1996 Mercury Mystique from North America - Comments

Complete transmission failure.

This is a relatively new car, which has not been driven particularly hard, at least by me.

I am greatly upset, that the transmission has gone out. Since it is so expensive, I'll probably get rid of the car. I am curious as to if this is a common occurance among Mystiques. It has been common in the past among other Ford/Mercury products.

I just took my Mercury Mystique to the dealer and had a transmission check and yes, I too need a new transmission. I have 156,000 miles on my car but the transmission had never acted correctly when I bought it at 24,000 miles but everyone assured me it was nothing. My gut feeling all along with my car was that something was astray with the transmission so even though I have all this mileage, the transmission has always been problematic and I always felt as if the car had no power.

I recently purchased a 96 Mystique GS. I really like the look and feel of the car, but have had nothing but problems.

The car has 67,000 miles and I have had to replace the mass air flow sensor, head gasket (because the upper radiator hose blew out), headlight wiring (recall), and now the transmission is slipping.

The overdrive off light is flashing and the check engine light is on. I was leary about buying another FORD product after having major transmission problem on a 93 Mustang, but I thought maybe I had a lemon, but now I know that these cars could have been engineered a little better.

I purchased my 1996 Mystique brand new. I've had nothing but problems. It was in the shop several times while under warranty. I've spent thousands since the warranty expired. Now, at 95,000 miles my transmission is gone. I've have sensors changes several times, heads replaced and the transmission solenoid. What can be done? I purchased the car in good faith. They discontinued the car in 1999. They know that these are problem cars. Why don't they do something.

Purchased our 96 Mystique GS with just over 80K miles and have had nothing but problems. First it was the cooling system. Overheating all the time. Radiator flush & new thermostat didn't correct the problem, need to have it looked at again. Tranny is slow to change gears. At 100K miles the wheel bearings went. Now, with 120K, the CV joints, link pins, and front struts need replacement. Interior fan for heat/air went out at 95K miles. The driver side door light (handle) doesn't always work. The interior light never came on when you open the driver side door. Sure, 125K may seem like an awful lot of miles, but not when your commute is 100 miles round trip 6 days a week, and up to 200 miles on day 7! All highway! Don't know if the car is worth fixing. If we sell, we won't be buying another Ford/Mercury again.

Bought my Mystique LS brand new in 1995. V6, auto. Great power, traction control is great in the slippery stuff. ABS stops the car quickly and with control.

The 10-way power seats are great, love the remote entry, fog-lights are great in the snow, sunroof dosen't like to work sometimes, but when your son is so facinated with the OPEN/CLOSE button, that's understandable.

Only problems I've had are BAD, BAD, BAD tires... Only 62,000 miles and on my 3rd set. Also, my son proved that a PB&J sandwich fits in the cassette player, so not even the CD player worked for 2 weeks until I got that fixed.

Other than that just normal maintenance.

Our 1996 Mystique has been a great car until recently. At approximately 160,000 km the car started running hotter, almost overheating. We took it to the dealer and they indicated it was the engine heat riser valve, we had that replaced... problem was not resolved...

Next they told us it was the transmission... we had this replaced... problem unresolved, next they changed the thermostat... no resolution... the temperature heads thru the roof with stop and go driving and/or air conditioning on...

The repair bill has reached almost $3000 and nothing has changed! It was a great car but obviously the answer to the car problems seems to have baffled the experts!!

My frost plug blew at 53,000km and had a new? engine installed. Lately I've had nothing but problems. My "check engine" light goes on every couple of months. It cost $90 to get it up on the scope. I've had my oxygen sensor, air flow senor and fuel regulator sensor all replaced. I will never buy a Ford product again.

Back in ‘96 I bought a Mercury Mystique new with only 27 miles on it. I have had great luck with the vehicle up until it rolled over 53,000 miles. Suddenly it started stalling on me for no apparent reason. I have taken it to the Mercury Dealership I purchased it from and they could not find anything wrong with it. So I then took it to a Ford Dealership were I purchased a 2000 Windstar to see if they could figure out what the problem is. This dealership has gone well beyond what has been expected of them. I am not upset with the dealership, I am upset with Ford for not stepping up to the plate and announcing that they have an inferior vehicle on the road and that the owners of these cars need to be compensated some how.

It has been five times I have had to take the car in for the same problem. The dealership seems to be baffled as of the reason why the car keeps stalling. They have replaced the Crank Shaft Sensor twice, the Main Computer System, a Timing Sensor, the Wiring Harness, the Fuel Pump, the Fuel Pump DPSE Sensor, and last something to do with the coolant system. I drove the car for 163 miles and thought they had repaired the problem only to now find it is now beginning to over heat.

I’m so frustrated I just want out from under this nightmare!

I took my 1998 Mercury Mystique in for the 60,000 mile scheduled maintenance check today; I'm at 60,027 miles! $400 for the maintenance and diagnostic check because the "check engine" light illuminated a few days ago. Turns out I need a new transmission…$500 to take the transmission out and possibly $2000+ depending on the severity of the transmission problem. I feel sick to my stomach. I bought the car new and with the exception of several recalls have not had any major problems - this is a major one that will set me back a couple thousand dollars. Ugh. I'm glad I found this web site because at least I know I'm not the only one with this expensive problem.

I am currently having similar overheating and transmission problems. I have taken it to the Ford dealership for repairs and it has yet to stop overheating. My transmission recently packed up and would require a replacement, with an estimated cost of $3600. I cannot believe this car is costing so much to maintain. With about 180,000 on the car due to my work related commute, I have concluded that it is no longer worth paying so much to repair with no assurance of a solution to the problem.

I own a 1996 Mystique. I bought it new with 32 miles on it. It now has 103,000. I am having problems with stalling, but there is an added twist. I cannot get it to drive after it stalls for an hour or two sometimes.

It used to only happen when I ran the AC. In those instances, I will be driving down the road and the RPM gauge will start acting crazy, racing the engine, and the transmission will stop switching gears. The car stalls and I am stuck wherever I am until the car decides it wants to run normally again. The engine will start right up, but the RPM's race and the car continues to stall.

I took it to a dealership. They ran a diagnostics and found nothing wrong. They flushed and changed all my fluids and changed spark plugs and ignition wires, theorizing that perhaps the AC load on a poorly tuned car was causing the problem.

Two days after getting the car returned to me, I drove 11 miles to a store and went in for about 20 minutes. I came out, started the car and at the first stop sign, it stalled. It started right back up, but the RPM's were going up and down slightly on their own. I continued on and pulled out into traffic. I had to step on it a little to catch up my speed to traffic coming up behind me. The RPM's raced up, the transmission would not switch gears and the car proceeded to stall. I was stuck for two hours before it would run again. It would start right up, but stall right away. I was not running the AC this time, and the gauges all read normal.

If anybody else has had a problem like this, I would sure like to know if there is a cure. I am at my wit's end.

I also own a 1996 Mercury Mystique. I was very glad to see all of the other comments, because I thought I had just bought a bad car. My car is in the shop right now because my Air Condition Clutch fell apart. My check engine light has been on consistently for about 5 months, and my Overdrive On/Off light has been flashing as well. I can't seem to find any shop that can fix these problems.

I am also having a problem with my car running very hot, almost overheating. If I go through a drive-thru or come to a stop sign, it stalls. My trunk leaks and my turn signal relay fuse keeps "clicking" even though I have replaced it.

I am just about at the end of my rope. I think the worst thing is that I just can't seem to find anyone that knows how to fix any of my problems.

Thanks for letting me vent!

1999 mystique, it stalls when its hot and even in the morn-ing once in awhile. Can't find the problem, so I am selling

this car before we put anymore money in it. Took a trip

to Omaha and wouldn't start in the morning at the motel.

It sat and putted for 5 min. then dead. Called the dealer

ship, they picked it up and when it got to that place, it

was let off the hook and started right up. We drove it home

to Wichita, ks. Stalled again on a warm short drive.

Has a goose loose in it to be frank. Won't buy a ford/merc.

Again.

I have had my 96 Mystique since day one, I have 85,000kms on it or just over 50,000 miles, I am starting to hear strange noises coming from my V-6 Duratec, in calling for assistance from Ford they informed me the car was warranted 3 years or 60,000 kms about 40,000 miles, by the way I am hearing 2500-3500 for a new motor, just to think this may have started with a plastic propeller water pump that was in a million pieces after 6 or 7 Fords I will move on don't you ever wish they had light on the dash that worked and told you the problem, any suggestions, on a cheap engine would be appreciated. *ao.

I purchased my '95 Mercury Mystique when it had 8000 miles on it. It now has almost 100,000 miles on it. About three months ago the check engine light came on. I took it to the dealership and they advised two sensors needed to be replaced. A week after picking up the vehicle and spending $750.00 on maintenance and sensor replacements the check engine light came on again. The second visit to the dealer resulted in a compromise on the repair as the dealership agreed to have me pay for the cost of the new oxygen sensor. They agreed to waive the cost of labor given the vehicle was just returned to me. Two weeks after picking up the vehicle from the second repair the check engine light came on again. Now the Dealership is saying the car has a lose wire and that perhaps the first two repairs were not necessary. They have advised I can choose from replacing the wiring harness located on the driver side for around $2000 or have the technician continue to try and find the wire causing the problem which could result in $800 for the labor charges alone.

After reading the comments listed I will most likely sell the vehicle as it appears this may be the start of many visits to the shop for the check engine light.

The dealer has not yet agreed to adjust the cost of the most current billing given the prior two repairs may not have been necessary. We are still addressing this issue with them.