2004 Mercury Mountaineer

Typical pattern

7.4% of complaints about the 2004 Mercury Mountaineer came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2004 vehicle — around the middle of the 236 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 6.7 yr in service. The most-reported system is structure (85 complaints), typically at 7.0 yr or about 64,000 miles.

Complaints: 269
Median age at failure: 6.7 yr
Median mileage: 70,000 n=234
Crash / fire / tow: 11.9% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

07E104000 2007-12-11

Visibility:glass, side/rear

CERTAIN CURVED TEMPERED REPLACEMENT GLASS MANUFACTURED BY HANGZHOU SAFETY GLASS LTD AND SUPPLIED TO SAFELITE BY AUTO TEMP INC., IDENTIFIED AS DOT-430, AND SOLD FOR USE ON CERTAIN DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN VEHICLES MAY NOT BREAK INTO SMALL PIECES AS EXPECTED OF TEMPERED GLASS AND FAILS TO CONFORM TO FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 205, "GLAZING MATERIALS."

IN THE EVENT OF A VEHICLE CRASH, THE OCCUPANT(S) MAY BE SERIOUSLY INJURED BY SHATTERED GLASS.

In owners’ own words

Electrical system 100 mi 7 mo in service

CONSUMER NOTICED THAT WHILE THE DVD/ TELEVISION SET WAS ENGAGED THE REAR MIRRORS BECAME INOPERATIVE. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION, AND MECHANIC INFORMED CONSUMER THAT THE PROBLEM COULD NOT BE FIXED BECAUSE IT WAS DESIGNED THAT WAY. *AK *NM

Electrical system mileage not reported 2.2 yr in service

IGNITION KEY WOULD NOT TURN WHEN WE ATTEMPTED TO START 2004 MERCURY MOUNTAINEER. AS A RESULT, WE COULD NOT START CAR. WE HAD NOT NOTICED ANY PREVIOUS PROBLEMS WITH THE IGNITION. CAR HAD TO BE TOWED TO DEALER. DEALER DRILLED OUT IGNITION CYLINDER AND BUILT AND INSTALLED NEW CYLINDER, WHICH APPEARED TO FIX PROBLEM. *JB

Electrical system 58,700 mi 4.9 yr in service

SPEED CONTROL; MERCURY MOUNTAINEER, 2004. INTERMITTENT FUNCTION. SOMETIMES SHOULD NOT TURN OFF OR ON. *TR

Power train 5,000 mi 10 mo in service

WHILE DRIVING THERE WAS A VERY LOUD NOISE FROM THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. CONSUMER PULLED OFF THE ROAD, AND CALLED ROAD SIDE ASSISTANT. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER, WHO PERFORMED AN OIL CHANGE BECAUSE OF MILEAGE AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. NOISE RECURRED THE FOLLOWING DAY. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP, WHO INDICATED THAT THE DRIVESHAFT WAS DEFECTIVE, AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY AT THE DEALERSHIP BEING INSPECTED. *AK

Other Mountaineer model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2004 Mercury Mountaineer

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other Mountaineer model years

How to read this