1995 Mercury Villager Nautica from North America

Summary:

Great driving car. It has a smooth ride

Faults:

I have a 1995 Villager Nautica, 279,000 kms.

Lately, the last couple of years the car has been shutting down while driving. It has happened on the highway going 100 kms an hour, happened making a left turn at a light, and it has happened in a parking lot trying to find a parking spot.

I have had it towed to the garage, only to start right away and they couldn't find anything wrong with the car.

It has happened too many times to count, but I am worried on the highway, as it would die right there out of nowhere.

At first I thought it was because of the heat.. overheating, that wasn't it. Then I thought it was wet wires, that wasn't it because it never rained before the car died in an intersection.

MS.

General Comments:

My kids will no longer drive the car, however it's a great car...

Any idea what is wrong with this car? Anyone had the same problem?

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 14th September, 2010

19th Apr 2011, 18:13

It sounds like it might be the crankshaft position sensor.

19th Nov 2012, 08:52

The fuel pump in the Mercury Villager has a design flaw -- it is prone to over heating if you let the fuel fall below the quarter indicator on the fuel gauge. It will shut down and restart when it has cooled down. My research indicates that running below the quarter mark will cause premature failure of the fuel pump.

1995 Mercury Villager GS 3.0 V6 from North America

Summary:

A good family-hauler with no major problems

Faults:

The power lock in the sliding door does not work, and makes a loud buzzing noise. AC compressor went out at 80000 miles, and the car stumbles a little from a stop,

General Comments:

A good vehicle for carrying a lot of people, and is very comfortable, but I wish it was more trouble-free.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 21st October, 2005

3rd Jun 2006, 14:37

Update on the 1995 Villager review posted above.

The van now has 96155 miles, and several new problems have come up.

1. Two of the window latches on the rear windows broke; had to order new ones from the dealership; cost was between $70-80.

2. The sliding door is a joke. It has never closed correctly, and is starting to rattle on trips. I wouldn't be surprised if it just fell off while driving down I-5.

3. The front headlights have become very dull and yellow in color; just need to buff them out.

4. The gear selector has always been sloppy; you can have the transmission in Drive, and move the selector both ways so it isn't even on the D anymore. A couple months ago, the shift linkage got loose, so the selector wasn't accurate at all; it got so bad that the trans. wouldn't go into Park, so you just had to find Neutral and put the emergency brake on. Cost of repair was about $55

5. Someone either ran into or leaned on the rear wiper, causing a large dent in the back hatch, causing the wiper to catch on the window handle; fixed the dent, wiper works fine.

6. Just recently I have noticed an unusual amount of wear on the left front Michelin tire. I think it must be caused by bad alignment.

7. Sometimes the "intermittent" windshield wipers act as if they have a mind of their own.

8. The fan makes a chirping noise, especially when on a lower selection.

Before getting this particular vehicle, I was amazed to find out that it only had 150 horsepower! But after driving it, I have discovered it isn't quite as slow as I thought it would be, but it certainly isn't fast! I haven't tried a 0-60 run, but I saw on a web site that it is between 13-14 seconds, which wouldn't surprise me. Ours may be a little faster, though, because the engine was replaced about 10000 miles before we got it. I drove it full of seven people in a city with extremely hilly streets, and didn't notice any loss of power, which surprised me. Also, the torque rating is 174lb.ft.

Actually, most of the above mentioned problems are minor, and are just normal wear and tear. And from what I have been seeing from other Villager reviews, these vehicles can last for hundreds of thousands of miles, so I am confident that our Villager will be mostly reliable for the time that we own it.

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