1998 Mercury Mystique: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 326 complaints
326
Total Complaints
80,000mi
Median Mileage
SUSPENSION:FRONT:SPRINGS:COIL SPRINGS
Top Issue
10
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

59,900 25th Percentile
80,000 Median Mileage
102,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

SUSPENSION:FRONT:SPRINGS:COIL SPRINGS
31
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
20
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
13
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
12
SUSPENSION
11
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
10
AIR BAGS
8
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS
7
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM
7
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
7

Severity Assessment

10
Crashes
17
Fires
9
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHEN OPENING THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS, CONSUMER EXPERIENCED ELECTRICAL SHOCK. CONSUMER HAS YET TO CONTACT THE DEALER. *AK"
"CONSUMER EXPERIENCING PROBLEM WITH PUTTING GAS INTO THE VEHICLE. VEHICLE WOULD PUSH GAS BACK OUT EVERY TIME CONSUMER TRIES TO PUT GAS INTO THE VEHICLE. VEHICLE BEEN IN/OUT OF DEALER SHOP FOUR TIMES, AND DEALER UNABLE TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM."
"THE OWNER'S MANUAL ON THE POWER WINDOW OPERATION IS WRONG."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28