Mercury Fuel System, Gasoline: Tank Assembly

Mercury is recalling about 394,000 vehicles over a problem with the fuel system, gasoline. Fuel leakage in the presence of an ignition source can result in a fire.

Campaign
00V419002
Manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Reported
2 January 2001
Vehicles
394,000
Built between
Nov 1991 – Jun 1998
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
15 February 2001
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between November 1991 and June 1998. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1993-1998 Mercury VillagerBuilt November 1991 to June 1998

What the defect is

Vehicle description: minivans. The fuel tank vent hose allows air to vent from the fuel tank during refueling. Cracks have developed in the vent hose. If (1) the fuel tank is overfilled, not allowing excess fuel in the vent hose to flow back into the tank, (2) the vehicle is driven only a short distance after refueling and, (3) there is subsequently significant heating of the fuel tank, the fuel in the tank can expand into the vent hose and leak fuel.

What could happen

Fuel leakage in the presence of an ignition source can result in a fire.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE VENT HOSE.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtNovember 1991 to June 1998
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA2 January 2001
  3. Owners notified15 February 2001

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 2 January 2001.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
00S59
Recalling manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Recall initiated by
ODI

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Owner notification began february 19, 2001.OWNERS who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.ALSO contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand