1998 Mercury Mystique problems
Owners have filed 326 complaints about the 1998 Mercury Mystique with NHTSA. Suspension accounts for 17.8% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of engine and engine cooling at 12.9%.
Complaints326
Crashes10
Fires17
Injuries9
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Suspension 17.8% · 58
Engine and engine cooling 12.9% · 42
Power train 12.9% · 42
Electrical system 9.2% · 30
Service brakes, hydraulic 9.2% · 30
Exterior lighting 6.1% · 20
Air bags 5.8% · 19
Visibility 5.5% · 18
Severity
Of those complaints, 10 describe a crash, 17 describe a fire and 9 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 5 model years of the Mercury Mystique in this data, 1998 ranks 2nd by complaint volume — 1995 draws the most.
Filing volume has held steady, 9 in the last three years against 9 in the three before.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 80,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Left front spring coil snapped. Dealer repair shop describes it as "left front spring broken and sitting on tire and wrapped around strut" was told by repair shop that this not happen on a car with so few miles. Ford declines to say this is a safety problem but this is not the first or only make and model with this problem. Was told by dealership owner that this is going to turn into a major problem for ford. Suspension
Car not running, ignition off. Coil spring broke in half and point of spring ejected through tire causing tire to blow up. Fortunately I just turned the car off and was getting ready to enter dr. Office. It was only minutes after exiting a highway. I was just sitting there and heard a loud explosion like a gun shot sound and a woosh of the air exiting the tire immediately. Suspension
Nhtsa recall 01i013000/manufacturer's recalls 01m08 and 01s23 concerning front coil spring corrosion. Both repairs were done by manhattan ford; manhattan, ny; phone # 212/581was being made. Dealer informed that they did all that they needed to do. Asking nhtsa assistance in this matter. Feel free to provide any further details on the matter. Suspension
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…