2000 Mercury Mystique problems & reliability
63 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2000 Mercury Mystique, alongside 2 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
4 complaints report injuries (4 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2000 Mercury Mystique vehicles were involved in 2 fatal crashes with 2 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Structure → | 18 | 29% |
| Visibility | 9 | 14% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 8 | 13% |
| Air Bags | 7 | 11% |
| Electrical System | 7 | 11% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 5 | 8% |
| Power Train | 4 | 6% |
| Unknown OR Other | 4 | 6% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 4 | 6% |
| Equipment | 3 | 5% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 54,065 miles (middle 50% between 41,116 and 68,400 miles), based on 28 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Tl*the contact owns a 2000 mercury mystique. The contact experienced engine hesitation, loss of power, and surging in her vehicle. She would lose all power and have to wait a couple of minutes before the vehicle would restart. The contact could only drive five miles before the failure recurred. The failure occurred…”
Fuel System, Gasoline · filed Jun 18, 2008
“Instrument dash panel cover is , and has continued to peel back at the defrost vents at the windshield since 2003. It appears the glue had begun to fail. Each time I brought my car in for service my concerns and complaint of the dash board were largely ignored. Simply blown off to say it was not covered under the…”
Electrical System · filed May 9, 2008
“Dash has peeled back by windshield, defroster section popped out, as time progresses the dash keeps peeling back/raising up...eventually, it will be too high to see over. (I am short stature). *tr”
Visibility · filed Apr 13, 2008
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- INSTRUMENT PANEL COVER WARPAGE
Defect Petition DP06004 · opened Oct 23, 2006 · closed Apr 10, 2007
Technical service bulletins
78 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2000 Mercury Mystique. The 10 most recent:
General (pcm) power train control module programming procedures. *tt
042107 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 13, 2004
Rear window defroster grid/integral antenna diagnosis and repair - terminal tab repair. *tt
04189 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 13, 2004
General power train control module (pcm) programming procedures. *tt
04217 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 1, 2004
Malfunction indicator lamp (mil) illuminated - system lean diagnostic trouble codes (dtc's) - service tips. Various models including 2004 f-series. *tt
04174 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 6, 2004
Inoperative electric rear window defroster (heated backlite) grid lines, integral antenna concerns. *tt
031501 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 12, 2004
Malfunction indicator lamp illuminated with diagnostic trouble code p0420 and/or p0430/ 2.5l engine only. *tt
04104 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2004
Steering column shipped without crush pad - reuse original crush pad if not damaged. *tt
041814 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 1, 2004
Malfunction indicator lamp illuminated with diagnostic trouble codes (dtcs) p0442, p0455, p0456, p0457 or p1442 or a check fuel cap lamp illuminated with dtc p0457 for the evaporative emission system. *tt
03203 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 13, 2003
Remote keyless entry (rke) - service tips. *tt
03181 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 15, 2003
Malfunction indicator lamp on and diagnostic trouble codes p0171/p0174 or p1072/p0175 stored in memory or as hard faults. Hesitation, lack of power or runs rough condition. *tt
17174 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 1, 2003
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2000 Mercury Mystique has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2000 Mercury Mystique?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 54,065 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.