1993 Mercury Topaz GS from North America - Comments

I am thinking of buying a 1988 Mercury Topaz, but I am not sure about it now. I have seen just as many positive remarks and I have seen negative. Can someone give me a non-partial review of this car? Just tell me the straight facts.

First of all, why don't all you folks actually write a review instead of using this guys review??? Second, dude ya bought a USED car with 99k, especially American. You should have know better, buy Japanese over 99K not US (Don't be too quick to get on me, I have a 98 COBRA in the garage right now, along with my Escape. Sorry to hear about the problems, but you should have taken the car to your mechanic.

I own a '92 Mercury Topaz that I purchased new. It now has 180,000mi on it and is still running like a champ. It still has great gas mileage and while it is no corvette, it does get on the expressway with no trouble what-so-ever. I love this car, and it is one of the best cars I have ever owned.

Except for when my wife was hit by a drunk driver (and the car was a month old!), it has never been in the shop for anything except routine maintenance. I only had to replace items you would expect. i.e.: exhaust, tires, brakes, etc..

I also find the car very comfortable to drive. I do have to admit though that I have yet to get use to the automatic seat belts!

I agree with the guy. My mom's 1993 Topaz is a piece of crap. To make it worse I'm a girl with a lead foot and its hard on my mom because I do have a lead foot. I can't help it. Anyways, first it stalls when its real hot out. I'm still trying to figure that out. Some said it was the coil burned out or something. Anyways, I hope we get rid of it soon. Should I stop being a lead foot on this car? Would that help get rid of the stalling? When my mom drives, its fine... though she does drive like an old lady.

I have an 1993 Mercury Topaz LS 2.3L, 4 cylinder, 4dr, Auto, Power locks, cruise, and A/C with 185000 Kms on it and have had some issues with it. I have had my car for 8 years and bought it from the Ford dealer with 40000kms on it for $7500.

Overall, the car is pretty reliable for its age. If you are pretty gentle on the gas, as this is not a race car (no hard acceleration) the engine is responsive and will last. General maintainence (ie. Changing Spark Plugs, regular oil changes, air filter, PVC, air breather, fuel filter, coolant/antifreeze) is pretty simple even for someone with limited knowledge of car repairs. Auto transmission is very reliable, not much up/down shifting if light on the gas, very responsive when needed (passing cars on Highway). Make sure you change the transmission fluid and pan gasket (75000kms, 150000kms, etc) when the fluid becomes dark red (you will thank me later).

Care should be taken regarding gas mileage. City mileage is fair (full tank of gas=approx.350kms) Highway mileage (with cruise on with a full tank of gas=650 kms) the tank is fairly big approx 50 litres, so be prepared to spend some $ on gas to fill her up.

The issues I have with it is continuous repairs to the front-end suspension systems (CV boots, in/outer tie-rods, ball-joints, struts&springs, and an left axle replace once.) Do not replace these parts with used or after market parts as you will be sorry. I have since replaced all front end parts with new (from 100000kms to 140000 kms) with no problems to-date (touch wood!). My power locks on my passenger side front door and driver rear do not work anymore (occurried at 110000kms). Front and rear brakes and parts are pretty easy to install/service and last years.

Major repairs done to my car have been:

-I have had the harmonic balancer replaced (lower Crankshaft pulley). This job was done at the garage (they had to tilt the motor down to remove it). The cost was about $500. Happened around 100000kms.

-I have had the valve cover gasket blow. Oil all over the place. Cost at garage $150. Happened around 125000kms.

-I have had to replace the head gasket, shave the head and replace my rad. Motor did not blow, but I noticed the signs early (antifreeze in oil (smell), cloudy/white on oil dip-stick). Cost at garage $800. Happened at 165000kms.

My car now however, with 185000kms on it, is having oil blow-by problems. The Valve guides are getting worn. I refuse to put anymore $ into this car for any more major repairs. Just keep checking/adding oil and clean off the valve cover, and surround with a rag when needed.

My car is also rusting out from the floorboards, doors and around rear wheel base. (Have had the car rust checked 4 times over 8 years, but our cold climate needs salt on the roads.) In the cold winter (-20C to-30C), if the cars block-heater is plugged in, it will start no problem. If the car is sitting for hours in the cold it will turn over, but slowly. The cars electronic sensors work well, except for the check engine light comes on sometimes (it does not happen when it warms up).

Overall, for the amount of $ I bought the car for 8 years ago, I have got my $ out of it. Although, I wouldn't mind owning a NEW car now, if I could afford it.

Hi.

We have a 93 4cyl topaz. It has over 200 000km. The last 6 months have been crazy. Too many repairs and yet still have the same problem, stalling, it doesn't matter if we are going 100 km per hour or 50 km per hour. We have gone to our mechanic and had pfc valve I think it's called also put coolant sensor and module on or in the distributor. Still it does not run well. It does act up worse on hot days. If we could just fix this problem it wouldn't be so bad. I expect maintenance on an older car.

Any advice on what the problem is? I would appreciate it.

I drove a 93 Topaz for a few years while I was a poor college student and it was the biggest pile of junk which drove me nowhere, but into deeper debt. Before the car even had 75,000 miles on it it I had to replace the following...

Mass Airflow Sensor.

Crankshaft Pulley (labor intensive)

Automatic seatbelt mechanism (twice)

Engine mounts.

Transmission.

Coolant tank.

Ignition (to name a few)

The car was costing me so much monthly to keep it running that I was better off making payments on a newer car. I sold the car for very cheap because they obviously keep no resale value. The only positive comments I can make about the car is that it was comfortable to drive and pretty good on gas.

Think twice about buying one. There is a reason why you do not see many them out on the roads these days.

I bought my daughter a 1993 Topaz with 120,000 miles two years ago for $400. The car had 15,000 miles on a rebuilt motor, the lady had never checked the oil in the original engine! After I got the car home the rear main seal started leaking, the rebuild had been done with a bad crankshaft. Called a local junk yard and the owner said he had several low mileage 2.3 liter Tempo/Topaz engines because that engine is so reliable that he hardly ever sells one. Spent $230 for an engine with 45,000 miles, and the labor to have it installed. Has run well for two years, with only minor repairs. She goes off to college this Fall 50 miles from home, I think the Topaz will get her through 4 years with only minor repairs.

Has been a good, reliable, efficient car for us.

I just bought a 1993 merc topaz. Nice car clean good running. No rust which is unusual here in canada. Easy simple car to operate. A nice car. Did all the brakes for cheap.Plan to have it for years to come SOMEBODY TOOK CARE OF IT.. Replacing shocks and brakes and tires does not mean car is junk. Maybe your mechanic is not that good. Also above guy who replaced transmission 3 times in 36000 kms. Doubt if they were new ones Somebody ripped you off.

Hi! This will help everybody here I think. I'm working as an engineer for FORD since 1991. I want to make this clear in order to comply with the disclaimer of this website. My comments and add-on do not reflect what Ford's people think and are only my personal opinions and comments.

The stalling problem you have is very simple to get rid of. First, go to your local Ford Dealer or Ford Performance Shop and ask them for a "Octane 120 gas add-in". It's a small Octane booster bottle that raise the octane level of your gasoline. You will pay around 3$US for it. You pour it in your tank when refueling every 500 miles until you get rid of your stalling problem. It should take around 800 to 1000 miles to completely recover. However, you will definitely feel the difference after a couple of drives (around 100 miles). The explanation I can give you about this little trick is that the V6 Vulcan Engine has been designed first for Supreme or Gold gasoline, but then marked otherwise to comply with Industry Canada and the American Safety and Highway Administration since it was able to work with normal gas anyway. But it was not tested to see if it could still perform with low octane gas after a long long time. So just boost your gas and you will get the performance you had before.

Also, if you want to keep this car for a long time, do not forget to refuel it when the mark on the fuel gauge come to 1/2. Never go under that because you will damage the fuel pump. The way it has been designed, it use gas to cool itself. If it takes too much air and not enough gas, it wears a lot faster.

About the rears struts. Yes they are extremely rigid and you will hear each an every bump. But you don't feel it, right? If you want more comfy shocks, then take a look at Gabriel's gas shocks. They are a bit less hard and you can't hear them.

About oil changes, do them each and every 3000 miles. It is not a joke when a manufacturer tells you to change a fluid! Change each and every fluid in your car the way it is prescribe with the -500 to 1000 rule of thumb. If you have to change something every 12 000 miles then do it every 11000 miles so you are sure that even if you pushed the car a bit more than usual, you are not going to get bad surprises.

One comment about people with lead foot. Even with the V6 Vulcan, that car IS NOT INTENDED for racing purposes. You push it too hard, you shorten his life. That's it. Any racing car engine never do more than a couple of races if not well maintained and checked by professionals. Even FORMULA 1 engines and RALLY engines and checked often and changed or rebuilt often. Just think about a pushed-too-hard Honda Civic. It drinks oil more than my grandpa drinks beer (and he drinks 24 beers a day!).

So, if you want a reliable car and IF the previous owner took a great care of it, then this is a car for you. I currently own a Mercury Topaz 1992 GS V6 Manual 5 speed (Mark IV tranny) with 226 000 km on it and still runs super duper clean. No rust anywhere, a lot of grease everywhere (Hey, I live in Canada, we have rough winters!), a complete inspection by myself every week or so, oil changes every 4000 kilometers with synthetic oil, other fluid changes as prescribed by Ford (because when it becomes necessary, it is already too late :P). I also have a Dodge Viper and let me tell you that if you are just like me and take care of your Topaz (or Tempo) like you would take care of a Viper, then your Topaz will last you years and years of reliable services.

After all, putting 1000$CAN every year in a car care cost less than buying a brand new one for 30 000$! I own my Topaz since 1991, so It's been 15 reliable years. I bought it for 11 000$CAN cash in 1991. In the past 15 years, I spent about 400$CAN a year (some years more, some years less, some years next-to-nothing) for a total of 6000$CAN. 6000$CAN to own and operate a car for 15 years is really cheap compared to what it cost me to take care of my Viper each year (at 650$ a tire, you can't afford to burn 'em on purpose!).

So, to all Topaz and Tempo owners, I wish you a nice experience with you cars. Never forget that care is the key of success with a car!

Gerry Sherman, Mechanics Engineer

Hi.

I am a Topaz lover. I have a 1992 Mercury Topaz with a 2.3 engine. I just had it all bored out and port polished, and just added a 1 stage turbo pumping about 7 lbs boost.

I have a single gallon NOS tank, and reinforced front end springs.

I have 5 4 10 inch completion and 1 15 subs, plus 4 tweakers.

I have the car all midnight black with 17 inch white custom rims. It's sitting about 1-2 inches off the ground, and has a custom dual exhaust with blue underground lights.

Now I agree with the one guy that he's right, don't buy any American car that's has 140,000 miles on it, go foreign. I also have a 1995 Mazda RX-7, but the trans is bad; it's got the 13 b rotary block.

I own a 1991 2.3 topaz with 420.000 km on it and beside replacing brakes every couple of years I have no problem at all with it and still got alot of power. Keep in mind that is a topaz not a lamborghini so don't complain too much...

I own a '93 Topaz GS 4 door, 2.3 liter, 5-speed manual transmission. -Just turned 365,000km, the car still looks 'almost' show-room condition. The key was having the car Rust-Checked every other year... The air conditioning still works great, only replaced the exhaust once (with Ford single piece unit) -the clamp nuts were actually removeable - a testament to the advantage of rust proofing, still running the original clutch, just replaced original battery before winter, perform all work myself, 150,000kms on original set of Michelin tires so I keep putting Michelins back on the aluminum rims, only second set of brakes in it, original rear drums.

The car stalled once due to extreme heat, and was the cause of the TFI module overheating (mounted on the distributor). Bought a replacement for $25.00 at the wreckers, and used my dead TFI to make a wiring harness to move the new TFI out from behind the hot radiator, and closer to the air box. This won't fail again. The 3.0 litre V6 engine TFI / distributor is mounted near the top of the engine and does not get as hot.

An excellent car for the $11,500.00 I paid for it. I know all of the weaknesses, which are few really, to keep this car going for a long time.

I own a 92 Topaz 4 cyl. Have had it since 92, and it has been through 3 teenage drivers.

It has been a very reliable car. The only maintenance required outside of oil changes, brakes and tires has been a couple of bad starters, a few mufflers, and now a radiator since it was left sitting idle too long without maintenance.

I am in the Navy, so I deploy at times, which is not good for the car, but it still runs like a champ and I will probably never get rid of her.

My Topaz now has over 200000 miles, and is still used as a daily driver.

I need to fix some of the door locks and windows, which were not a defect, but misuse by a lot of teens playing around for many miles.

This car has not been garage kept, so the paint is a little rough, but she is now going to be my little project car, since I have a new daily driver.

I have owned 6 of these cars over the last 17 years. Only replaced normal wear items. They have survived teenaged drivers and a few wrecks. And as long as I can still find them, I will still buy them. Perfect car for in town driving.