U.S. public vehicle records

Mercury CAPRI problems and owner complaints

Explore the records behind recurring owner reports.

Key facts

48 owner complaints analyzed

26 distinct recall campaigns

87,075 mi median reported failure mileage

Scope: 1971 to 1994 model years. Data updated: 2026-10-01 (October 1, 2026). 4 complaints include usable failure mileage. View data status.

Owner-reported patterns

Most common problems

Power Train:Automatic Transmission is the most frequently named component, appearing in 6 of 48 complaints (12.5%). A complaint can name multiple components.

Recurring terms in complaint narratives
Topic	Matching reports	Share of complaints
Transmission and shifting	4	8.3%
Fuel system concerns	3	6.3%
Electrical and battery issues	2	4.2%
Engine operation	1	2.1%
Steering behavior	1	2.1%

Topic matches use published keyword rules. They describe mentions, including negations or comparisons, and do not confirm a diagnosis. Read the matching rules.

Component breakdown

Number of unique complaints naming each component. Top eight shown.

Power Train:Automatic Transmission

Structure:Body:Roof And Pillars

Electrical System:Ignition:Switch

Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline

Air Bags:Frontal

Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine

Electrical System:Ignition

Vehicle Speed Control

Component breakdown data
Category	Count
Power Train:Automatic Transmission	6
Structure:Body:Roof And Pillars	6
Electrical System:Ignition:Switch	4
Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline	4
Air Bags:Frontal	3
Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine	3
Electrical System:Ignition	2
Vehicle Speed Control	2

Power Train:Automatic Transmission: 6; Structure:Body:Roof And Pillars: 6; Electrical System:Ignition:Switch: 4; Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline: 4; Air Bags:Frontal: 3; Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine: 3; Electrical System:Ignition: 2; Vehicle Speed Control: 2

Reported problems by failure mileage

Complaint counts in mileage bands. These are not failure rates per vehicle or mile.

Under 25,000

25,000 to 49,999

50,000 to 74,999

75,000 to 99,999

100,000 to 149,999

150,000 and above

Under 25,000: 0; 25,000 to 49,999: 2; 50,000 to 74,999: 0; 75,000 to 99,999: 0; 100,000 to 149,999: 1; 150,000 and above: 1

25,000 to 49,999 miles has the most reports with usable mileage (2). 44 complaints have missing, zero or invalid mileage.

Complaints over time

Year the complaint was filed, not the vehicle model year or incident year. The snapshot year is partial.

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2003

2004

2006

2007

2008

1995: 11; 1996: 8; 1997: 7; 1998: 7; 1999: 1; 2000: 3; 2001: 5; 2003: 1; 2004: 1; 2006: 1; 2007: 1; 2008: 2

Pattern summary

Power Train:Automatic Transmission leads the component reports. Transmission and shifting appears in 4 complaint narratives. Fuel system concerns appears in 3 complaint narratives. Electrical and battery issues appears in 2 complaint narratives. Use these patterns to inspect individual reports and prepare questions for a mechanic.

Calculated from recorded counts. An AI narrative has not been published for this selection.

Complaint evidence

Examples provide context, not a representative sample or a verified diagnosis.

Owner report 802512 · 1996-09-17 (September 17, 1996)

ON THE FIRST OCCASION CONSUMER WAS DRIVING AND THE TRANSMISSION OIL LEAKED OUT OF THE CAR AND THE SECOND TIME CONSUMER WAS DRIVING AND CAR CAUGHT ON FIRE, NO ONE WAS HURT . PLEASE DESCRIBE .*AK CONSUMER STATES EACH TIME THE SAME AREA HAS BEEN AFFECTED; OIL HOSE TO COOLER IN FRONT OF ENGINE. *SLC

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 802512 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 508532 · 1996-09-10 (September 10, 1996)

TRANSMISSION BURNED OUT/FAILED TWICE.

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 508532 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 822599 · 1998-04-20 (April 20, 1998)

SMELLED GASOLINE AND NOTICED A PUDDLE OF GASOLINE UNDER VEHICLE. AT THAT TIME THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN IN FOR SERVICE, AND THE DEALER INFORMED OWNER THAT A NEW FUEL TANK WAS NEEDED BECAUSE OF RUSTING TOWARDS THE TOP OF FUEL TANK WHICH CAUSED THE FUEL TO LEAK. *AK

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 822599 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 959582 · 1995-02-06 (February 6, 1995)

GAS LEAKING FROM FUEL LINE AT ATTACHMENT TO FUEL TANK. TT

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 959582 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 983370 · 1996-04-23 (April 23, 1996)

VEHICLE WAS PARKED AND CAUGHT FIRE, UNDER THE HOOD ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE, ELECTRICAL SHORT. *AK

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 983370 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 781875 · 1998-11-24 (November 24, 1998)

VEHICLE HAS HAD THREE BATTERS AND FAN BELTS, WITH THE LAST BELT FAILING 300 MILES AFTER INSTALLATION. OWNER WAS NEVER NOTIFIED OF RECALL FOR REPLACEMENT OF DEFECTIVE ALTERNATOR PULLEY AND BELT THAT CAUSES SLIPPAGE, AND BELT AND BATTERY FAILURE.

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 781875 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 750543 · 2001-08-15 (August 15, 2001)

I HAVE TAKEN CAR OFF ROAD. TWO FORD DEALERS AND TWO INDEPENDENT SERVICE PROVIDERS HAVE TOLD ME UNLESS IT STALLS WHILE THEY HAVE IT THEY CAN NOT FIX IT- IT IS A SENSOR OR SOMETHING WHICH DOESN'T SHOW ON THE COMPUTER CODE SELF CHECK SCAN. THE CAR IS WORTHLESS AS I NEVER KNOW WHEN IT WILL STALL AND FOR HOW LONG I WILL SIT AND WAIT UNTIL IT STARTS AGAIN.*AK

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 750543 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 809849 · 1997-03-11 (March 11, 1997)

THE OWNER WAS DRIVING AND SMOKE STARTED FROM THE STEERING COLUMN, THAN THE VEHICLE WENT UP IN FLAMES. THE ENTIRE IGNITION SYSTEM IN THE CAR CAUGHT FIRE AND BURNED. *AK

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 809849 at NHTSA ↗

Compare model years

Recalls by model year

All campaigns in the snapshot affecting each model year, including recalls announced years later.

From yearThrough year

Recall campaigns

Shared campaigns appear once in each affected model year.

1979

1981

1983

1984

1985

1991

1992

1993

1994

1979: 5; 1981: 1; 1983: 1; 1984: 3; 1985: 2; 1991: 2; 1992: 1; 1993: 1; 1994: 1

First model yearSecond model year

Year-by-year records

Mercury CAPRI model-year comparison
Model year	Complaints	Recalls	Change in recalls
1971	0	6	Not available
1972	0	5	-1
1973	0	3	-2
1974	0	6	+3
1975	0	2	-4
1976	0	2	0
1977	0	1	-1
1979	0	5	Not available
1981	1	1	Not available
1983	0	1	Not available
1984	0	3	+2
1985	3	2	-1
1991	30	2	Not available
1992	7	1	-1
1993	5	1	0
1994	2	1	0

Explore the data

Vehicle analysis explorer

Inspect model-year patterns, reported mileage, monthly activity and the evidence behind each signal.

Data completeness

48 unique complaints in this selection. Analysis snapshot: 2026-10-01.

8.3%Usable mileage4 / 48 records

70.8%Valid incident date34 / 48 records

100.0%Valid filing date48 / 48 records

70.8%Ordered incident and filing dates34 / 48 records

Missing, zero and invalid mileage is excluded. Dates after the snapshot are excluded. Examples are limited selections, not a representative sample.

Problems by model year

Model-wide comparison of the eight most reported components across the model. Cells show counts and shares within each model year. Open a cell for source examples.

From model yearThrough model year

Component complaint heatmap
Component	1981	1983	1984	1985	1991	1992	1993	1994
Power Train:Automatic Transmission	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	413.3% ODI 800289 WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY, STEPPED ON GAS PEDAL, FELT AS IF IN NEUTRAL, CHECKED, STILL IN OVER DRIVE, ENGINE STILL RUNNING MAKING HIGH PITCH NOISE, COASTED OFF HIGHWAY, SHIFTED TO PARK, NO OTHER GEARS WORKED *AK Look up ODI 800289 at NHTSA ↗	114.3% ODI 508532 TRANSMISSION BURNED OUT/FAILED TWICE. Look up ODI 508532 at NHTSA ↗	120.0% ODI 538084 TRANSMISSION FAILURE. Look up ODI 538084 at NHTSA ↗	00.0% No examples available for this selection.
Structure:Body:Roof And Pillars	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	310.0% ODI 889073 WHILE VEHICLE WAS IN FOR SERVICE DEALER NOTICED A RIP IN CONVERTIBLE TOP. CONSUMER STATED THERE WAS A SMALL RIP IN LEFT BACK CORNER OF CONVERTIBLE TOP. *AK Look up ODI 889073 at NHTSA ↗	228.6% ODI 604409 ENGINE FAILED. NLM Look up ODI 604409 at NHTSA ↗	120.0% ODI 10060091 · 145,000 mi 1993 MERCURY CAPRI'S CONVERTABLE TOP HANDLES BROKE OFF MAKING THE TOP UNUSABLE. *AK Look up ODI 10060091 at NHTSA ↗	00.0% No examples available for this selection.
Electrical System:Ignition:Switch	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	3100.0% ODI 10157512 · 28,000 mi GARAGE / HOUSE FIRE CAUSED BY DEFECTIVE IGNITION SWITCH IN 1985 MERCURY CAPRI ASC MCLAREN. *JB Look up ODI 10157512 at NHTSA ↗	13.3% ODI 854010 TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER. WAS INFORMED BY MECHANIC NO PARTS AVAILABLE FOR NEUTRAL SAFETY SWITCH. THE PART WAS DISCONTINUED BY MANUFACTURER. THE SWITCH IS USED TO PUT VEHICLE IN EITHER PARK, NEUTRAL OR DRIVE. *AK Look up ODI 854010 at NHTSA ↗	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	00.0% No examples available for this selection.
Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	26.7% ODI 506592 ENGINE FIRE. *AW Look up ODI 506592 at NHTSA ↗	114.3% ODI 604409 ENGINE FAILED. NLM Look up ODI 604409 at NHTSA ↗	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	150.0% ODI 524063 VEHICLE FIRE. Look up ODI 524063 at NHTSA ↗
Air Bags:Frontal	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	310.0% ODI 807483 THE DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY AFTER HITTING A DEER AT 55MPH AND NOW THE AIR BAG LIGHT CONTINUES TO BLINK ON AND OFF. PLEASE DESCRIBE DETAILS. *AK Look up ODI 807483 at NHTSA ↗	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	00.0% No examples available for this selection.
Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	310.0% ODI 731456 THE PULLEY END OF CRANKSHAFT BROKE OFF ON THE INSIDE LANE OF THE SOUTH BOUND SIDE OF IH 35 AT MOORE, OK. THE END OF THE SHAFT AND THE PULLEY SPUN ACROSS THE NORTH BOUND SIDE OF I-35 BETWEEN CARS. NO ONE WAS INJURED AS THE CARS WERE ABLE TO AVOID HITTING THE SPINNING DISC. HOWEVER, THIS COULD HAVE CAUSE A DEADLY CRASH ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY. VERY FEW MODELS OF THE CAR WERE SOLD IN THE US. THEREFORE PARTS ARE NOT READILY AVAILABLE. I HAVE NOT REPAIRED THE AUTO AND AM CONSIDERING SALVAGING IT OUT SO THAT NO ONE GETS HURT WITH IT. *AK Look up ODI 731456 at NHTSA ↗	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	00.0% No examples available for this selection.
Electrical System:Ignition	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	13.3% ODI 964921 CONSUMER WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AND CAR CUT OFF . TT Look up ODI 964921 at NHTSA ↗	114.3% ODI 809849 THE OWNER WAS DRIVING AND SMOKE STARTED FROM THE STEERING COLUMN, THAN THE VEHICLE WENT UP IN FLAMES. THE ENTIRE IGNITION SYSTEM IN THE CAR CAUGHT FIRE AND BURNED. *AK Look up ODI 809849 at NHTSA ↗	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	00.0% No examples available for this selection.
Vehicle Speed Control	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	13.3% ODI 981217 WHEN THE CRUISE CONTROL IS ENGAGED IT GETS STUCK AND KEEPS ACCELERATING. PLEASE DESCRIBE. *AK Look up ODI 981217 at NHTSA ↗	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	150.0% ODI 10235442 FRED MARTIN FORD 4701 MAHONING AVE YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO [phone removed] REFUSED TO COMPLETE SAFETY RECALL FOR THE SPEED CONTROL ON MY 1994 MERCURY CAPRI. THEY SAY THEY ARE NOT QUALIFIED TO DO THE RECALL BUT DID WORK ON THE FIRST PART OF THE RECALL (DISCONNECTING THE SWITCH) BUT REFUSE TO REPLACE THE PART SPECIFIED IN THE RECALL. I CALLED TODAY (JULY23RD) AND WAS TOLD WE DON'T WORK ON MERCURY VEHICLES AFTER THEY HAD ALREADY WORKED ON IT. *TR Look up ODI 10235442 at NHTSA ↗

Darker cells indicate a larger share of submitted complaints. Components overlap. This measures complaint composition, not failure probability.

Failure mileage by component

Median and middle 50% of usable owner-reported mileages. Ranges require at least five records.

Component failure mileage distribution
Component	Mileage range (25th–75th percentile)	Median	Usable records	Examples
Structure:Body:Roof And Pillars	Too few reports for a range	145,000 mi	1 (sparse)	ODI 10060091 · 145,000 mi 1993 MERCURY CAPRI'S CONVERTABLE TOP HANDLES BROKE OFF MAKING THE TOP UNUSABLE. *AK Look up ODI 10060091 at NHTSA ↗
Electrical System:Ignition:Switch	Too few reports for a range	28,000 mi	1 (sparse)	ODI 10157512 · 28,000 mi GARAGE / HOUSE FIRE CAUSED BY DEFECTIVE IGNITION SWITCH IN 1985 MERCURY CAPRI ASC MCLAREN. *JB Look up ODI 10157512 at NHTSA ↗

Complaint and recall timeline

Explore monthly filing activity alongside recall announcements. Up to ten years of monthly history is available.

ComponentPeriod

Solid line: filed complaints. Dashed amber lines: recall announcement dates for this vehicle selection; markers include all recall components. The latest month is partial. Temporal proximity does not establish causation.

Monthly counts, recall campaigns and complaint examples

Monthly complaint and recall timeline
Month	Campaigns announced	Examples
2024-11	None	No examples available for this selection.
2024-12	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-01	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-02	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-03	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-04	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-05	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-06	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-07	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-08	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-09	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-10	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-11	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-12	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-01	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-02	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-03	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-04	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-05	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-06	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-07	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-08	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-09	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-10 (partial)	None	No examples available for this selection.

Emerging complaint spikes

Complete months in the latest six months with at least 10 complaints, at least twice the preceding 12-month average, and at least three square-root deviations above that average.

This is a descriptive screening rule, not a statistical defect finding. Publicity and reporting changes can increase submissions.

No complete months meet the spike thresholds for this selection.

Equal-age model-year comparison

Model-wide cumulative reports during the first three or five calendar years, starting with the model year (age 0). Only fully elapsed windows are compared.

Observation windowFirst model yearSecond model year

1993: 0 complaints · 1994: 0 complaints

Equal observation windows
Model year	Through age 0	Through age 1	Through age 2
1993	0	0	0
1994	0	0	0

Date coverage across each selected cohort

Date basis for all complaints in selected model years
Year	Incident dates used	Filing date fallbacks	Excluded dates
1993	2	3	0
1994	2	0	0

Incident date is preferred when valid and no later than filing; otherwise filing date is used. Model year approximates age. Equal observation time does not adjust for sales, distance driven or reporting delays. One complaint linked to multiple model years can appear in each cohort.

Components reported together

Each cell counts unique complaints naming both components. Open a nonzero cell for examples.

Component co-occurrence matrix
Component	Power Train:Automatic Transmission	Structure:Body:Roof And Pillars	Electrical System:Ignition:Switch	Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline	Air Bags:Frontal	Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine	Electrical System:Ignition	Vehicle Speed Control
Power Train:Automatic Transmission	—	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Structure:Body:Roof And Pillars	0	—	0	1 ODI 604409 ENGINE FAILED. NLM Look up ODI 604409 at NHTSA ↗	0	0	0	0
Electrical System:Ignition:Switch	0	0	—	0	0	0	0	0
Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline	0	1 ODI 604409 ENGINE FAILED. NLM Look up ODI 604409 at NHTSA ↗	0	—	0	0	0	0
Air Bags:Frontal	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	0
Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0
Electrical System:Ignition	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0
Vehicle Speed Control	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—

Co-reporting does not establish that one component caused another concern.

Recurring narrative patterns

Specific keyword mentions beyond broad component labels. Matching includes negations and comparisons and does not confirm a diagnosis.

Search patterns

2 patterns with matching reports.

Fuel smell or leak mentions

1 mentions · 2.1% of complaints

Median mileage: Unavailable (0 usable records).

ODI 959582

GAS LEAKING FROM FUEL LINE AT ATTACHMENT TO FUEL TANK. TT

Look up ODI 959582 at NHTSA ↗

Matching rule

\b(fuel leak\w*|gas leak\w*|gas(?:oline)? smell|smell\w* (?:of )?(?:fuel|gas))\b

Stalling or loss of power

1 mentions · 2.1% of complaints

Median mileage: Unavailable (0 usable records).

ODI 750543

Look up ODI 750543 at NHTSA ↗

Matching rule

\b(stall\w*|loss of power|lost power|engine shut\w* off)\b