2nd Jan 2005, 18:41

I have a 1998 Mercury Mystique V6 manual transmission and I LOVE MY CAR!!!

Leather seats are very comfortable (I cover them in Summer to protect against heat/bodies!)

Transmission is radical. Smooth gear shifting still after nearly 8 years. I grew up with manual transmissions in England (first drove 23 Nov 1967) and am pretty fussy in this area.

My Father was involved with racing cars and always said that Ford transmissions were excellent. Bodies might break down, but transmissions kept on and on...

My Mystique engine runs almost silently. Always did, still does. Sometimes I think that it's not even switched on.

Just put another set of Goodyears on in August and we're rocking.

The feel of that power and acceleration in dodgy moments is hard to beat!

I keep the MoonRoof open all summer long and the mechanism is still working fine.

Trunk (boot) release catch problem was a bit annoying, but only failed this last year. It seems to be related to a yellow catch in the actual lock mechanism inside the trunk (boot.)

My second vehicle is a 2005 Jeep TJ Unlimited (LWB) for my expeditionary work. I have the perfect duo of cars!!

:-)

2nd Mar 2005, 06:38

Well I bought my Mystique used and immediately had to put $800 into it to repair my motor mounts. It also lurches forward after acceleration. Windshield fluid motor was burnt out, interior lights in the middle console don't work. I think it would be okay if this was my first ride, but however, it is not.

27th Nov 2005, 14:37

After one week of owning my 1998 Mystique, I put in an alternator and battery, now after three months the drivers window will not go down and the check engine light has been on since day one (not on when I test drove). The car started having problems starting about 2 weeks ago, will crank, but not turn over. I liked the looks, but don't know what's going to happen next.

18th Feb 2006, 17:53

I have a 1998 Mystique with the 6 cylinder and automatic transmission. The problem I am having is with the transmission shifting eraticaly especially at highway speeds.

This problem seems to be well known in the Mystiques, but nobody ever mentions how they fixed this problem. Any suggestions?

2nd Mar 2006, 02:30

"Mistake" not "Mystique" should be the official name of the car. I bought mine offlease in 2000 with only 58k and a year later, I had to rebuild the transmission. The engine light is always on, and even after replacing a sensor it came on again. Revving is too high and changes up and down by itself. I hear a strange noise from within the engine every now and then, but the mechanic failed to find the problem. The AC gave up last summer for no reason and fixing it requires changing some heavily priced components. Ford is forever off my shopping list for used or new cars.

25th Sep 2010, 18:16

I bought a '98 Mystique, which I thought was a good deal. And it only had 179,000 km on it. (*note* trust instincts - Always have and always will be a Dodge fan, but this was a good deal - I should have known, never have been a Ford fan).

I hardly ever drive my cars, as I use my work truck during the week, so I put little miles on my car. (In a month, not uncommon for me to put less than 500 km on cars)

After only 6 weeks (barely 800 more kms) the "check engine" light came on, faulty O2 sensor. 2 weeks later (and barely 200 more KMs) clunking coming from the front end, needed new shocks and struts.

Barely 3 days later, the "Airbag" indicator light on the dash came on.

Again, barely a month later, a bolt on the manifold rusted off, leaving a hole in the exhaust manifold, making the car sound like, well a car with no muffler.

Under hard acceleration, extremely hard shifting from the automatic transmission.

Turning the car on, the heater core would squeak (bearings??) for about 10 seconds.

Needless to say, after only 9 months (and barely 5000 more km's, and $800 in repairs) I sold the car, for less than what I bought it for.

Promptly went and bought a 96 Dodge Stratus, with 20,000 more km's on it then the Mystique had, and the Stratus was 2 years older. (The Mystique had 179,000 when I bought it, the Stratus had 196,000)

Since owning the Stratus, have put over 2000 more km's on it in only about 6 weeks. Not 1 single problem with it. Great car.

Like I said, always have, and always will be a Dodge fan.

Will NEVER buy a used Ford again. possibly will buy new, as they come with warranties.

26th Sep 2010, 12:29

"Turning the car on, the heater core would squeak (bearings??) for about 10 seconds."

Heater cores do not have bearings, and therefore will never squeak.

9th Jan 2011, 11:19

I have a 6 cylinder 2000 Mercury Mystique, and at times the car will not start. If I wait for 10 to 20 minutes without trying to start it, and then start, the car will start. What could the problem be? Has anyone else had this problem, and could they tell me what is the corrective action?