Dodge RAM VAN vs Mercury Tracer

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Dodge RAM VAN	Mercury Tracer
Complaints on file	304	754
Model years covered	1989–2003	1988–2000
Worst model year	1999	1997
Best model year	1995	1998
Crashes reported	24	93
Fires reported	34	60
Injuries reported	26	71
Deaths reported	0	3
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	27.6%	30.1%

Dodge RAM VAN by year

1 1 3 4 9 17 36 26 38 56 35 40 16 22

89 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Electrical System 40 13.2%

Brakes 37 12.2%

Transmission & Drivetrain 28 9.2%

Body & Structure 27 8.9%

Steering 25 8.2%

Suspension 23 7.6%

Engine & Cooling 21 6.9%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 18 5.9%

Mercury Tracer by year

22 20 2 76 26 114 81 126 15 181 57 32 2

88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Electrical System 99 13.1%

Fuel & Propulsion 84 11.1%

Engine & Cooling 83 11.0%

Airbags 76 10.1%

Brakes 67 8.9%

Seat Belts 64 8.5%

Suspension 48 6.4%

Transmission & Drivetrain 43 5.7%