29th May 2007, 16:58
I also have a mercury mystique 96',and have had problems with it since I got it. Right now, it is parked and not working. At first, it would stop working after driving for about a half hour to 45 minutes. Every time I would stop at a light or stop sign, it would cut off. It would always start up again, immediately, but at next light would cut off again.Then, it started running hot and ultimately would almost not even start, so we parked it and left it alone. Funny thing is, on the highway, with no stop and start,this car rode like a dream. I loved this car. If I knew how, I'd get it fixed.
9th Feb 2008, 17:27
Yes it's true gang. All these problems do exist, and on all of these cars at one time or another, you WILL have the problem. If you have not experienced it, it is because someone else already has. Now for the big answer, the stalling is caused by an exhaust air sensor coupled with a catalytic converter problem. When tested, the air sensor shows up as a problem, but the code does not differentiate whether it is the intake or exhaust. It is the latter. It's about $100 for the part. Now, the catalytic converter goes bad because the EGR valve has become encrusted with carbon, and flow begins to be blocked causing the converter to prematurely die. EGR can be cleaned, but just buy a new one; they are cheap. However, the converter is more, but replace it too because it is probably too late. Then... BOOM! You're fixed. As for clogged lines... injector cleaner will work, but the key is to use it about five or six times, THEN replace the fuel filter. If you do not replace the filter you just caused a new problem for yourself. Trust me gang... I had all the problems and fixed them myself. Nobody knows what to do so I had to rely on my 25 years of experience working on all my own vehicles. You do not need to be a mechanic, but just have patience and be smarter than your average bear.
There is one more thing; there is a sensor connected to the EGR assembly that has been known to send the wrong signal. It's hit or miss there. If nothing else I have told you fixes the stalling problem, replace that sensor. As for tire wear, stop using the cheap, skinny tires. You get what you pay for, and tires are not the place to save money. As for front bearing wear; all front wheel drive cars go through bearings faster than others. It is just that these Fords are nose heavy, coupled with a little more power than other cars. Remember, you pay a price for performance so quit bitching.
Lastly, I do not claim to be a mechanic, but a shade tree mechanic like myself and others like me have forgotten more than some “professional mechanics” will ever know. Ford did drop the ball on this one and knew it. So has every other manufacturer at one time or another. Remember, it is all about the money, and since no one has gotten killed by these problems, you know it is just going to slide.
Oh yes, the heater fan. It is 2 things: the relay at the fuse panel AND the switch. My last piece of advice: nothing works perfectly and not forever. Murphy's law dictates that your car WILL turn on you sooner or later. Some cars are worse than others, but that is the way it is. Isn't life great! Someday your Ford Mystic will stall and you will pull to the side of the road. Walk into a store you would never have stopped at, and buy a lottery ticket, and win fifty mill. Things happen for a reason, always!
13th Mar 2008, 09:37
I have a 99 mystique. I had problems with the idling and stalling. I found it to be the vacuum hose that goes to the intake. It's a hose that's about 1 inch in diameter. Costs about 18 dollars. Problem went away after I changed it. It also corrected another problem with my transmission shifting real hard. It shifts smooth now. Hope this helps somebody.
20th Apr 2008, 13:24
I currently own a 99 Mystique. I've experienced my share of complications as well, although I will admit a lot of them were examples of sabotage. Like the sugar in the tank and the knocked out windows.
First, I woke up one hot morning, and instead of turning on the AC I tried rolling my windows down. All of them went down with no problem until I got to my window. I can hear a tick, almost like it's trying to go down, but nothing else happens. I thought maybe the motor went out, but it didn't slowly go out, it just all of a sudden wouldn't work anymore. Worked when I parked it, stopped when I cranked it.
A few months later, I was driving down the road, and all of a sudden my radio and interior lights quit working. One week later, I parked my car, went to bed, woke up the next day, and my car wouldn't do anything. Turns out all my wires under the hood had melted together. Took it to a mechanic; he did 350 dollars worth of work. When I got my car back, everything worked except for the window still, and the lights and radio. They still to this day do not work.
Can someone offer some advice? My whole intention of writing is to find out if the windows from a Contour will fit in my Mystique? Both cars are 99s. Someone please help.
24th Sep 2008, 23:45
OK, I have a 98 Mystique. The car ran fine, then would start run very rough. Took it to a Ford dealer; they checked the code and said it was the crank sensor. That didn't work, then after cranking up a bill of $1000.00, they tell me it is the crank shaft bearing, but the compression is fine and does not leak any oil. Does anybody have any idea what might fix this car, aside from a new engine?
20th Mar 2007, 16:54
"I made the mistake of purchasing a '97 Mercury Mystique. I bought it used. Shouldn't you be getting a little peace of mind and only routine maintenance requirements when you purchase a vehicle? "
That is what people hope, but it isn't necessarily correct. This is often (but not always) the case when buying a new car. You hope that your car payment is like buying insurance or buying reliability. Sometimes that isn't the case. When buying a used car, you have even less expectation of guaranteeing reliability. You were correct, it IS about the maintenance habits of the previous owner. Buying a used car can be a huge money saver for someone who is knowledgeable about cars, and is willing to put up with getting a few things fixed from time to time. They are not the answer for someone who doesn't know anything about cars, and expects that a "different" car will be as trouble free as the first 50,000 miles in a new car. The Mercury probably was trouble free to its first owners, so trouble free that they never even did any maintenance on it. And then you bought it, when things were ready to go wrong. You just have to keep things in perspective. You don't get something for nothing. Expectations must be balanced with reality.