Most common 2000 Mercury Mountaineer problems
Share of the 123 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Mercury Mountaineer complaints by model year
Best Mountaineer years: 2009, 2010, 2001. Years to avoid: 2002, 1997, 1998, 2004, 1999. Compare all years →
2000 Mercury Mountaineer recalls (6)
Vehicle speed control
On certain pickup trucks, passenger vehicles, sport utility vehicles, and motor homes chassis, the speed control deactivation switch May, under certain conditions, leak internally and then overheat, smoke, or burn.
Remedy: Dealers will install a fused wiring harness. Owners of the passenger cars included in this campaign will be instructed to return their vehicles to their dealers to have the speed control deactivation switch disconnected…
Seats › Front assembly › Recliner
On certain sport utility vehicles equipped with high back seats, the upper bolt on the driver's side high back seat, that attaches the seat recliner mechanism to the seat back frame, could fracture.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the driver seat upper bolt with a metal spacer and bolt. In addition, seats with tubular back frames will have the fully threaded lower recliner bolt replaced with a partially threaded bolt.
Vehicle speed control › Cables
On certain sport utility vehicles equipped with speed control and 4.0l sohc engines, if the strand cover on the speed control cable becomes flared at the end, the speed control cable May bind when the speed control is activated.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the speed control cable and, if necessary, replace it. Owner notification began August 29, 2003. Owners should contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Seat belts
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles, light duty trucks, sport utility vehicles, and Mini vans equipped with trw seat belt buckle assemblies. The buckle base of these seat belt assemblies were not properly heat treated and therefore do not pass the load bearing requirement of federal motor vehicle safety standard no.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the date code on certain seat belt buckles of your vehicle and replace all seat belt buckles that fall within the suspect date code range. Owner notification began October 26, 2000.
Air bags › Side/window
Vehicle description: 4-door sport utility vehicles equipped with side air bags. The subject vehicles have a revised level side crash sensor that could deploy the side air bag if the ignition key is in the "run" position and the seatbelt webbing is forcibly extracted from a locked retractor with a jerking motion.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the side crash sensors with a revised design that will reduce the likelihood of an unexpected side air bag deployment.
Electrical system › Wiring › Fuses and circuit breakers
Vehicle description: multi-purpose vehicles equipped with 4.0l engines and all-time 4-wheel drive (a4wd) powertrains. The generic electronic module (gem) could experience a condition referred to as "lock-up" in which the gem controlled electronic functions (e.g., front windshield wipers, interior lights, 4x4 system, etc.) could…
Remedy: Dealers will install a resistor in the gem circuit.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 2 possible defects involving the 2000 Mercury Mountaineer:
Front seat back recliner attachment
By letter dated August 4, 2003, Ford notified the agency that it is conducting a voluntary safety recall (NHTSA recall no. 03V281) involving certain model year (my) 1998-2001 Ford explorer / Mercury mountaineer 4-door, my 1998-2000 Ford explorer 2-door and my 2001-2002 Ford explorer sport and sport trac vehicles equipped with high back seats.complaints allege that the driver's seat back reclined without warning.a…
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…
What 2000 Mercury Mountaineer owners say
Speed control & acceleration all 28 →
Tl contact owns a 2000 Mercury Mountaineer. While pulling into the driveway at 20 MPH, the contact noticed smoke coming from under the hood. Within five minutes, the vehicle burst into flames without warning. She received a recall letter (05s28) in August of 2007. The manufacturer was notified and they advised her to send photos under reference number 383940900. The Ford investigation concluded that the motor was too badly burned to determine if the fire was caused by the recall. The investigator agreed with her, but he had to follow the company's decision. The current and failure mileages were 60,000. Updated 12/12/07
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 Mercury Mountaineer. The contact stated that smoke emitted from under the hood area. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed black smoke and flames in the engine area. The fire department was contacted to extinguish the fire. The vehicle was towed to the contact's insurance company for further investigation. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 165,000. Updated 06/26/13 the consumer believed the speed control deactivation switch was the cause of the fire. Updated 06/27/13 updated updated 07/02/2013
Wheels & tires all 23 →
My 2000 Mountaineer had 17,000 when purchased. I had noticed the dealer had just put new 235/75r15 Goodyear wrangler r/ts on it. I was not suspicious but should have been. Ever since purchased I have had a vibration in the front end and my front tires have worn on the inside al the way down to a unsafe tread depth within 10,000 miles. The dealer alligned the front and checked for front end problems two days after purchase. At that time they found it was out but claimed they had just alligned it three days before also. At around 30,000 miles I had to replace the front tires because they were unsafe. I took them to the dealer and the GM told me that it was normal tire wear. I know quite a bit about cars but he did not know that. At that time they checked the front end allignment again and check for problems again and found nothing. …
I have a 2000 Mercury Mountaineer that I have had for 2yrs. Now. I keep up the maintenance on this car. I keep the oil changed tires rotated, brakes fixed, pass the emission test every year since purchasing it. I've had this squealing high pitch grinding noise comin from the rear tires.it is very loud. I have new brakes all the way around,shoes,rotors,pads,in it still makes this very loud noise.it has gotten louder since I have all new brakes. I don't know what this noise is, but I know its embarrassing to drive,cause the noise is so loud.
Electrical system
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 Mercury Mountaineer. While parked, the vehicle erupted into flames without warning. The fire was extinguished by the fire department. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries reported. The vehicle remained at the contact's residence where it was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was destroyed. The vehicle parked in front of the contact's vehicle was also destroyed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 05V017000 (vehicle speed control). The failure mileage was approximately 155,000.
I was driving don the road to an intersection going 45 MPH and noticed black smoke coming from under the hood. I proceeded to pull over and got my family out the car before the electrical was completely fried. I tried to put the fire out with two extinguishers and help from fellow bystanders. The blaze under the hood had to be put out by the fire department. I received a police and fire report. The area that the fire had originated from was the fuse box. I know this was a factory problem because I didn't do any work in those areas. I would like compensation for my vehicle because I'm now out 6500 dollars and I searched online and read about over a 100 explorer and Mountaineer fires under the hood. I never received any recalls for my vehicle and I owned it over 10 years.
2000 Mercury Mountaineer engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0L 6-cyl | 5-speed automatic | RWD | 14 / 19 / 16 |
| 4.0L 6-cyl | 5-speed automatic | 4WD/AWD | 14 / 19 / 16 |
| 5.0L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | RWD | 13 / 18 / 15 |
| 5.0L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | 4WD/AWD | 13 / 18 / 15 |
EPA ratings. Class: SUV.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2000 Mercury Mountaineer a good car?
Based on 123 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2000 Mountaineer rates average: about as many complaints as a typical year of the Mountaineer at the same age. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2000 Mercury Mountaineer?
The speed control & acceleration — 28 complaints, 23% of all complaints for this model year, most often about accelerator pedal. Next are the wheels & tires (23) and electrical system (19).
How many recalls does the 2000 Mercury Mountaineer have?
There are 6 recalls for the 2000 Mercury Mountaineer, the most recent from August 3, 2007 (vehicle speed control). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Mercury Mountaineer?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2009, 2010 and 2001. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2002, 1997, 1998, 2004 and 1999. See the full Mercury Mountaineer years comparison.
At what mileage do 2000 Mercury Mountaineer problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 70,000 miles; 33% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.