Aviator now shares no visible body panels with its Ford counterpart. Firestone tire controversy In May 2000, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contacted Ford and Firestone about the high incidence of tire failure on first generation Mercury Mountaineers, first and second generation Ford Explorers, and Mazda Navajo 3-doors fitted with Firestone tires. Ford investigated and found that several models of 15-inch (381 mm) Firestone tires (ATX, ATX II, and Wilderness AT) had very high failure rates, especially those made at Firestone's Decatur, Illinois plant. Awards Class Exclusive Roll Stability Control (RSC) System. Consumers Digest Best Buy for 2006 and 2007. Sales References External links Mercury Mountaineer homepage (2006) at archive.org Mountaineer Flexible-fuel vehicles Rear-wheel-drive vehicles All-wheel-drive vehicles Luxury sport utility vehicles Mid-size sport utility vehicles 2000s cars 2010s cars Cars introduced in 1996