Get my offer

Selling a junk Mercury Mountaineer

Any Mountaineer sells for scrap or parts, running or not. Below: what owners report most often for each model year, the recalls on file, and which of those change the offer. Enter your ZIP for a buyer near you.

Step 1 of 3 · Your car

Your car and location

Free · No obligation · We name the buyer before sharing your number

What owners report about the Mercury Mountaineer

NHTSA has 2,646 owner complaints on file for the Mercury Mountaineer, model years 1996 to 2010, the 163rd-most of the 423 models in our data. The most-reported components are transmission and drivetrain (399, 15%), tires (364, 14%), body and structure (298, 11%). 191 complaints involved a crash, 91 a fire, and 16 say the vehicle had to be towed. The median mileage when the problem was reported is 72,111 miles. The 2002 model year has the most complaints (504). Data as of 2026-10-12.

When the top complaint is transmission and drivetrain, the question for a seller is whether a buyer will resell the car, pull the parts or scrap it. Read our guide to selling a car with a bad transmission: it explains which offers assume the part works and how to describe the car so the price holds at pickup.

Mercury Mountaineer by model year

YearComplaintsMost reportedCrashFireRecallsMedian miles
19963Tires002—
1997399Tires48117124,823
1998298Tires2931680,000
1999182Tires155967,000
2000164Speed control2121881,500
200132Suspension314—
2002504Transmission and drivetrain198475,500
2003220Body and structure87178,898
2004271Body and structure202170,000
2005113Body and structure90148,549
2006153Engine and cooling95260,000
2007119Seats60180,600
2008156Seats40266,600
20098Steering000—
201024Brakes001—

Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not confirmed defects. Median miles is the odometer reading owners gave when they reported a problem, shown only where 20 or more reports include it.

Mercury Mountaineer recalls

NHTSA lists 23 recall campaigns across these model years, most often for speed control (6), visibility and wipers (3), tires (2). Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer. Before you sell, check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a buyer who plans to resell the car will.

  • 2010 model year, seats (campaign 10V161000, Apr 2010): FORD IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2010 FUSION, EXPLORER, EXPLORER SPORT TRAC, AND MERCURY MILAN AND MOUNTAINEER VEHICLES MANUFACTURED BETWEEN DECEMBER 15, 2009 THROUGH FEBRUARY 3, 2010 EQUIPPED WITH FRONT SEAT MANUAL …
  • 1997 model year, speed control (campaign 09V399000, Oct 2009): FORD IS RECALLING MODEL YEARS 1995-2003 WINDSTAR, 2000-2003 EXCURSION DIESEL, 1993-1997 AND 1999-2003 F-250 SD THROUGH F-550 SD DIESEL, 1992-2003 E-150 THROUGH E-550, 1995-2002 EXPLORER, 1997 AND 2002 MERCURY MOUNTAINEER…
  • 2002 model year, visibility and wipers (campaign 07E104000, Dec 2007): CERTAIN CURVED TEMPERED REPLACEMENT GLASS MANUFACTURED BY HANGZHOU SAFETY GLASS LTD AND SUPPLIED TO SAFELITE BY AUTO TEMP INC., IDENTIFIED AS DOT-430, AND SOLD FOR USE ON CERTAIN DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN VEHICLES MAY NOT BRE…
  • 2008 model year, transmission and drivetrain (campaign 07V453000, Sep 2007): ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE 4.6L ENGINE AND 6R TRANSMISSION, THE BOLT SECURING THE TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER LINE FITTINGS AT THE TRANSMISSION MAY NOT HAVE BEEN SUFFICIENTLY TORQUED DURING VEHICLE A…
  • 1999 model year, speed control (campaign 07V336000, Aug 2007): 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.

What a Mercury Mountaineer is worth as a junk car

Buyers price a junk Mountaineer on four things: its weight at today's scrap steel price (the floor), the parts still on it that can be resold, whether it starts and drives, and how far they have to tow it. None of those come from a complaint database, so use this page to describe the car accurately and our junk car value guide to work out a ceiling for the metal. Then get more than one offer.

Guides for selling this car

Other Mercury models

All Mercury models · All makes · Cash for junk cars by state

Questions people ask

What is a junk Mercury Mountaineer worth?
What a yard can recover: the car's weight at the current scrap steel price, plus parts it can resell (the catalytic converter, engine, transmission and wheels if they're good), minus towing and processing. The same Mountaineer gets different offers from different buyers, so compare at least two. Our value guide shows the public benchmark.
Will a junkyard buy a Mercury Mountaineer that doesn't run?
Yes. Junkyards and junk car buyers take cars that don't start, and most arrange the tow. Tell them honestly whether it starts, whether the engine and transmission are still in it, and whether the catalytic converter is on; those are what change the price.
Should I fix an open recall before selling a Mercury Mountaineer?
Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer for as long as the car exists. If the car is going for scrap, the repair won't change the scrap price. If a buyer might resell it or pull parts, a completed recall can help. Check your VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup first.
Where do these Mercury Mountaineer numbers come from?
From the complaint and recall data NHTSA publishes for every make and model, counted by model year on 2026-10-12. A complaint is an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and the count rises with how many of the model were sold.