The transmission slips bucking the car out of control when idling along with the aluminum pistons being damaged. The car jumps forward which causes unneccesary accidents and causes the car to stall on busy streets. A new transmission was needed and all new pistons due to a bad design. There is a website www.visi.com/~bruns/results2.html that contains about 50 complaints about the transmission on this car. Ford should take responsibility for this, it was a bad design and they should take the heat for it. Thank you.
1990 Mercury Sable: engine stalls while driving
7 of the 165 complaints about the 1990 Mercury Sable describe engine stalls while driving.
- owner complaints
- 7
- of this car's complaints
- 4%
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 11 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
Engine stalls while driving by model year
What owners say
Whenever traveling at various speed vehicle would stall out. Vehicle can be restarted . Took vehicle to dealership, and mechanic could give no indication of the cause of the problem.
Problem started with a siezed ignition switch in september 1998. Replaced switch. In augaust 1999 switch begain to fail. I had to wiggle the key to get my digital instruments to function (intermittant). On about 14 aug. 99 I wiggled the switch and smoke rolled up from under the dash. I was able to turn off the ignition switch before the wireing ignited. When I checked to see what smoked I saw a purple/white wire to the ignition switch with its insulation melted off. I could see it melted through the wireing bundle up to the fire wall under the dash. My wireing diagram isn't all inclusive but the wire is in the brake indication circuit. The vehicle also has the stalling problem, brake vaccume assist problem , had the power steering hose leak, ( 3 serious safety problems that I saw on your web page) had 2 AC compressors fail, fuel pump fail, power steering pump fail.
While driving the vehicle will intermittently stall and cut off, giving the driver no indication . Owner has had the vehicle repaired by an independent repair shop. The dealer has not been notified.
When making a turn the vehicle hesitat/stalls and cuts off.
Intermittent stalling when driving long distances at highway speeds or in heavy slow moving traffic when 90 degress or higher.
Fuel pump causes engine to overheat/stall.
Service bulletins that may apply
- On some vehicles, engine oil may continue to leak from the engine oil pan gasket area after an engine oil...
- Service tip information on revised oil pan gasket replacement procedure. tt
- Ford motor company now recommends sae 5W-30 viscosity grade for servicing any ford gasoline-powered...
- A new silicone gasket and sealant. yc
- Information on a buzzing or rattle noise from the exhaust system. tt
- Concerns with coolant may leak from the head gaskets and / or the vehicle may overheat. yc
- Information regarding the the availability of the revised headgasket for coolant loss conditions on some...
- Blower motor- "chirping" or "squeaking" from blower motor at low speeds. jd
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 1990 Mercury Sable stalling
Is engine stalls while driving a common problem on the 1990 Mercury Sable?
7 of 165 owner complaints about the 1990 Mercury Sable (4%) mention engine stalls while driving. The model year with the most reports is 1994.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1990 Mercury Sable?
There are 0 recalls and 11 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1990 Mercury Sable
Ball joint 12Fire or smoke 9Airbag light 5No deployment 5Seat belt 5Transmission failure 5
VIN decoder
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