Most common 1999 Mercury Villager problems
Share of the 185 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Mercury Villager complaints by model year
Best Villager years: 2002, 2001, 2000. Years to avoid: 1995, 1996, 1999, 1997. Compare all years →
1999 Mercury Villager recalls (4)
Steering › Rack and pinion
Vehicle description: Mini vans. One or more of the five bolts that mount the rack and pinion steering gear to the vehicle May have been incorrectly tightened.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the vehicles and, if the bolts are missing, will replace the steering gear mounting bolts. All bolts will be tightened to the specified torque. Owner notification began November 28, 2000.
Exterior lighting › Tail lights
Vehicle description: minivans. The tail light socket May have been improperly molded, resulting in the locking tab having insufficient force to retain the bulb.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the tail lamp sockets.
Fuel system, gasoline › Storage › Tank assembly › Mounting
Vehicle description: Mini vans. The fuel tank retention strap (two straps per vehicle) can break at the spot welds causing an underbody rattle.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel tank retention straps.
Seats
Vehicle description: Mini vans. The affected vehicles May have a second row right hand side captain chair that has inadequate lubrication of the easy entry and exit latch system. In some cases, the actuator spring in the latch could deform after repeated use, causing the latch to remain in the unlatched position.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the seat track for the second row right hand side captain's chair, which includes the easy entry and exit latch mechanism.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into a possible defect involving the 1999 Mercury Villager:
Failing headlights
Nissan and Ford found that the original equipment headlight stainless steel bulb terminals May over time cause elevated contact resistance and overheat the electrical connector housing.this can result in a headlight flickering, bulb outage and heat deformation to the headlight connector.in April 1999, the supplier of the headlight for Nissan and Ford changed to a bulb using the stainless steel terminals that did not…
What 1999 Mercury Villager owners say
Speed control & acceleration all 87 →
Tl contact owns a 1999 Mercury Villager. While the contact was pulling into a parking space the vehicle suddenly surged forward without warning causing the contact to crash into a pole. The contact previously noticed that the vehicle would surge forward whenever it came to a stop. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealership. There were no prior warnings. The VIN was not available. The current and failure mileages were 140,000.
When stopped at light, upon accelerating when the light turns green, the accelerator is hard to press. It does not depress. You have to either press too hard or pump a few times for it to get going. This is very dangerous when you are taking a left turn on a solid green light without a green arrow. You May stall and then lunge forward into an oncoming car
Lights
Our van also experienced melted headlight sockets failure due to a weak soldering from the wire to the socket. Unbelievable that this is not a recall. The dealer's parts department person told me when I ordered the replacement sockets that they sell lots of these sockets. We had intermittent lighting problem on one side, then the other, then total failure of bopth headlights. Please report your experience. This must become a recall. I wanted to file multiple other problems: the tires after complaining of wobbling in the steering wheel for 3 years, the dealer said they are offering replacement tires to owners who complain, but not to all owners, and that was not a recall, I did not keep the brand or model of the tires the dealer removed. With the new good year Eagle tires the van drives fine. That should have been a recall. …
Headlights fail frequently on my 1999 Mercury Villager. The dealer informs me that this is due to overheating of the socket which provides power to the headlight bulb. Both headlight sockets have failed multiple times on this vehicle, yet the dealer indicates that no TSB or recall has been issued to resolve this issue. I believe that this is a gross safety issue as there is the possibility that illumination could be lost during night driving. To my knowledge, this has not been addressed by Nissan or Mercury.
Fuel & propulsion system
When stopped at light, upon accelerating when the light turns green, the accelerator is hard to press. It does not depress. You have to either press too hard or pump a few times for it to get going. This is very dangerous when you are taking a left turn on a solid green light without a green arrow. You May stall and then lunge forward into an oncoming car
My 1999 Mercury Villager with approx 39K miles started showing this problem in April 2006. When I press the gas pedal after the light turns green, the pedal does not depress. I press harder, it finally depresses, but the van lunges forward. One time I got honked from behind. This happened about 5 times. I was planning on taking it to the shop. Then a few days later the van started trembling during idle and the "service" indicator came on. I took it to the shop on April 29th. They charged me approx $550 to replace one fuel injector and clean the throttle body and other fuel injectors. Yesterday, May 3rd the van did the same thing with a stuck gas pedal. I searched on the internet and found several complaints of this nature. Please let me know what options I have.
1999 Mercury Villager engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.3L 6-cyl | 4-speed automatic | FWD | 15 / 22 / 18 |
EPA ratings. Class: Minivan.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 1999 Mercury Villager a good car?
Based on 185 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 1999 Villager rates avoid: 2.3× as many complaints as a typical year of the Villager at the same age. It is one of the Villager years we suggest avoiding. 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 1999 Mercury Villager?
The speed control & acceleration — 87 complaints, 47% of all complaints for this model year, most often about accelerator pedal. Next are the lights (18) and fuel & propulsion system (14).
How many recalls does the 1999 Mercury Villager have?
There are 4 recalls for the 1999 Mercury Villager, the most recent from October 10, 2000 (rack and pinion). 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 Villager?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2002, 2001 and 2000. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 1995, 1996, 1999 and 1997. See the full Mercury Villager years comparison.
At what mileage do 1999 Mercury Villager problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 53,000 miles; 48% 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.