7th Dec 2007, 21:36
I recently purchased a 1995 Mercury Mystique with 120000 miles on it. I paid $800 for this car. So far I have replaced a $12.00 upper radiator hose and a dash trim piece from the junk yard for $30.00. I have over 2500 miles on it now and besides a vibration at idle in gear and an occasional hard shift from 1st to second - I only notice when the car is 1st started and not warmed up it runs like a champ. The previous owner had the car maintained regularly. Maybe I've got lucky, but I love my little car. Great gas mileage too!
26th Dec 2007, 04:09
I don't own this car - I am car shopping. I just wondered if any of these problems are covered by manufacturer's warranty because I noticed on another site that this car has had 10 factory recalls for various things. Some of you may want to check on that, just in case one or more of your problems is covered.
27th Oct 2008, 21:11
I have owned a 1998 Mystique for just about a year now and it only had 70,000kms at purchase. In one year, I've replaced the water pump, both rear springs (which had both broken with normal driving) and a front wheel bearing. The car now has 85,000kms and I am starting to notice a rough shift (a noisy thud) when I go from "Park" to "Drive", but it comes and goes. I will be getting it checked-out just in case. Other than that, the car has a lot of power (V6), but it is very thirsty. I get about 400-425kms from a tank and its about $55-60 to fill with regular. Back seat? Almost non-existent. Maybe Ford should of considered making it a 2 seater.
25th Apr 2009, 14:19
I am having the same problem now with my 1999 Mercury Mistake and it says the came code!! (Oxygen to lean or low or whatever). I am in the process of trying to replace my 02 sensors. But if that doesn't work I am going to be upset. I am figuring it is the same thing as you guys said and the MAF sensor. How do you clean it?
12th Jun 2009, 00:03
The transmission shifts hard because the engine has a "hang" where the car is burning up unburnt fuel to help emissions. As well as to empty the huge dual intake runner. A mod is available to get rid of the hang.. it's a washer in a hose a free fix.. but yeah the engine will rev to say 4500rpm, and if you let off the fuel, clutch into shift but don't clutch out again in the next gear, it will remain at RPM for a few seconds. If you let out the clutch it will surge ahead hard. It has a 22lb flywheel; a heavy rotating mass and it needs to lose the energy. It kills automatics because it just hits the next gear and you're still on the gas.
16th Jun 2009, 14:09
13:03
If you have a"lean code" for one bank only, it is most likely caused by a vacuum leak. Certainly, a dirty MAF sensor could result in a lean condition, but it should affect both banks.
15th Mar 2010, 23:37
Yes, had the shimmy, had the lean on both banks, changed the MAF sensor, still have it.
The O2 sensors seems to require changing every two years.
As far as the engine goes for strength, sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not, just like the brakes. Sometimes they are solid, sometimes it goes to the floor and barely stops.
This past week, threw another 500 into the car because a solenoid or servo fell out of the transmission, rendering the car useless on the side of the expressway.
13th Jan 2011, 18:25
I also purchased a used Mystique, and the problems are similar to those described. It has a hard time shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear, and the engine idles high. I think the good name for this car is Lemon for sure. Get rid of it if you can before the transmission goes completely out!!!
18th Jan 2011, 12:36
As far as the "running lean on bank #1" codes that some of you are getting, it is a catalytic converter issue. There are 2 of them on each exhaust pipe from the manifold. One is before the cat and the other is after the cat. What these 2 sensors are reading is the richness of the exhaust before and after it exits the cat. So you are basically looking at a cat replacement.
I had the same codes and this solved my problems.
4th Feb 2011, 16:34
It may have worked for you, but this is an incomplete answer. Here are some other things that could cause a P0170 code, some of them are much less expensive than a cat replacement:
Fuel injector malfunction
Fuel pump malfunction
Fuel filter clogged
Fuel delivery hose clogged or leakage
Fuel return hose clogged
Pressure regulator malfunction
Pressure regulator control solenoid valve malfunction
Purge solenoid malfunction
PCV valve malfunction
Ignition coil malfunction
Distributor malfunction
High-tension lead malfunction
Spark plug malfunction
Leakage in intake-air system
Insufficient compression
Leakage exhaust system
MAF sensor malfunction
Engine coolant temperature sensor malfunction
TPS malfunction
Front O2 sensor malfunction
Vehicle speed sensor malfunction
Open or short circuit in wiring harness
Poor connection of connector
Vacuum hoses damaged or loose
16th Jun 2014, 15:40
I am searching today for something a person wrote concerning the jerk in transmission of 98 Mercury Mystique. Many in that thread had entirely replaced the trans, but one person said he found a wire that goes from the computer to the trans; once that was taken care of, he has never had the problem again. Would anyone know about this or know how to find that particular wire?
14th Nov 2007, 10:34
It is bittersweet to read these comments; I'm not alone, but that means there are a lot of Mystique problems out there.
My issue is with the transmission. It will go into second almost immediately pulling out from a stop; sometimes it won't drop back into first at the stop and tries to take off in second, only to shift eratically until it gets up to 30 mph or so.
The transmission was rebuilt with no effect. The shop (a whole other story and I won't use that shop again!) says it is a computer problem (we've put in three speed sensors!) and the transmission is fine. The local Ford shop says the computer is fine.
So who's right? I'll let the next owner decide!