Comments: 1-15, 16-22
Lets see what hasn't gone wrong with this heap of junk?
First- we bought it used, but it was still under the manufactures warranty, but we had to take it to the shop three times in the first week that we owned it. The back middle seatbelt cover came off when our daughter was putting on her seat belt it was replaced and it broke again two days later. Then that very same week (after going in twice over the seat belt) the driver door lock wouldn't unlock. That was also fixed by dealer.
After another month we noticed a wobble to the ride we took it in and the dealer said that the steel belt had pulled apart on the inside of the back tires. Bad tires we thought, (WRONG) after four more months the next set of tires did the same thing. Took it into the dealer they said maybe the place we were getting our tires might have a bad lot (never had trouble out of them before) to make a long story about the tires short we have put 6 sets of tires on the back in the the 5 years we have had the car. Dealership never could tell us why the tires were wearing out on the inside of the rear tires.
Next the car has been in the shop more for recalls then any car I have ever owned.
First the heater blower went out we paid to have it fixed and then the next year it went out again, but hey, by then they had a recall on it so that paid for it THAT time. It quit again in three weeks and we were told that the dealer did it wrong the first time and the second time, but this time it was right. (Wrong!!) it does still work, but only on high.
The wires melted to the plastic harness no fire, just a horrible smell for the next year. Dealer did fix it under the recall.
Alternator went out twice (that was blamed on the poor electric system of Ford. The dealership (HA HA yea right) (might I add this was a Ford dealer) said that it was causing such a flux with the electric system that it was straining the alternator. Bought a new one and new battery.
The seat belts in the back broke three more times (finally we just left the covers off)
The car was pulling to the left took it in and was told we needed new tierod. we paid to have it fixed and guess what now pulls to the right.
A/C has gone out twice. Now it blows luke warm air out of the only speed we have "high".
Husband was moving his head rest so that it wasn't leaning in and it broke.
Last winter we had the heater on and black smoke came blowing out with this burnt smell. We turned the heater off and froze the rest of the way home only to take it to the dealership and the darn thing didn't do it for "them"
This past year the Check Engine light has come on and off we kept taking it to the dealership at $90 a trip to have it hooked up to the computer. They would reset it and it would run fine for a month and then come on again after a while and $270 we just left the darn thing on.
The car just kept running worse and we just kept pouring in money to fix it. We could own a BMW if we just would have saved our money that we have spent on repairs to this car.
Our local Auto Zone started calling it the Mercury Mistake since we were in there so much buying parts.
The problem that sealed the deal of us getting rid of this horrible car was the fact that my children and I were almost killed when on one morning the car just stopped running every few feet. It was the middle of rush hour and I was trying to take my oldest daughter to school the car started up fine and then when we got around the corner it stalled (no biggie it had done this before) I rolled to the curb and started it again and then when the coast was clear I started to pull off got to the middle of the lane again started to drive and boom it stalled again. I had people behind me and hitting their brakes and honking not to mention yelling a few choice words at me and my children as my car coasted to the curb again. I started it again and off we went and at the next stop light (less than 20 yards away, I had to make a left turn I was the third car. When it was my turn I got to the middle of the intersection and boom it stalled again. Cars were whizzing past us and by then my kids were in tears afraid that we were going to get hit. I tried to stay calm and got it started again and got a little farther since we were on a hill, but then just as I was about to turn right on a street it stalled again. By then I was in tears. I had to call someone to come and get us since I wasn't going to try it anymore. I pushed it to a parking lot not far off and there I left it. After work my husband went and got it started it stalled a little on him, but he found a way to keep it going by keeping one foot on the brake and one on the gas pedal. How safe it this? We took it to the dealer and they said that it would be $2,000 to fix since there was something wrong with the catalytic converter and the fuel pump was messed up plus the fuel lines were clogged.
I was scared to drive it and my kids were scared to get in it anymore this was the WORST car we could have ever bought and now we see why Mercury stopped making them.
So lets recap, in the 5 years that we have had this car we have had,
Broken seat belts, melted wires, bad tie rod, went through 6 sets of back tires, heater/AC blower has gone out three times and now only blows on high, engine light won't stay off, had to have the alternator fixed and then had to buy a new one, driver door lock broke and fuel pump, fuel lines and converter all needs to be replaced. Oh yea and don't forget all the money we poured into it just to keep it running too.
All in all the only good things that I can say about this car is that it is pretty to look at and I am so happy we just got rid of it!
Sounds like you guys need to find a mechanic you can trust, who replaces only one tie rod end? If you have problems with tires wearing out why not have the rear axle aligned? You mention the car had stalled previously, but you made no attempt to correct the problem until it failed taking the kids to school?
I'm sorry you had such a bad experience with this car, but honestly I think any car you would have purchased would have led to a similar scenario unless absolutely nothing ever failed on the car... not very likely.
Find an honest/competent mechanic or you risk repeating this scenario over and over again.
BTW I own a 98 Mystique, a 94 Taurus SHO and a 91 VW Jetta. All of these cars have their own problems, but I do the repairs myself, if you think your Merc is expensive to own buy an SHO. Now that is a money pit!
I also owned a 98 Mystique and funny how a lot of the problems that this lady had with her's I also had with mine. The reader who left the the comment about her needing to find a "Find an honest/competent mechanic" if you read her review it said that she was taking it to a FORD Dealer. I also had to replace my back tires for inside wear and there was nothing wrong with my rear axel. I had the same problem with the rear seat belt covers and my driver side head rest also broke. These little things make me lean more towards the fact that it was a car defect not a mechanic's honesty problem. I did get rid of my Mystique for another Ford car and I am very happy with my Thunderbird. My father, brother and husband all work for Ford dealerships and they will be the first to admit that the Mercury Mystique / Ford Conture were two of the biggest mistakes that Ford ever rolled off the assembly line. My father did most of the repairs on my Mystique and one day he told me that I might just want to get another car since these cars were full of bugs that might never get totally resolved. It is just strange how all these cars seem to have the same problems even with different mechanics working on them. Oh yea, and did I forget to mention there is always a reason why Ford stops making certain models. They know when they have made a lemon and I hate to admit it, but the Conture/Mystique was a big time lemon. I will never buy another and I will tell anyone that I know who is thinking about it to really do some research and see that these cars have one of the longest recall list in the history of any Ford/Mercury car and not to mention that after a while their dependability isn't what it should be.
Well I sure can relate to these comments. I have a 98 Mercury Mystique LS that has had all of those problems. Electrical nightmares, window switch, alternator, battery, alignment, tie rod, transmission leak, OS sensors constantly on, poor gas mileage, heat blower and now I'm currently dealing with a mystery electrical problem. I have poured so much money and time into this car. All my problems started a month after my warranty expired. I've contacted Ford many times and they just want to hear my concerns for their research... they didn't want to do anything about it any of my problems.
Ironically I purchased it new because Consumer Reports said it was a pretty good car. Shame on Ford for not dealing with their mistake. I will never buy a Ford again. My last car was Geo Storm and I had it for 8 years and very few problems. I take very good care of my cars, too bad Ford doesn't keep their end of the deal. This is a true lemon.
OK. I see your problems I own a 97 mystique I never had those problems, the fuel pump went probably because you didn't fill the car up with gas until it was almost empty, not good on the fuel pump, the person with the poor gas mileage replace the air filter and with the clogged fuel lines use fuel injector cleaner and you all probably rotated the tires wrong (or who ever did it did it wrong) the front tires when they go to the back you put the right front on the left rear and the left front on the right rear and the back tires straight up. just sounds like you people don't know how to take care of your cars.
This is to the 4th person who left their comments on this entry. First let me tell you congratulations on having the ONLY one these cars that has NEVER had a problem. I wrote the 2nd reply on this entry and like I stated in my reply, my family works for Ford and I still had problems with my car. Also how can you say that these people don't know how to take care of a car if Ford is the one making the recalls on a lot of these problems? I have to say that you are lucky if you have never had to take your car in to be repaired for ANYTHING. However you might want to take it in for the recalls since there is a time limit on some of them and you just might find that at the moment that you least expect it you might have one of these problems and get stuck footing the bill. Also, I never let my car get down below half a tank on any car I own and I still had fuel pump problems with this car. So hmmmmm that means your statement couldn't be true. I still stand by my comment from before "Stay away from any Ford Conture or Mercury Mystique" they were just one of Fords little boo boos. Hey, at least they stopped selling them once they saw there was a problem. I am still a true blue Ford buyer just not of these cars. And I wish you luck in the future with this all time lemon and trust me you WILL need it.
I had a 99 Ford Contour with very few problems. All 4 tires went flat all the time. Even after replacing the tires. the only thing I could figure on that was a bad cast when the wheels were made. So after the 2nd set of tires I just filled em up with fix a flat. No more problem. The second set of tires (first set I purchased for the car) were cheap tires. All 4. No excuses there. You pay 29 bucks for a tire that is what you get. 29 dollars worth of a tire. But the third set were Viper touring comp's. I didn't want to ruin those tires and the grand I just spent on em so after each one would go low I just filled it up with fix a flat. Worked great until I sold the car. The only other problem I had with the car was road noise. And squeaky on bumpy roads.
I also own a 98 Mystique. After 150 thousand miles I decided to change the timing belt both tie rod ends (you never only change one) fuel filter, air breather, injectors, O2 sensors, and the oil. Oil was rarely changed. That is the only maintenance really done to this car. I mean the oil was changed before 150 thousand miles, but only on rare occasion (around every 6 or 8 thousand miles) The car still runs great has amazing power for a 4 cyl. Clutch grabs fine still. My seat belts are all still intact. Everything is great. I guess maybe it is because I don't have a couple hyper children destroying things when I am not looking. I don't know. Or maybe that little green guy that goes around brainwashing people to take there car to a mechanic that got certified in the pen didn't find me. Like I said I am not sure. But the curiously clever pink elephant never snuck in my garage and destroyed my car in one night. Maybe I just got lucky who knows. I do however have one complaint about the mystique. When I first turn my ac on (high medium or low!) It smell like rain water. I am sure there is a air filter for it some place, but I will wait for the fuel pump to go out so that when I take it to Ford they can tell me to change the air filter. Because that will fix all my problems.
Come on people! Know your mechanic! would you let any old doctor perform surgery on your first born child? NO! Here is hint. If there is more than one (2 tires, 2 ball joints etc..) change all of them at once! You can't really repair an alternator. Just replace it. Chances are the "repair" cost more than the actual alternator.
Just so you can't say I am some idiot who doesn't know what he is talking about I will let you know that I have built professional drag cars that won for many years. Raced circle track in off season and now am a professor at UTI. The #1 auto school in the country. So there for obviously I am not the mechanically challenged. For that you will need to look elsewhere.
Re the above comment, one would think that someone who is a "professor" at "UTI" would be able to figure out that the "rain water" smell coming from the a/c on his car is caused by mold growing on the condenser fins, due to a moisture buildup likely from a clogged condensate drain, a very common problem.
Nothing to do with an air filter, assuming that car even has a cabin air filter.
Well, I too own one of these puppies, a 97 Conture.
So far, the only complaint in 105kmis is an intermittent A.C... maybe I had to swap out a fuel pump, but that's no big thing, my now deceased Tempo ate four of them in its 169kmis of service to my family.
The A.C. will chill the cabin quite nicely, but then the compressor clutch will just disengage, for no apparent reason. I've checked the system pressure and added a small amount of R134, bought the gage and can at Wal-Mart, but that fixed nothing.
It appears that the computer is trying to do its job, the engine is at the higher idle, the fan is running, but the clutch pulley just spins. Let the car cool and it'll start working properly... again. (Is it common to have a clutch coil go open?) I checked one of the pressure switches on the plumbing which appears to be wired in series with the clutch or its control, but the Chilton's and the Haynes manuals are totally silent on A.C. and their wiring diagrams are at best something which might be used as a general teaching aid at a high school training shop... no, those are probably light-years better.
Trying to do any kind of troubleshooting at the time of failure is usually impossible... got the good clothes on, late for the appointment, etc. I'm to the point of putting a little indicator lamp across each switch and the clutch coil and looking for which ones are lighted, but I'd still need a decent schematic and theory of operations to know what to expect.
BTW, the blower switch and the fan resistor were replaced under recall.
So, any suggestions of known failure points and the location of the evaporator drain would be appreciated. BTW, I know better than to just unscrew a pressure sensor without having a shop bleed down the system.
Thanks for any help... Stan, stanbarb@warwick.net
Well I have to laugh, it seems there are good mechanics, bad mechanics, ones that listen and don't listen, people that should and should not be driving cars because according to Garp they don't know how to maintain cars. I truly feel for the Mistake owners who have experienced these problems. I can't say it's because of lack of concern or car care. I also bought a Mistake 1997 to get me through a time when my Jeep Cherokee went down. Needless to say I have experienced very similar problems. Electrical, the driver side window switch seems to work best and most reliable when it's warm and dry. I found the cure for that besides replacing the switch if you jam a pen inside by the wires it will keep the connection close. That's just my view you might not want to try it who knows it may start a fire. I also replaced the tires all the way around. Replaced only one tie rod, replaced all four wheel bearings only to replace the driver side front bearing about three weeks after having them replaced. I drove my car home one day and the next it wouldn't start. That cost me 1700.00 dollars. And after I got it back it wouldn't idle, actually never has idled properly since then. Good thing I only paid 2500.00 for it so far in the 2 years I have had it, it has made me pay it all back in mechanics bills and parts. I think Ford should take a more firm stance on marketing such a product. There are ladies who depend on this vehicle to transport children and people that aren't as fortunate to own BMW's or finer vehicles. I have to say out of all the cars I have owned this one is the absolute worst. Sorry car jocks, don't take your knowledge out on people that have had negative experiences from this vehicle. I believe I found a mechanic that I can trust. I was told they are bad on bearings and O2 sensors. A bad car is just that a bad car. I too have family who work for Ford. I don't blame them they just make the cars it doesn't make them experts either. I am sorry I bought this car. The saga continues. PS if you see me stuck in the middle of the road understand its just a mistake don't flip me off!! Help.
I am sorry for all of your mishaps with the Mystique. I have a 97 and have had very few problems with it. Of course the blower motor going out. The only other major problems were a sensor in the trany and front wheel bearings. All in all about 350 for bearings and 150 for sensor. And this is after 195,000 miles with very little upkeep. Changing oil every 8-9k. I must just be a lucky one, but I have loved this car. My wife drives the he-- out of it too.
I have to agree with finding a good mechanic though. When the trany switch went out I had three mechanics look at it and tell me the O2 sensors were out. After replacing them the same thing. Finally found a reliable mechanic (go to church with him and didn't even realize he was a mechanic) and told me to take it to a transmission shop. One day and $150 later problem fixed.
I have owned a mustang, grand am, prizm, tempo, camaro, villager, and beetle. Of all these cars the Mystique has been the best. I hope that all of you will have better luck with yours.
Again sorry for the runs of bad luck. All cars will produce a lemon.
I have a 1999 Mystic and the only problem I have is that the parking lites will not go out. Anyone one have this happen. Hubby has checked the switch and its not that, fuses are all good. Any wone know where the lite sensor is? We bought a book, but can't locate that item on the schematics in the book. Any help would be appriciated. Thanks.
Why couldn't I have come across this site before I bought my 1997 mystique??? I am a student who thought I had found a deal. WRONG!!! I should have did more research and asked the question... why did they stop making these cars... but I didn't. I saw the sticker price and drove it around a little, saw that it had low miles and though WOW what a lucky day this is. There was nothing wrong from the outside paint perfect inside looked brand new (was told it was a one owner, garage kept car) ha ha now I know it was indeed a garage kept car... a mechanical garage...
I have owned the car for a year now and I have had pretty much all of the same problems that the person who wrote this listed and that is scary. I don't have any kids, but I do haul some important school projects that I like to strap in and my seat belt covers popped off on me too. I was able to fix them with out any help however I noticed that the little plastic tips looked worn and didn't grip like they should. I just wrapped some clear tape around them and figured no one will be using them so it should be safe.
I bought the car in the winter so I didn't need the A/C, but I checked it when I test drove it and it seemed to blow with a good amount of force, but then again it was like 25 degrees outside so no stress on the condenser. However this past summer I found that I also had that moldy smell coming from the A/c I didn't want to breath that so I called a guy that is certified and I KNOW that I can trust him. He checked it out for me and said that it was indeed mold and that the only way to fix it was to replace the lines (that is where most of the mold was growing) I did and that took care of the problem for a while, but not long after that the condenser went out and I thought why bother.
I have had the very same problem with the tires. I read one dudes statement that the person who wrote this should have rotated the tires back to front etc... Well... if their tires looked like mine they couldn't do that. I did take the front and move them to the back only to have them wear out in the inside too and I had the car looked at and I was told that it was a problem with the frame. I told them that I thought it was illegal to sell cars that have been wrecked and have a bent frame. The guy looked it over and said that he didn't see any sign that the care had been fixed or that anything had been replaced he even did a paint chip test and said that it is the only layer on there so it had to be factory done. Unless they went to all the trouble to sand, strip and pay the higher cost for the real factory paint (he said that these cars just weren't worth that much time trouble and money so he doubted it had ever been wrecked) he also stated that it would have cost them more than the car was worth to do all of that so it must just have been a bad frame that slipped through inspection. I am reading this today wondering what was up with those Ford frame inspectors on these cars were they little blind one eyes robots that had a few screws to loose or was the a known problem that was swept under the rug.
I also had a melted wire harness problem and come to find out Ford only had to honor that recall once so since the original owner had already had it paid for and fixed by Ford they didn't have to foot the bill again even though it was the same problem and it was the same part that needed to be fixed (There really should be a law about that being wrong)
I had another problem that I haven't seen anyone complain about on here, but my dash started to curl up toward the win-shield and it caused a problem for my defrost working on the front window.
I have also had the stalling problem that the person who wrote this an I never let the gas hand get below half a tank (a rule my father taught me when I learned how to drive and it has just stuck with me) I took it to the guy I know and he said that it looked like the fuel lines were clogged he never to use fuel cleaners since they can mess with the O2 sensors and he told me it would be better just to eat the cost and have the lines replaced. I bought the parts he did it for free. That worked for a while, but then it started to do it again. I replaced the O2 sensors and that helped a little, but if I had to take off faster then a crawl (crossing a busy intersection with no light etc...) it would stall every time. I took it to a Ford dealership and the guy hooked it up to the computer. He said that it didn't read anything was wrong, but he took it around the block and came back and said it might be something with the gas pedal. I had my guy check it out and he sad he thought that Ford guy was talking crazy he would have understood if it was running fast or gunning when I stepped on it, but with it being an automatic the car should never stall when the brake OR gas was pushed.
Funny thing is that the person who wrote this said something about the husband using the gas and brake THAT really does work. I haven't been able to get this fixed since no one seems to be able to tell me what the problem is, but I did notice that in the winter it doesn't seem to have this problem it is just in the summer months go figure that one.
I just had an electrical nightmare this past week and I had to take it two the local Ford dealership since most of the places I called told me it would be best to just go there since it is a Ford. Well, I should have know it was going to be bad when the dude there laughed and said you know they quit making these cars don't you. I said no I never really looked into it and he told me yep they sure did. He told me that when he was training for one of his certified things with Ford there was a on running joke with all the mechanics and the words conture and mystique were tabu.
He told me that he would give me a word of advice. Get rid of the car now before all the stuff starts going wrong again and next time I buy a car I need to do a little more research and if I see that they don't have a model of the car I am thinking of buying on the assembly line for that current year then stay away very very far away from that model of car.
I am heading over to my local dealership to see if I can do a trade and get another car. The place I bought this one from didn't seem to want to do business with me anymore. I guess they didn't want the car back. I love Fords and I am pretty sure that I will buy another one. Ford rocks they just didn't do a very good job on this car.
Mercury Mystique Mistake.
Ditto, Ditto, Ditto. It so amazes me that everything I have read has happened to us. Right now, we are trying to deal with the idling issue. This is the first that I have heard of the trany switch, so we will try that now. I do know that the mechanic we took it to was just as baffled by this car as we were. And this particular mechanic has always worked on all of our vehicles. But of course, the Mystique has been in the shop more than all of the vehicles combined.
This web site has been a big help, and thanks to everyone for their submissions.
Rossville, TN.
I think you forgot the 96'' conture. it is the same story folks, just got it,''cheap'' now I know why! idle problem is the same, seatbelt covers missing, ac issues (temp. control still allows heat to come out, on cold setting, dome light shorted out, clock light went out, airbag light flashs, ABS light comes on at 55 and above (thank goodness for black tape!) oil leaks, I've had it 6 days. that's what I've found so far, it's early. this is a lemon folks! ford dealers won't tell you this. as far as the idle, mass air sensor controls idle mixture by air temp.ect... that's a good spot to start...O2 sensors contribute, fuel filter, I'm thinking turn up the idle a touch, since the leftfoot brake,, rightfoot throttle works good (this is what I do, takes coordination though. also replaced alternator day3. the tire ware on the rear has not apeared yet, but think about it,, if they ware on the inside, that means they lean in a bit. put a 2' level on the face of the wheel straight up & down, is it level? now find out why if they do. a line-up guy can check rear alighnment,.A good one though. it can be corrected. fan speed selector is common, toyota trucks had that problem in the early 80's, took 15 minutes to replace the part, went out because lint and debry sucked thru the ducts got caught on the different size wires, the low speed was the thinest, burnt in half, next med. leaving high. I would guess this may apply here too. my strut on the left front is broken, not weak, that's a first in my 25 years of driving. but in all I think they did stop the production for good reasons. but the one that posted get a trusted mechanic left out''knowledgeable'' the problems everyone described, except the wiring, can be fixed by a smart mechanic. stay away from ford dealers!!! they aren't on your side!
And any monkey can work at a dealership! sorry boys, if you were good enough, you'd be making that 40 to 50 dollars an hour yourself, not giving them over half the ""TAKE""LOL! A.S.E means A SAD EGGHEAD.
I own a 1997 Mercury Mystique and it has 124K on it. Over all it has been a great car. I have had to take car of normal maintenance, but have been very impressed with this car. It has been in several accidents (one while I have owned it) and it remains strong and solid. I have enjoyed this car so much that I have recommended it too many of my friends and family members. They too have had great things to say about their Mystique.