
| 2008 Mountaineer | 3 | 3% | — |
| 2007 Mountaineer | 5 | 6% | 80,600 |
| 2006 Mountaineer | 7 | 6% | 67,500 |
| 2005 Mountaineer | 26 | 32% | 69,000 |
| 2004 Mountaineer | 79 | 38% | 69,449 |
| 2003 Mountaineer | 59 | 39% | 78,784 |
| 2002 Mountaineer | 70 | 19% | 58,500 |
| 2001 Mountaineer | 3 | 14% | 60,250 |
| 2000 Mountaineer | 6 | 5% | 59,745 |
| 1999 Mountaineer | 4 | 3% | 71,500 |
| 1998 Mountaineer | 11 | 5% | 75,000 |
| 1997 Mountaineer | 9 | 3% | 59,800 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists structure for the 2003 Mercury Mountaineer. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
I have a mercury mountaineer 2003 and it was stationed there was a crack in the back middle of the hatch now there a huge crack and my window of the trunk came unhinged and fell off i see this problem in all mountaineers they all have the crack in the hatch hope theirs don't fall off i see it in…
1) front wheel bearing hub assembly failure resulting in unsafe​ undriveable (this has been repeatedly​ reported by vehicle owners regardless of vehicles milage) failure accured while slowing down for a stoplight after exiting a parking lot of a restaurant 2) lift hatch cracked center…
Just like every other mountaineer or explorer of this era the lift gate has cracked around the vehicle logo. This has caused problems including corrosion, rust, and locking mechanism failure on the liftgate. This problem can be seen on every single mountaineer or explorer of this era. It's pretty…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2003 Mercury Mountaineers have structure problems?
No. NHTSA has 59 owner complaints about structure for the 2003 Mercury Mountaineer (39% of the 152 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 2003 Mercury Mountaineer structure?
No recall currently lists structure for this vehicle.
At what mileage do structure problems start?
The median reported mileage is 78,784 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about structure problems on the 2003 Mercury Mountaineer?
The most frequent phrase is “lift gate”, in 12 of 59 complaints, followed by “rear liftgate” (8).
See all 2003 Mercury Mountaineer problems or structure problems across all Mountaineer years.