The 1997 Mercury Tracer has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 396,217 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 181 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
AIR BAGS02V3230002002-12-09396,217 affected
Defect
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, THE INTEGRATED AIR BAG MONITOR (IABM) CAN BE CONTAMINATED WITH WATER OR OTHER LIQUIDS AND COULD EXPERIENCE INTERNAL ELECTRICAL SHORTING.
Consequence
THIS MAY, IN TURN, CAUSE THE AIR BAG READINESS LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE AND IN VERY RARE OCCURRENCES, AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT, MELTED WIRING, OR FIRE MAY OCCUR.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL INSTALL THE SHIELD OVER THE IABM AND APPLY NYOGEL GREASE TO THE CONNECTOR. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN FEBRUARY 11, 2003. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT FORD AT 1-866-436-7332.
Complaints by component
AIR BAGS
21
2crashes6fires1injuries
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
14
9crashes1fires10injuries
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE
10
1crashes2fires1injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
10
1crashes2fires1injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
9
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
9
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
8
6fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:HORN
7
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:INTERIOR/UNDER DASH
6
6fires2injuries
SUSPENSION:REAR:SPRINGS
5
Total complaints181
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“1997 mercury tracer trio vin [xxx] my wife and I bought this car from wanted auto sales in worley idaho. My we have a one year old daughter. We heard a noise from the rear of the car. My wife thought we were bottoming out. I came to discover that both rear factory struts the coil springs were…”
“We had taken my vehicle to get it checked by a computer at a local service parts shop. When we came back we stopped my car and it was not running, ignition off. About an hour later we heard a loud noise and its air bags had gone off, breaking my car's windshield and obviously making a mess in my…”
“While driving felt severe vibration and loud noise at all speeds and car pulling to the right hard. Vibration became worse about 8 miles later, car was not drivable and almost ran off the road. The tread separated from the tire. Pulled over, put the spare on. Pep boys replaced both front tires,…”
“Tl*the contact owns a 1997 mercury tracer. The contact stated while driving 45 mph, she lost control of the vehicle and drove into the median to avoid oncoming traffic. The engine shut off and the cylinder head was blown. The dealer was unable to diagnose the failure; however, they stated that the…”
“Tl*the contact owns a 1997 mercury tracer. The contact stated while driving 45 mph, she lost control of the vehicle and drove into the median to avoid oncoming traffic. The engine shut off and the cylinder head was blown. The dealer was unable to diagnose the failure; however, they stated that the…”
“Tl*the contact owns a 1997 mercury tracer. The contact stated while driving 45 mph, she lost control of the vehicle and drove into the median to avoid oncoming traffic. The engine shut off and the cylinder head was blown. The dealer was unable to diagnose the failure; however, they stated that the…”
“Tl*the contact owns a 1997 mercury tracer. The contact stated while driving 45 mph, she lost control of the vehicle and drove into the median to avoid oncoming traffic. The engine shut off and the cylinder head was blown. The dealer was unable to diagnose the failure; however, they stated that the…”
“Tl*the contact owns a 1997 mercury tracer. While driving 5 mph, the air bags deployed without warning. The vehicle was not involved in a crash. The manufacturer stated that the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign number 02v323000 (air bags:frontal:sensor/control module). The driver sustained…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationEA02008 Opened 2002-06-10 · closed 2002-12-11
WATER INTRUSION INTO AIRBAG MONITOR
BY LETTER OF DECEMBER 6, 2002, FORD NOTIFIED THE AGENCY THAT IT WOULD CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL ON ALL 1997 FORD ESCORT AND MERCURY TRACER VEHICLES.FORD FOUND THAT ELECTRICAL SHORTING OF THE INTEGRATED AIR BAG MONITOR (IABM)DUE TO LIQUID INTRUSION OF WATER OR ENGINE COOLANT CAN OCCUR IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.FORD AND…
InvestigationPE02010 Opened 2002-01-30 · closed 2002-06-10
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1997 Mercury Tracer as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.