28th Aug 2004, 10:00

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.

5th Jan 2005, 07:09

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?

28th Oct 2005, 14:30

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.

7th Sep 2006, 21:55

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 :-)

4th Dec 2007, 22:56

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?

19th Nov 2011, 19:04

Go to the Yahoo Villager/Quest group site. There are several problems and fixes common to these vans. Such as BPT hose, throttle position sensor, oxygen sensor. Get the code(s) with a code scanner, Autozone is one place that will do this for free. Armed with the code(s), and the symptoms, go over and search the website, you should join to take advantage of the wealth of help and the great group of knowledgeable guys on it.

20th Nov 2011, 14:09

Out of the 20 or so cars I've ever owned, my Mercury Villager was by far the worst.

Glad someone had a good experience with theirs; mine was a nightmare of non stop electrical problems.

Another thing these vans are known for is failure of the exhaust manifold, making them very loud and noisy.

19th Sep 2012, 06:34

I had a 1994 Villager (150,000 miles) and now a 1997 Villager (167,000 miles and counting). They have both been two of the best vehicles I have ever owned. While there are a few minor issues with my 97, it always starts and is very dependable.

Too bad they stopped making them. I hope I can find another to replace this one when its time is up.