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1998 Mercury Tracer

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 1998 Mercury Tracer do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 22.5.

About this comparison →
44Owner complaints

Model-year median: 22.5

0Recall campaigns

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1Investigations

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

Other model years Selected year
96
199512
1996142
199744
199820
19992
2000
Compare all Tracer years →

Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

Suspension
11Engine And Engine Cooling
8Electrical System
6Air Bags
5Power Train
4
All reported categories
Steering
3Structure
3Service Brakes, Hydraulic
2Unknown Or Other
2Vehicle Speed Control
2Visibility
2Fuel System, Gasoline
1Latches/locks/linkages
1Tires
1

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 7 of 44 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Suspension. Review the 11 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 6 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

3 crash reports1 fire reports3 injury reports

Latches/locks/linkages complaints

1 reports
Clear category filter
70,000 miles · Aug 5, 2005
Latches/locks/linkages

DT : TRUNK LATCH WAS FAULTY. TRUCK LATCH HAD A SENSOR IN IT THAT WILL CAUSE THE VEHICLE NOT TO RUN. THE PART THEY REPLACED WAS CALLED A TRUNK LATCH. IT WILL CAUSE THE ENGINE TO DECELERATE WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY. THE TRUNK LID WAS CLOSED BUT THE SENSOR INSIDE OF IT WAS FAULTY BECAUSE IT CAUSED THE ENGINE TO FAIL E…

Read full complaint

DT : TRUNK LATCH WAS FAULTY. TRUCK LATCH HAD A SENSOR IN IT THAT WILL CAUSE THE VEHICLE NOT TO RUN. THE PART THEY REPLACED WAS CALLED A TRUNK LATCH. IT WILL CAUSE THE ENGINE TO DECELERATE WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY. THE TRUNK LID WAS CLOSED BUT THE SENSOR INSIDE OF IT WAS FAULTY BECAUSE IT CAUSED THE ENGINE TO FAIL EVEN THOUGH THE LID WAS CLOSED. THE SENSOR HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE.*AK *NM

NHTSA ODI #10129354

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

1

DP01001 · Air Bag NON-DEPLOYMENT

Opened Apr 19, 2001 · Closed Nov 1, 2001

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Air Bags

No summary supplied.