Best tires for the Mercury Mariner
Top picks across four categories for the Mercury Mariner, anchored to the current-generation OEM size 235/70R16. Every recommendation is selected from our 22,000-tire catalog by ranking on UTQG treadwear, mileage warranty, cabin-noise rating, and season class; no commission-weighted reordering.
Daily driver
Best all-season touring
Long warranty, low noise, balanced ride. The one-tire compromise that works for 80% of owners.
Pirelli
Scorpion all terrain plus
UTQG 600 with a 50,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Mercury Mariner owners.
BFGoodrich
All-Terrain T/A KO2
Reinforced sidewall all-season compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
Bridgestone
Blizzak DM V2
Touring-tuned all-season compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
Bridgestone
Dueler H/T D684 II 235/70R16
Touring-tuned all-season compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
Lowest cost per mile
Best budget
Best price-per-warranty-mile in this size. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options, not safety.
Michelin
Defender LTX M/S
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
BFGoodrich
Advantage T/A sport LT
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Continental
CrossContact LX25
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Cooper
Discoverer SRX
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Lowest cabin noise
Best quiet
Tread patterns engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning. Pick this if you commute long highway distances daily.
Pirelli
Scorpion all terrain plus
73 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; well below the segment median. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
BFGoodrich
All-Terrain T/A KO2
75 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; still quieter than most competitors in this size. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Side-by-side
Pick the trade-off that matches your driving
| All-season Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus | Best budget Michelin Defender LTX M/S |
|
|---|---|---|
| UTQG treadwear | 600 | 800 |
| Mileage warranty | 50,000 mi | - |
| Cabin noise | 73 dB | - |
| Season class | all-season | - |
| Type | truck-suv | - |
OEM tire sizes by year
What size does the mercury mariner use?
Recommendations on this page are anchored to the latest model-year's OEM size. Confirm yours against the driver-door placard before purchase.
| Year | OEM size | |
|---|---|---|
| 2005–2011 | 235/70R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
How we ranked these tires for the mercury mariner
We started with the latest model-year's OEM tire size; 235/70R16; and filtered our catalog of 22,000+ tires to those offered in that exact size. From there, four parallel rankings:
- Best all-season ranks on a weighted score: tire type matches passenger car segment, season is "all-season", premium brand bonus (Michelin / Continental / Bridgestone / Pirelli / Goodyear / Nokian).
- Best budget ranks on cost-per-warranty-mile; the lower the better. Premium brands get no bonus here.
- Best quiet ranks on the EU tire-label dB rating; lower is quieter.
- Best winter filters to tires marked 3PMSF severe-snow rated or all-weather class, with a small premium-brand bonus because winter-compound R&D is capital-intensive.
For sedans and compacts, the all-season touring tire below is the best default; long warranty, low cabin noise, reasonable cost per mile. Switch to the quiet pick if highway droning is a deal-breaker; switch to the winter pick if you see significant snow each year. Use the side-by-side comparison above to weigh the trade-offs against your specific driving; highway-heavy, winter-state, performance-oriented, or budget-constrained.
NHTSA-reported issues for mercury mariner
Top issue category: Tires (General)
Most reported: Tires (General) (12) · Sidewall (1) · Valve (1)
Reported across: 2005 – 2008 (4 years)
What owners described
Cracking or dry rot appears in 29% of these reports; about 3.1× as often as across all tire complaints. Percentages are shares of the 14 reports covering every model year of the Mercury Mariner that include a written account; a single report can describe more than one problem, so they do not total 100%.
| Reported problem | This subject | All tire complaints | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cracking or dry rot | 29% | 9% | 3.1× |
| Tread or belt separation | 14% | 13% | 1.1× |
| Blowout or sudden deflation | 7% | 20% | 0.4× |
| Sidewall failure | 7% | 15% | 0.5× |
Mileage at failure
5 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 12,000 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 2,000 and 25,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Mercury Mariner. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
I DROVE FROM ATLANTA, GEORGIA TO EL PASO, TEXAS OVER A TWO DAY PERIOD. I WAS NOT SPEEDING AND THERE WERE NO ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS. PREPARING FOR MY RETURN TRIP, I TOOK MY CAR TO GET AN OIL CHANGE. THE MECHANIC DISCOVERED MY TIRE HAD SEVERE TREAD SEPARATION. THE TIRE HAS NOT YET BEEN REPAIRED OR REPLACED, THOUGH THE CAR IS NOW USING A DONUT TIRE IN ITS PLACE.
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 MERCURY MARINER. THE VEHICLE HAS CONTITRAC AW, SIZE P27560R17 TIRES. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TIRES ON THE VEHICLE WERE EXTREMELY NOISY, THE TREAD WAS CUPPING, AND THERE WERE HAIRLINE CRACKS IN THE SIDEWALL WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE RIM. THE NOISE IS LOUD AT ALL SPEEDS, BUT INTENSIFIES WHILE DRIVING 5 - 65 MPH. THE TIRES HAVE BEEN ROTATED AND ALIGNED BY BOTH THE DEALER AND AN INDEPENDENT TIRE STORE. THE NOISE WORSENED AFTER THE TIRES WERE ROTATED AND ALIGNED. THE CONTACT PLANS TO PURCHASE NEW TIRES BECAUSE HIS WIFE IS AFRAID TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 25,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,000.
IN JULY 2008, "CHECK TIRE PRESSURE" LIGHT BECAME PRESENT. UPON PLACING AIR IN LEFT-REAR TIRE A CRACK/ LEAK IN VALVE STEM BECAME PRESENT. VALVE STEM WAS REPLACED. IN AUGUST 2008 SAME ISSUE OCCURRED WITH RIGHT REAR STEM. TODAY, OCTOBER 26TH 2008 THE ISSUE OCCURRED WITH THE RIGHT FRONT VALVE STEM. ALL VALVE STEMS ON MY VEHICLE HAVE NOW BEEN REPLACED.
ON JULY 5, 2009 WHILE DRIVING MY MERCURY MARINER THE PASSENGER SIDE REAR TIRE WENT FLAT. CAUSE WAS A BAD VALVE STEM; ON SEPTEMBER 4, 2009 I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THE DRIVER SIDE REAR TIRE. THE AUTO TECH AT WALL MART SHOWED ME THE VALVE STEM WAS DRY ROTTED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. I ALSO HAD HIM REPLACE BOTH VALVE STEMS ON THE FRONT TIRES, WHICH ALSO SHOWED SIGNS OF DRY ROT.
Complaints are voluntarily submitted to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation and are not verified by NHTSA; they represent owner-reported problems, not proven defects. Counts can be useful as a relative quality signal across comparable tires or vehicles.
Tire recalls & safety complaints for the Mercury Mariner →
FAQ
What's the best all-season tire for the Mercury Mariner?
Should I get a cheaper tire for my Mercury Mariner?
Does the Mercury Mariner need winter tires?
Can I run a different tire size on my Mercury Mariner?
Where can I buy these tires?
Last verified 2026-10-07.