Recall Register

1998 Mercury Mystique: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 8 recall campaigns for the 1998 Mercury Mystique. The newest campaign is 01V255000. NHTSA received the report on 8 Aug 2001. The NHTSA record gives the component Suspension / Front / Springs / Coil Springs. NHTSA has 231 complaints on file for this model year. 7 NHTSA investigations name this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 01V255000, in the NHTSA record

Dealers will install spring catcher brackets. Owner notification began october 23, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1-866-436-7332.

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.

NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on . Complaint file through . Recall file through .

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

8 campaigns, newest first. 2,679,589 units in total.

  • 01V255000Suspension / Front / Springs / Coil Springs
  • 01V230000Electrical System
  • 00V075000Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Foundation Components
  • 99V243000Air Bags / Frontal / Sensor/Control Module-Inactive
  • 99V194000Vehicle Speed Control
  • 99V103000Exterior Lighting / Headlights / Switch
  • 98V233000Power Train / Automatic Transmission / Lever and Linkage / Floor Shift
  • 98V028000Exterior Lighting / Headlights
  1. 01V255000Received . 108,000 units.

    Suspension / Front / Springs / Coil Springs

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Vehicle description: passenger vehicles built at the kansas city assembly plant and originally sold in or currently registered in the states of connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, and wisconsin, and the district of columbia. The front coil springs may fracture as a result of corrosion in high corrosion environments. Depending on the location of the fracture, a broken spring could move past the spring seat and contact a front tire.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    Some tires have deflated due to contact with a broken spring.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealers will install spring catcher brackets. Owner notification began october 23, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1-866-436-7332.

    Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number 01S23. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  2. 01V230000Received . 342,962 units.

    Electrical System

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    On certain my 1996-1998 passenger vehicles built at the kansas city, cuautitlan assembly plants or on my 1999 passenger vehcles built at the automotive alliance international assembly plants, the rough surface of the heater blower resistor's stainless steel blades can damage the copper surface of the wiring harness connector. The damage could, over time, cause increased resistance in the connector and, due to subsequent terminal relaxation, result in an open circuit condition.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    The open circuit could lead to electrical arcing that could melt the connector housing material creasing the potential for a fire.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealers will install a new heater blower resistor and a new wire jumper harness. Owner notification began august 29, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.

    Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number 01S22. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  3. 00V075000Received . 436,200 units.

    Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Foundation Components

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Vehicle description: passenger vehicles not equipped with the anti-lock braking system (ABS). A pressure conscious reducing valve (pcrv) in the rear brakes may be subject to corrosion and result in malfunction, when operated in areas that use salt compounds on the roadway for de-icing or dust control.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    If both pcrv's malfunction, vehicle handling could be adversely affected during braking as a result of the rear wheels locking, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealers will install improved pcrv's in the rear brake system. This recall was expanded in september 2000 to include 1999 and 2000 ford contour, mercury mystique and cougar vehicles.

    Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number 00S03. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  4. 99V243000Received . 280,481 units.

    Air Bags / Frontal / Sensor/Control Module-Inactive

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The air bag sensor wiring pigtail insulation can become brittle and crack over time due to accumulation of water in the pigtail protective convolute in combination with high underhood temperatures related to the routing of the wiring pigtail near the radiator. This can result in environmental stress cracking of the insulation.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    In some cases, the air bag warning light can illuminate and the air bag supplemental restraint system disabled.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealers will install air bag sensors with revised wiring insulation. In addition, vehicles which have the air bag warning light illuminated will have a new air bag diagnostic monitor installed.

    Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number 99S23. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  5. 99V194000Received . 159,565 units.

    Vehicle Speed Control

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The accelerator cable may have been manufactured with a burr on or near the end of the cable sleeve interior. This burr could fray the core wire resulting in the accelerator not returning to idle when the accelerator is released.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    This condition can result in the throttle sticking, binding, or causing high engine RPM.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealers will install a revised accelerator cable that has a flared conduit sleeve end and molded on end fitting.

    Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number 99S19. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  6. 99V103000Received . 605,581 units.

    Exterior Lighting / Headlights / Switch

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The terminals at the headlight switch and wiring harness connector can experience heat damage as a result of overheating.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    The damage could result in distortion of the terminal causing an open circuit in the instrument panel illumination, parking lamp, and tail lamp circuits.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealers will install a headlamp switch wiring connector containing bronze terminals and an inspection, and replacement if necessary, of the headlamp switch.

    Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number 99S14. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  7. 98V233000Received . 175,000 units.

    Power Train / Automatic Transmission / Lever and Linkage / Floor Shift

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The floor shift automatic transmission control can be damaged if subjected to certain interior cleaning products. The gear position indicator can deteriorate and not correctly indicate the actual gear position.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    This condition can result in incorrect gear selection.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealers will replace the automatic transmission floor shift control.

    Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  8. 98V028000Received . 571,800 units.

    Exterior Lighting / Headlights

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The text and/or graphics for the vehicle headlamp aiming instructions provided in the owner guides are not sufficiently clear. This does not meet the requirements of FMVSS no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    If the headlamp assemblies are replaced, customers may be confused by the aiming instructions provided in the owner guides causing the headlamps to be improperly aimed.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Owner guides containing revised aiming instructions will be mailed to owners of these vehicles.

    Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

231 complaints, 326 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.

  • 1998 Mercury Mystique
  • All 1998 vehicles
1998 Mercury Mystique: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component1998 MystiqueAll 1998 vehiclesMystique, all yearsMentions
Suspension177.982.684.858
Power Train128.890.410042
Engine and Engine Cooling128.8123.7164.942
Service Brakes, Hydraulic92106.974.230
Electrical System9282.5135.130
Exterior Lighting61.327.341.120
Air Bags58.350.639.719
Visibility55.256.160.918
Vehicle Speed Control49.143.24316
Steering36.855.849.712

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 20.

Complaints that report a crash
9
Complaints that report a fire
7
Injuries in the complaints
7
Deaths in the complaints
0
Date of the newest complaint
6 Jan 2016

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 1998 Mercury Mystique, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 1999, with 44 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 1998 Mercury Mystique
NumberTypeSubjectComponentOpenedClosedCampaign
RQ02006Recall queryINCORRECT GEAR INDICATIONPower Train26 Feb 200212 Sep 200298V233000
EA01001Engineering analysisBLOWER SWITCH/RESISTOR OR WIRING HARNESSElectrical System5 Jan 200131 Jul 200101I009000
EA00025Engineering analysisFUEL EXPULSION DURING REFUELINGVehicle Speed Control / Linkages4 Oct 200025 Jan 2001
PE00027Preliminary evaluationFUEL EXPULSION DURING REFUELINGVehicle Speed Control / Linkages10 Jul 20004 Oct 2000
PE00023Preliminary evaluationBLOWER SWITCH/RESISTOR OR WIRING HARNESSElectrical System14 Jun 20005 Jan 2001
RQ99019Recall queryVARIOUS INTERMITTENT ELECTRICAL ISSUESUnknown or Other15 Sep 19997 Mar 200199V243000
SQ98002Safety queryFUEL GAUGE DOES NOT READ BELOW 1/4Vehicle Speed Control / Linkages27 Jan 199831 Jul 1998

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

  1. 19940
  2. 19958
  3. 19967
  4. 19974
  5. 19988
  6. 19992
  7. 20003
  8. 20010
  9. 20020

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

Official channels

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1998 Mercury Mystique: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/mercury/mystique/1998/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through .

Sources

Source
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence
US government work, public domain
Recall file through
30 Sep 2026
Complaint file through
30 Sep 2026
First complaint in the file
1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file
FORD MOTOR COMPANY

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 1998 Mercury Mystique?
2,679,589 units in 8 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Mercury Mystique have for all model years?
NHTSA lists 19 recall campaigns for the Mercury Mystique, model years 1994 to 2002. 8 of them name the 1998 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1998 Mercury Mystique name most often?
Suspension: 58 of 326 component mentions, or 177.9 per 1,000. For all 1998 vehicles the figure is 82.6 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1998 Mercury Mystique open?
No. Each of the 7 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.