Mercury Milan Reliability by YearBest & worst years, problems & recalls — NHTSA data
Comparing used Mercury Milan options? We analyzed 6 model years (2006–2011) using real NHTSA complaint and recall data so you can spot stronger years, avoid riskier ones, and know what to inspect before buying.
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- Accident & damage history
- Odometer rollback records
- Open recalls & title brands
Based on NHTSA complaint data, the Mercury Milan has 2,575 owner complaints and 44 safety recalls across model years 2006–2011. The most reported issue area is AIR BAGS. 2010 drew the most complaints; 2011 drew the fewest.
- Make
- Mercury
- Model
- Milan
- Model years analyzed
- 2006–2011 (6 years)
- Total NHTSA complaints
- 2,575
- Safety recall campaigns
- 44
- Crash-related complaints
- 97
- Fire-related complaints
- 11
- Worst model year (by complaints)
- 2010 (1,060 complaints)
- Best model year (fewest complaints)
- 2011 (190 complaints)
- Top reported issue area
- AIR BAGS
- Reliability signal
- Poor
By model year
Mercury Milan: which years to avoid & which to buy
Based on total NHTSA owner complaints per model year. Higher complaint counts indicate a riskier year to buy used — lower counts suggest a cleaner reliability record.
These years have the most owner complaints. Inspect carefully and always run a VIN check.
These years have the fewest owner complaints on record — lower risk starting points.
Crash test ratings
NHTSA NCAP crash test ratings
New Car Assessment ProgramNCAP crash tests measure how well a vehicle protects occupants in controlled frontal crash, side crash, and rollover scenarios. Stars are awarded per category (5 = safest). These laboratory results are independent of owner complaints and are performed by NHTSA engineers on new production vehicles.
Source: nhtsa.gov/ratings
What the complaint data suggests
PoorThe MERCURY MILAN has 2,575 NHTSA complaints and 44 recalls on record. 97 complaints involve crash-related incidents. This data reflects owner-reported issues submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- 2,575 total complaints filed with NHTSA
- 44 federal recall campaigns
- 97 crash-related complaints on record
- Review NHTSA complaint history for the most-reported components
- Check recall completion status at nhtsa.gov/recalls
- Verify service records for frequently complained components
Consult the by-year breakdown to identify model years with elevated complaint rates.
Consult the by-year breakdown to identify model years with fewer reported issues.
- Run a VIN check on the specific vehicle you are considering
- Verify all open recalls are completed at nhtsa.gov/recalls
- Request service records for the most-reported complaint components
- Have a certified mechanic inspect the vehicle before purchase
Problems by model year (best vs. worst)
Source: NHTSA public complaints database. Updated: Aug 2026
Safety recalls
NHTSA safety recalls
44 recalls foundSafety recalls are mandatory repair campaigns ordered by NHTSA when a vehicle defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety. Manufacturers are required to fix recalled vehicles free of charge. Always verify open recalls before buying a used car.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
WHEELS:LUGS/NUTS/BOLTS/STUDS
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:AUXILLARY TANK
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
EQUIPMENT
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
EQUIPMENT
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Source: NHTSA Recalls Database. Data covers model years 2006–2011. Always run a VIN-specific check below for the most up-to-date open recall status.
Common problems
What goes wrong most often
The vehicle systems owners complain about most, ranked from all 2,575 NHTSA complaints — these are the areas to inspect first on a used car.
Owner complaints
NHTSA complaint reports
2,575 totalThese are consumer-submitted safety complaints filed directly with NHTSA. Each complaint describes a real owner's experience. Complaints flagged as crash-related or fire-related are highlighted.
Gas tank leak, fuel fumes. Part of safety recall for fuel pressure regulator causing fuel tank rupture!!!
The contact owns a 2011 Mercury Milan. The contact stated there was an abnormal fuel odor coming from the vehicle and there was fuel underneath the vehicle. The contact researched and became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V793000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.
On XXX My 2011 Milan, experienced a total loss of steering assist. Am original owner & have original invoice from former dealer (Vista Ford )dated XXX, Invoice #XXX shows the dealer only did a software patch under 15N01 because there were no error codes at the time. My physical defective steering gear was never replaced, and now suffers a total mechanical electrical failure. The manufacturers software recall patch failed to prevent the component from failing. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2011 Mercury Milan. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the electronic power steering failure warning light illuminated. Additionally, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. The contact's family member attached the ODS monitor to the vehicle, and fault codes: C1277 (Steering Wheel Angle Sensor), UL3000 (Power Steering Control Modular) and several other failure codes associated with the electronic power steering were retrieved. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact referenced an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not associated with a recall related to the failure. The dealer was not made aware of the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 91,430.
1) The electric power steering system failed. The dashboard displayed the message “Service Power Steering Now,” and the steering assist stopped working, making the steering extremely stiff. The vehicle also lost reverse gear, where the engine revs but the vehicle does not move when shifted into reverse. The vehicle is still in my possession and available for inspection upon request. 2) When the power steering assist failed, the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn, which made the vehicle harder to control. This created a safety risk when attempting to turn or maneuver the vehicle in traffic or parking areas. Additionally, the inability to use reverse gear could create a hazardous situation if the driver cannot back out of traffic, parking spaces, or other areas. 3) The problem has not yet been inspected or confirmed by a dealership or independent service center. 4) No, the vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or other parties. 5) The dashboard displayed the message “Service Power Steering Now,” and the steering assist stopped working. The problem appeared suddenly when the vehicle was started. The steering immediately became extremely stiff, and the warning message appeared at that time. This failure created a serious safety hazard because the steering assist stopped working without warning, making the vehicle extremely difficult to control. A sudden loss of steering assist can increase the risk of a crash, especially when turning, parking, or driving in traffic. I am concerned that other drivers could experience the same sudden steering failure. The vehicle displayed the message “Service Power Steering Now,” and the steering immediately became extremely stiff. The vehicle is currently undriveable in reverse and difficult to steer safely.
on 10/27/25 my son was driving car (2011 Mercury Milan) and light came on dash and car suddenly lost all power steering. Luckily car was able to be driven to side of the road when steering went out. I went to the Ford recalls website and it indicated "Epas steering efforts" was on the website as requiring free service. This recall is specifically for loss of power steering in car. Electronic Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) systems provide variable steering assistance but can experience issues leading to increased steering effort and loss of control. Upon checking with dealer, this was to be fixed under safety recall bulletin 15S18. This was initially repaired in 2015 under that recall bulletin. This did not fix the issue as the car requires a power steering gear replacement for same issue. Warranties on this recall are not being honored and this is deceptive as the final repair did not correct the problem. Federal law dicates warrenties do not expire on safety recalls. Upon checking the ford recall website, Ford is now indicating it can be fixed under a "Customer Satisfaction Program" to cover the original safety recall which has already expired. Now I am faced with almost a $3k repair on a safety recall which was never fixed and not being honored by Ford.
Read 14 more owner reports
Passenger side brake light assembly failed June 2025. I found it our at an oil change inspection. Ford discontinued manufacturing this LED brake light assembly, so it is difficult to replace this safety critical part. The part number is 9N7Z 13404 A.
The contact owns a 2011 Mercury Milan. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for servicing, the contact was informed that the electronic brake control module had failed. The contact was informed that the electronic brake control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was being repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
My car was recalled for the steering control module issue in 2016, Recall 15S18 and 15N01. Brought it into my Ford dealer in 2016 and Ford declined to fix the steering control module repair. In 2016, car was well within the 10 year window and mileage restriction. Now, my car still is under 150K miles, is at 124,000. The power steering stopped working last week. The error message on dashboard states, power steering control error. Brought it into shop and mechanic diagnosed it as error with power steering control module and loss of power steering assist. Mechanic advised me to return to Ford as this problem was under recall 15V34. Ford refuses to repair my car as it is past the 10 year warranty window. If Ford would not have denied this repair in 2016, my car power steering control module would not have failed last week. Now my car is unsafe to drive. Ford should have fixed my car and now it is undrivable. They know that 2011 Mercury Milans have this issue and have abdicated responsibility for the safety of my car.
The contact owns a 2011 Mercury Milan. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the power steering assist intermittently failed to operate as needed. The contact stated that the "Service Power Steering Now" message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The vehicle was then taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not under recall or warranty. The contact was provided an estimate for the repair. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 124,000.
Steering went out on vehicle, very difficult to steer. Got it to the dealership, they say it is not in the recall. The power steering assist fault light came on and service advance trac. Is costing almost $1500 to fix.
I've been reading on all these recalls for my car and only one recall was fix which was when I took care of it but these past recalls on my car, and some of the recalls match up to the way my car is acting like and I bought this car used and I am concerned about the recalls and not being fix I would like to get my car checked for the past recalls on it bc I don't want to drive a car that has recalls that's not been fix and I do not want to put my life or anyone else in danger
The contact owns a 2011 Mercury Milan. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering functionality. A message indicating power steering failure was displayed. The vehicle was taken to several independent mechanics, where it was determined that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the repair of Ford Campaign Number: 15N01 could not be completed due to the vehicle's mileage. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2011 Mercury Milan. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the steering wheel locked. The power steering assist warning light was illuminated, and the message "Service Advance Track" was displayed. The vehicle was driven to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. No further information was provided. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 147,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Mercury Milan. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The failure was more evident during the cold weather. The Service Power Steering warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 260,000.
Power steering service light came on, and the power steering on vehicle was impaired and almost impossible to turn the wheel while operating the vehicle .,after contacting Ford dealership, a recall is listed on that year of this make and model, but the Vin number is not included in the recall for maintenance repairs
The first symptom was the steering wheels failure to return to center after going around a corner. That went on for about 3 weeks before the Service Advance Trac warning came on. The vehicle started to have a terrible noise when turning the wheel which can only be described as the sound of bones breaking. The sound is increasing louder at slow speeds. Then the Advance Trac System Failure message came on, and the vehicle lost all power steering assist. When turning a corner the steering wheel almost gets stuck at the 2,3,4,5 positions. There was a massive Ford recall for this make and model with the exact same failed part, but for some reason Ford decided to not include my vehicle in this recall, despite it having the failure. This is a very expensive repair, and at this point in the vehicles life basically renders it a total loss. This should be remedied by Ford for all vehicles with this part.
The contact owns a 2011 Mercury Milan. The contact stated that the vehicle had been experiencing power steering failure. The contact stated while reversing out of the driveway and attempting to make a turn, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The messages "Power Steering Assist Fault" and "Service Advancetrac" were displayed. The contact stated that she was unable to turn the steering wheel. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 101,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Mercury Milan. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, she heard an abnormal sound coming from the front-end of the vehicle, and the contact became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly. The "Service Power Steering Now" and "Service Advance Track" messages were displayed. Additionally, the traction control warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V34000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 186,000.
The power steering is out and the car is very hard to turn and control. The recall has been confirmed by the dealer but it appears that they cannot fix due to my vin number not showing a recall for the power steering control module.
Showing 20 of 2,575 total NHTSA complaints. Source: NHTSA Complaints Database
Check the exact car
Before you buy, check the exact Mercury Milan
These pages show model-year patterns across 6 years. Enter a VIN to verify the exact vehicle's accident history, title brands, odometer records, and open recall status before purchase.
The basics
How to read this data
Complaints, recalls, investigations — here’s what each number actually tells you about a used Mercury Milan, in plain English.
What is an NHTSA Complaint?
An NHTSA safety complaint is a report filed directly by a vehicle owner or driver describing a safety-related issue. Anyone can submit a complaint at NHTSA.gov. The number of complaints is a signal of how common a problem is — but complaints per model-year matter more than raw totals, since popular vehicles naturally receive more reports. The Mercury Milan has 2,575 complaints on record across 6 model years.
What is a Safety Recall?
A safety recall is a mandatory campaign issued by NHTSA when a vehicle component poses an unreasonable risk to safety or does not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards. Unlike complaints (which are owner-reported), recalls are formally investigated and confirmed by regulators. Manufacturers must fix recalled vehicles free of charge. The Mercury Milan has 44 recall campaigns in the NHTSA database.
What Are Crash Complaints?
Crash complaints are NHTSA filings where the owner indicates a crash occurred as part of the incident. 97 of the Mercury Milan's 2,575 complaints involved a crash. This metric is particularly important because it indicates how often defects resulted in actual collisions — a key safety signal beyond general reliability.
How Is the Reliability Verdict Calculated?
The reliability verdict (Poor) is generated by analyzing the vehicle's total complaints, recall history, crash complaint ratio, fire complaint ratio, and top component failures relative to class averages. This verdict gives buyers a quick interpretation before they review year-level details and VIN-level history. It should be treated as one decision input, not a substitute for a VIN-specific report.
Why Do Newer Years Have Fewer Complaints?
Newer model years appear to have fewer complaints because there has been less time for owners to file them. Complaints accumulate over years of ownership. A 2020 model year vehicle will typically show fewer complaints than a 2015 model year even if it is less reliable — simply because fewer owners have had time to report issues. Focus on complaints per year of market presence when comparing across model years.
Fleet Data vs. Individual VIN
Everything on this page reflects aggregated data across all Mercury Milan vehicles on the road — not any specific car. Two Mercury Milan vehicles of the same year can have very different histories: one may have been in three accidents and have an open recall; another may be clean. A VIN check gives you the individual car's history: accidents, title brands, odometer records, service history, and real-time recall status.
What Are NHTSA Investigations?
When NHTSA receives a pattern of related safety complaints, it opens a formal investigation. A Preliminary Evaluation (PE) is the first stage — NHTSA determines if a safety defect may exist. If evidence is strong, it escalates to an Engineering Analysis (EA), which can result in a mandatory recall. The Mercury Milan has 0 investigations on record (0 active). Investigations listed above may have already led to the recalls shown on this page.
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By state
Check a Mercury Milan by state
Title-branding rules, flood-damage exposure, and salvage laws vary by state. Run a free VIN check or explore state-specific vehicle history guidance before buying a used Mercury Milan.
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Mercury Milan reliability — frequently asked questions
Is the Mercury Milan reliable?
Poor. The Mercury Milan has 2,575 NHTSA owner complaints and 44 recall campaigns across model years. A commonly reported issue area is AIR BAGS. Use year-level data as a pattern guide, then verify the exact car with a VIN check before purchase.
Which Mercury Milan years to avoid?
Years with the most NHTSA complaints: 2010 (1,060 complaints), 2008 (451 complaints), 2007 (434 complaints). Use these years as a shortlist for deeper inspection, and always run a VIN check on the exact vehicle before purchase.
What are the most common Mercury Milan problems?
Top reported issues: AIR BAGS (787 complaints); SERVICE BRAKES (587 complaints); STEERING (349 complaints).
Does the Mercury Milan have recalls?
Yes — 44 NHTSA recall campaigns have been issued for the Mercury Milan. Check nhtsa.gov/recalls or run a VIN check to see if your specific vehicle has open recalls.