AI DamageMercury Marauder: problems, complaints, bulletins
Summary for the Mercury Marauder across 2 model years: 87 owner complaints and 0 NHTSA service bulletins, plus repair videos. Pick a year for details.
Model years
What fails most often
- 1 Exterior lighting 30% of all complaints
- 2 Powertrain 15% of all complaints
- 3 Service brakes 11% of all complaints
- 4 Suspension 11% of all complaints
- 5 Tires 11% of all complaints
- 6 Electrical system 9% of all complaints
- 7 Engine and cooling 7% of all complaints
- 8 Vehicle speed control 7% of all complaints
- Exterior lighting: 26 complaints (30% of all).
- Powertrain: 13 complaints (15% of all).
- Service brakes: 10 complaints (11% of all), 3 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Suspension: 10 complaints (11% of all).
- Tires: 10 complaints (11% of all).
Engines and transmissions
US-market versions per EPA. On the right: how many NHTSA complaints name this engine or transmission type.
- 4.6 L · petrol · 8 cyl 2003–2004
- automatic, 4-speed 2003–2004
Drive: RWD
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 87 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exterior lighting | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 10 | 3 | 0 |
| Suspension | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Steering | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Air bags | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Equipment | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels | 3 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
When I then came into contact with the vehicle in front of me, I slid under the seat belt and my knee made hard contact with the dash.
On my 2003 mercury marauder, the fuel and brake pedals are too close together. On more than one occasion, I have hit both of them at the same time causing me to "bump" the car into something.
Vehicle was in drive, and then experienced sudden acceleration. There were black tire marks from the rear wheels from where the car accelerated. Then. The vehicle hit the other parked family vehicle. The other vehicle was knocked about 30 feet. There were no reported injuries. Upon impact, the airbags did not deploy.
No injuries - on three different occasions my car has lost traction, resulting in the car becoming uncontrollable.
While in stop an go traffic had to slam on brakes. However, the vehicle continued to roll. As a result, consumer's vehicle collided with another vehicle. No injuries reported.
The steering had become stiff and "notchy" while turning, and the steering wheel would not return to straight ahead on its own. It was found that the lower steering shaft had 1 of the 3 bearing frozen and required replacement. This is the same exact parts and symptoms as listed listed in ford recall 13s08
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
What to check before buying
- Exterior lighting. Headlamps, leveling, sensors and mounts after a frontal hit.
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
- Suspension. Wheel alignment, control arms, subframe, even tire wear.
Other models of this make
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.