VehicleVerdict

2002 Mercury Mountaineer engine problems

The 2002 Mercury Mountaineer has 35 engine complaints filed with NHTSA — 7% of the year's total, and up sharply from the prior model year.

35

Engine complaints

7%

Share of year

0

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Engine complaints by year

Mountaineer engine complaints by model year57 complaints1997: 16 complaints1998: 22 complaints1999: 12 complaints2000: 9 complaints2001: 2 complaints2002: 35 complaints2003: 11 complaints2004: 20 complaints2005: 12 complaints2006: 57 complaints2007: 9 complaints2008: 9 complaints2010: 3 complaints
Mountaineer engine complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

“I PURCHASED A 2002 MERCURY MOUNTAINEER ON 4/11/2011. AS I WAS DRIVING IT HOME FROM THE DEALERSHIP, THE SAME DAY, I NOTICED SOME BLACK SMOKE COMING OUT THE BACK OF THE CAR. THERE WERE NO MESSAGES THAT CAME UP IN THE MESSAGE CENTER WINDOW SO I HAD NO CLUE WHAT WAS HAPPENING. AS I LOOKED BACK UP FROM…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Engine · April 7, 2011 · fire

Common questions

How many engine complaints does the 2002 Mercury Mountaineer have?

NHTSA has 35 complaints about the 2002 Mercury Mountaineer engine — 7% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.