Two problems related to ignition have been reported for the 1997 Mercury Mountaineer. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Truck caught fire and burnt up while sitting in the driveway turned off due to short in the ignition. (determined by the fire dept. ).
On four occasions when going out to start vehicle consumer was not able to turn ignition and steering wheel would not move, leaving consumer stranded. Eventually it would release . Dealer has removed ignition, but claimed no defect existed. Dealer only advised consumer to make sure wheels were straight when parking.