Best tires for the Mercury Mountaineer
Top picks across four categories for the Mercury Mountaineer, anchored to the current-generation OEM size 245/65R17. 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.
Michelin
CrossClimate 2
UTQG 640 with a 60,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Mercury Mountaineer 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 Mountaineer owners.
BFGoodrich
All-Terrain T/A KO2
Reinforced sidewall all-season compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
Cooper
Discoverer AT3 4S
UTQG 600 with a 60,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Mercury Mountaineer owners.
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.
Toyo
Open country H/T II
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.
Michelin
CrossClimate 2
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Cooper
Discoverer AT3 4S
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.
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 Michelin CrossClimate 2 | Best budget Michelin Defender LTX M/S |
|
|---|---|---|
| UTQG treadwear | 640 | 800 |
| Mileage warranty | 60,000 mi | - |
| Cabin noise | 70 dB | - |
| Season class | all-season | - |
| Type | touring | - |
OEM tire sizes by year
What size does the mercury mountaineer 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–2001 | 235/75R15 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2002 | 245/70R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2003–2007 | 245/65R17 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2008 | 255/50R20 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2009–2010 | 235/65R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
How we ranked these tires for the mercury mountaineer
We started with the latest model-year's OEM tire size; 245/65R17; 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 mountaineer
Top issue category: Tires (General)
Most reported: Tires (General) (189) · Tread / Belt (163) · Sidewall (17) · Spare Tire (2) · Bead (1)
Reported across: 1996 – 2008 (13 years)
What owners described
Cracking or dry rot appears in 21% of these reports; about 2.3× as often as across all tire complaints. Percentages are shares of the 242 reports covering every model year of the Mercury Mountaineer 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 | 21% | 9% | 2.3× |
| Tread or belt separation | 17% | 13% | 1.2× |
| Sidewall failure | 15% | 15% | 1.0× |
| Blowout or sudden deflation | 12% | 20% | 0.6× |
| Loss of control, rollover or collision | 8% | 8% | 1.0× |
| Bubble or bulge in the tire | 3% | 6% | 0.6× |
Mileage at failure
47 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 30,000 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 3,000 and 102,162 miles.
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Mercury Mountaineer. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
DEXTERO DHT2 TIRE P245/70R16 106T THIS TIRE I PURCHASED AT WALMART MARCH 2013. I HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH SLIDING NOT GRIPPING THE PAVEMENT ALSO LOOKS LIKE THE BULGE OUT. I HAVE CALLED WALMART THEY SAID THEY PROBABLY NEED BALANCED OR ROTATED SO THEY DID THIS STILL DOING THE SAME THING. I CALLED THEM THEY SAID THEY NEED THEIR TIRE SPECIALIST TO LOOK IT OVER. ALSO TOLD ME THERE WAS NO RECALL ON THIS TIRE. I COULD NOT EVEN FIND THIS TIRE ON THE RECALL LIST I ASSUME ITS FROM CHINA. THE TIRE SPECIALIST TOOK MEASURMENTS OF TIRE AND HAD TO TALK WITH ANOTHER SPECIALIST ABOUT WHAT TO DO IF ANYTHING THEY SAID. I FEEL UNSAFE DRIVING WITH THESE TIRES AND WANTED TO SEE WHAT I COULD DO FROM HERE. [XXX]S.C. 552(B)(6).
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 MERCURY MOUNTAINEER EQUIPPED WITH BF GOODRICH TIRES 105S RUGGED TRAIL T/A TIRES, SIZE: P245/65R17. THE CONTACT NOTICED EXCESSIVE CRACKING AROUND THE TREAD FOR ALL FOUR TIRES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT THE TIRES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE TIRES WERE NOT REPLACED. THE TIRES WERE NOT ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 10,000 AND THE VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000.
THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 MERCURY MOUNTAINEER EQUIPPED WITH COOPER DISCOVERER H/T TIRES, SIZE: P265/75R15. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, A LOUD BANGING NOISE CAME FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. AFTER STOPPING TO INSPECT THE VEHICLE, IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE REAR DRIVER SIDE TIRE HAD EXPERIENCED TREAD SEPARATION, WHICH ALSO CAUSED DAMAGE TO THE REAR BODY PANEL OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN AND TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WERE UNKNOWN. THE VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 180,000.
VEHICLE EXPERIENCED A RIGHT REAR BLOWOUT(TIRE SIZE P235/75R15/DOT # UNAVAILABLE) WHILE TRAVELING AT 45 MPH IN A 2000 MERCURY MOUNTAINEER, TIRE WAS THE ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT, NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED. REPLACEMENT WAS MADE AT DEALER, AND TIRE NOT AVAILABLE FOR ANALYSIS. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK FIRESTONE ATX P235/75/R15
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 Mountaineer →
FAQ
What's the best all-season tire for the Mercury Mountaineer?
Should I get a cheaper tire for my Mercury Mountaineer?
Does the Mercury Mountaineer need winter tires?
Can I run a different tire size on my Mercury Mountaineer?
Where can I buy these tires?
Last verified 2026-10-07.