Problems · NHTSA complaints

1997 Mercury Mystique problems

Owners filed 74 complaints about the 1997 Mercury Mystique with NHTSA between Aug 1997 and Jul 2012. The most-cited component is service brakes, hydraulic (12).

Complaints
74
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
4
Reported by owners
Fires
3
Reported by owners
Injuries
3
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Service brakes, hydraulic12
  2. Engine and engine cooling12
  3. Exterior lighting9
  4. Visibility9
  5. Power train8
  6. Electrical system7
  7. Seats4
  8. Vehicle speed control4
  9. Suspension4
  10. Steering4
  11. Tires2
  12. Equipment2
  13. Air bags2
  14. Service brakes1

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 6, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
19972
19986
199915
200011
200113
20027
20036
20043
20054
20062
20071
20081
20091
20100
20110
20122

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Service brakes, hydraulic

12 reports1 crash2 related recalls
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 MERCURY MYSTIQUE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE NOTICED A LEAK UNDER THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS WHERE HE WAS INFORMED THAT THE PRESSURE CONSCIOUS REGULATING VALVE ON THE REAR DRIVER SIDE WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE CONTACT REFERENCED NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 00V075000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS) AND CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURER WHO STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 93,000. UPDATED 8/23/12 *CN”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 20, 2012Service brakes, hydraulicODI 10466815

Engine and engine cooling

12 reports
“DT: THE WIRING HARNESS AND THE BLOWER RESISTOR WAS FIXED WHICH WERE ON RECALL. ON 4-22-05 AND ON 5-06-05 WHILE THE CAR WAS BEING DRIVEN ON THE HIGHWAY, THE CAR GAVE A TICKING NOISE. THEN THE CAR GAVE A PUFF OF BLUE AND BLACK SMOKE AND THE CAR STOPPED. AFTER THE MECHANIC LOOKED AT THE CAR, THE MECHANIC SAID THE ENGINE WAS GONE. THE CAR UNDERWENT REGULAR CHECK UPS AND OIL CHANGES. THERE WERE NO INDICATIONS THAT THE ENGINE WAS HAVING ANY PROBLEMS OR MALFUNCTIONS. THE ENGINE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE COST FOR REPLACING WAS MORE THAN THE CONSUMER CAN AFFORD. *TT”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 16, 2005Engine and engine coolingODI 10120999

Exterior lighting

9 reports1 related recall
“CAR HAD A RECALL ASSOCIATED WITH EXTERIOR LIGHTS WHEN MY PARENTS OWNED IT ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO. THE PARKING LIGHTS STOPPED OPERATING. PER SUGGESTION OF FORD TOOK CAR TO DEALERSHIP AND PAID $85 FOR AN EVALUATION. THEY INDICATED I HAD TWO OPEN WIRES AND THE ESTIMATED REPAIR COST WOULD EXCEED $2,000 TO REPLACE THE WIRING HARNESS. *NM”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 20, 2007Exterior lightingODI 10182996

Visibility

9 reports1 fire1 related recall
“WHILE DRIVING HEATER BLOWER SWITCH OVERHEATED, ALMOST RESULTING IN A VEHICLE FIRE.*AK”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 23, 2003VisibilityODI 10029945

Power train

8 reports1 related recall
“THE VEHICLE IS NOT SHIFTING INTO THE PROPER GEARS. IT JUST STARTED HAPPENING ONE DAY. IT HAS TO BE IN DRIVE 2 AT THE START OF DRIVING AND WHEN IT GETS TO A CERTAIN POINT IT MUST BE SHIFTED INTO DRIVE. THIS OCCURS EVERYTIME I DRIVE. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE AS OF YET TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 2, 2009Power trainODI 10257128

Electrical system

7 reports2 fires1 related recall
“DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE TRAVELING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE OVERDRIVE ACTIVATED ON AND OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP, WHERE A CERTIFIED MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT EITHER THE INSIDE OR OUTSIDE SENSOR OF THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WAS FAULTY. THERE WAS A NHTSA RECALL #98V233000, REGARDING THE POWERTRAIN: AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION: LEVER AND LINKAGE: FLOOR SHIFT. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND DETERMINED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL DUE TO THE VIN. ALSO, THE CLOCK LIGHT ON THE INSRUMENT PANEL WENT PERMANENTLY OUT. THE REAR BRAKE LIGHT LOCATED ON TOP OF THE REAR WINDOW WOULD ILLUMINATE IN A DISTORTED PATTERN. THE REAR BRAKE LIGHTS WAS MADE UP OF 9 MINI LIGHTS, AND 3 LIGHTS WOULD LIGHT UP WHILE BRAKING. ON OTHER OCCASIONS, 4 OR 5 LIGHTS WOULD ILLUMINATE. THERE WAS A NHTSA RECALL #99V103000 REGARDING EXTERIOR LIGHTING: HEADLIGHTS: SWITCH. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL DUE TO THE VIN.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 9, 2006Power train, Exterior lighting, Electrical systemODI 10173033
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 6, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.