5th Jun 2001, 16:13

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.

10th Jun 2001, 19:20

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.

3rd Jul 2001, 05:49

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.

3rd Oct 2001, 00:11

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!!

29th Oct 2001, 14:32

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.

7th May 2002, 14:33

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.

22nd May 2002, 13:18

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.

5th Jun 2002, 07:45

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.

6th Jun 2002, 20:30

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!