1988 MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 72 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (32 complaints · 44.4%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 7
  • Fires 25
  • Injuries 10
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1987 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ELECTRICAL SYSTEM appears in 32 of 72 owner complaints (44.4%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 32 complaints, 44.4% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 32 · 44.4% · 21 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 11 complaints, 15.3% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 11 · 15.3% · 7 crash reports 1 fire reports ENGINE: 5 complaints, 6.9% of reports ENGINE 5 · 6.9% · 2 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 4 complaints, 5.6% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 4 · 5.6% POWER TRAIN: 4 complaints, 5.6% of reports POWER TRAIN 4 · 5.6% SEAT BELTS: 4 complaints, 5.6% of reports SEAT BELTS 4 · 5.6% STEERING: 3 complaints, 4.2% of reports STEERING 3 · 4.2% · 1 fire reports TIRES: 3 complaints, 4.2% of reports TIRES 3 · 4.2% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 2 complaints, 2.8% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 · 2.8% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 55 complaints, 76.4% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 55 · 76.4% · 2 crash reports 20 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 32 44.4% 0 crashes · 21 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 11 15.3% 7 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 5 6.9% 0 crashes · 2 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 4 5.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 4 5.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 4 5.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 3 4.2% 0 crashes · 1 fires
TIRES 3 4.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 2.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 55 76.4% 2 crashes · 20 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Mar 1988. 1995-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1995-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1995-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1995-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 1996-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 1996-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 1996-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 1997-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1997-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2001-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Mar 1988 Aug 2007 Recall campaign 88V028000 ◆ Recall campaign 88V028000 Recall campaign 96V071000 ◆ Recall campaign 96V071000 Recall campaign 07E064000 ◆ Recall campaign 07E064000 Investigation PE91125 ● Investigation PE91125
  • Campaign 96V071000 was reported 146 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 07E064000 was reported 4,580 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 4
1995-Q2 Owner reports 3
1995-Q3 Owner reports 2
1995-Q4 Owner reports 3
1996-Q1 Owner reports 4
1996-Q2 Owner reports 17
1996-Q3 Owner reports 6
1996-Q4 Owner reports 5
1997-Q1 Owner reports 3
1997-Q2 Owner reports 2
1997-Q3 Owner reports 1
1997-Q4 Owner reports 1
1998-Q3 Owner reports 2
1998-Q4 Owner reports 1
1999-Q1 Owner reports 3
1999-Q2 Owner reports 2
1999-Q3 Owner reports 1
2000-Q2 Owner reports 1
2000-Q3 Owner reports 6
2001-Q3 Owner reports 1
2001-Q4 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 88V028000
Recall campaign 1 96V071000
Recall campaign 1 07E064000
Defect investigation 1 PE91125
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (3)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 07E064000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    A LEAKING FUEL PUMP COULD CREATE A VEHICLE FIRE HAZARD.
    Remedy:
    FEDERAL-MOGUL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE FUEL PUMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 15, 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT FEDERAL-MOGUL AT 248-354-7700.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 88V028000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEAT BELTS
    Consequence:
    SEAT BELT COULD BIND BETWEEN SEAT CUSHION AND SEAT BACKCAUSING THE RETRACTOR TO BE SLUGGISH OR UNABLE TO TAKE UP EXCESS BELT SLACK.
    Remedy:
    REMOVE AND PROPERLY INSTALL THE RIGHT AUXILIARY SEAT BELTS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 96V071000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION COULD CAUSE OVERHEATING, SMOKE, AND POSSIBLY FIRE IN THE STEERING COLUMN AREA OF THE VEHICLE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE IGNITION SWITCH.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 72 complaints · page 1 of 3

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources