1997 Mercury Villager GS from North America - Comments

O2 sensor replaced at 95000 km.

Brakes replaced at 111000 km.

Front passenger power window no longer can be lowered from drivers seat.

Power lock on the sliding door sticks and usually has to be unlocked manually.

Leg room for driver is quite poor. I don't know what you would do without power seats.

Middle seat is a real pain to take out.

Paint is very soft and scratches easily.

Handles and performs very well for a mini-van.

Captain chairs are very comfortable.

Fabulous engine.

Drives well in snow.

I dunno about comments, but if somebody can tell me why transmissions in 97 quest and villagers shift like crap into to 2nd gear from 1st please help I test drove 6 of them all the same year 1997 al the same problem hummm??? help if you can teddyondubz on aol.

I have a 1997 Merc Villager GS- is has 70,000 miles. The check engine turns on and off periodically . Have any one had the same problem?

The check engine light needs to be checked to determine the actual problem. I would reccomend going to auto zone for a free check up or visit the dealer for a 100 average check up. Once you know the problems you will be better off. FYI the light usually means O2 sensor or TPS sensor. oxygen sensor and throttle position sensor.

I am planning on buying a 97 Mercury Villager. It has 126K miles on it and seems to be in very good condition. Do you think that it would be worth $3000.00 Dollars. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I just bought a 97 villager and I found out that the timing belt has to be replaced a 105,000 miles.

I got it from an auction and it had 105,000 on it so the timing belt was the first thing I replaced.

We recently bought a 97 Mercury Villager 84,000 miles and found that it was shifting very heavily. We got it checked and was told that an engine mount was bad and corrected it. We thought we had solved the problem, but it keeps jumping between gears. Could this be a transmission problem or is this the nature of the vans. Also if we stop at a light it shuts off when we are about to move off. We have the van since mid December 2004 not a month yet and have spend over $600.00 on it. Does anyone have these problems or its just us. What is the life of a transmission? Or is there such a thing?

I've had mine since October 04 and no problems other than the brake light going on and off, but I'm going to check the brakes soon. When I bought it from a private owner he told me that he changed all the fluids and got a tune up, but I don't think that was true. I went ahead and did it all anyway and when I replaced the fuel filter and air filter there was a notable improvement in what I already thought was a fine running vehicle. The only thing that bothers me is I can't figure out how to take out the back seat... we don't need the seats at all...I've got the middle one out and I know the back can slide all the way up, but I still can use that extra foot or so for hauling stuff. All in all... really nice ride. OH.. I forgot..the driver's side door lock sometimes does not engage so I would have to push it manually. BUT HERE'S ONE THING I HATE AND WANT TO CHANGE.. IF SOMEONE KNOWS HOW EMAIL "SWINGPAR@MSN.COM" and that is the remote control. The car won't start unless it's opened by the remote.. are all these cars made this way?? It's a pain and dangerous should I or the wife need to drive away in a hurry in the event of a mugging or something...anyway..i don't like it.

I have a '94 Mercury Villager that I bought new. It currently has almost 202000 miles on it. I have kept it well maintained and have had surprisingly few repairs done on it in all this time. The engine still runs good, passes California smog every time, and does not use any oil. I just had the transmission checked because it is shifting hard into 1st and 2nd gear most of the time. Even with this kind of mileage the transmission checked out fine. It turns out the transmission mounts are bad. I'd like info. on replacing them myself if anyone out there has done the job before.

-Thanks.

I have a Villager Nautica. The engine mounts had to be replaced NUMEROUS times starting @ about 80k mile. The transmission does shift hard from 1st to 2nd, and the warmer it is outside, the harder it shifts. Had to replace the fuel pump @ 91K. Those Mercury Btards tried charging me $1300, spent some time researching and got it replaced for $540 elsewhere.

My sliding door also must be unlocked manually. what else?... oh yeah, the driver side window regulator just went out and the power window switch broke off. They want $100 for this seemingly $10 switch!!! I still enhoy this thing though, I think I'll sink some more $ into it :-)

I purchased a 1996 Villager, with 70k miles on it, in Feb 2004, and it is (knock on wood) the most reliable car I've ever owned. In the nearly 4 years and 40k miles I've driven it, I've gotten a transmission service, regular oil changes, and new front brake pads and a thermostat. That's it.

I do, however, have a few concerns. Two years ago, before a road trip, I replaced the front tires and got an alignment due to uneven wear on them. Then, last year, I replaced the other two tires (tread was worn, but not unevenly) and requested an alignment. The employee of the certain department store chain I went to told me he couldn't do an alignment without replacing the lower ball joints... he didn't even offer to show me any proof, other than his $650 estimate. Well, I took a chance, laughed in his face, and left. A year has gone by, I've driven long distances all over with no problem, I even went over a huge curb at 30mph in a dark parking lot(by accident of course), and the tire wear is perfectly even, and other than a SLIGHT pulling to the right if I let go of the steering wheel for more than a few seconds, all seems well. No clunking, screeching, pulling, nothing.

The other problem I've noticed recently is the brake warning light on the dashboard. After driving in damp weather, the light will flash for a second or two if I turn and then brake suddenly, then go right back out (it happens while parking). I'm driving about 600mi next week and really don't think I need any more than a standard brake job. Am I nuts?

I bought a 1997 mercury villager 3 years ago at the time it had 130,000 miles... i just now had the O2 sensor and knock sensor replaced 700$..i also had a problem with the alarm remote the car would not start at times... we pulled the alarm and that's all better... i did have to have the axles replaced... and now I have to have the transmission mount replaced...but!!...this vehicle is excellent running safe in the snow..reliable..i now have 184,000 miles and still don't want to let it go... i would tell anyone get a villager... this is a well made vehicle a nice turning ratio can fit in any parking spot... believe me its worth it!!!