- Vehicles
- 6,000
- Built between
- Aug 1997 – Sep 1997
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 1 December 1997
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between August 1997 and September 1997. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1997-1998 Mercury VillagerBuilt August 1997 to September 1997
What the defect is
Vehicle description: passenger mini vans equipped with automotive batteries supplied by gnb technologies. These batteries have a defective negative post that can cause acid leakage and related corrosion damage.
What could happen
This condition can cause a catastrophic failure of the battery which could lead to an engine fire or battery explosion.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THESE BATTERIES. UNTIL A NEW BATTERY IS OBTAINED, OWNERS SHOULD NOT ATTEMPT TO "JUMP START" THESE BATTERIES.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtAugust 1997 to September 1997
- Recall reported to NHTSA29 October 1997
- Owners notified1 December 1997
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 29 October 1997.
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
- Recalling manufacturer
- FORD MOTOR COMPANY
- Recall initiated by
- MFR
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 is expected to begin december 1,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 1-800-424-9393.
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.