The tire valve on my right rear tire failed while the car was garaged. This was the second valve failure in a pair of tires installed on 04/27/2007. The first valve failed (on the other tire in the pair) on 04/26/2009 while the car was also parked, but about 30 miles from home (see odi number 10279930).
The worst 1992 Mercury Sable problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Engine151
- Transmission61
- Brakes41
- Body29
- Electrical28
- Steering28
- Acceleration22
- Suspension17
- Lights13
- Visibility13
- Airbags11
- Tires10
- Fuel system5
- Seat belts5
- Seats5
- Locks2
- Wheels1
Specific symptoms reported on the 1992 Mercury Sable
Transmission failure 18Stalling 15Overheating 13Fire or smoke 8Headlights 8Brake failure 7Wipers 7Airbag light 6Engine failure 6Sudden acceleration 6ABS 5Ball joint 5Knocking 5
Recalls 4
Structure: frame and members
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger vehicles originally sold or currently registered in connecticut, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, iowa, kansas, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, nebraska, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, virginia, west virgnia, and wisconsin. The rear lower subframe mount plate nut can experience stress corrosion cracking if subjected to long term exposure to road salts. This can result in fracture and loss of the structural integrity of the subframe mount attachment. Detachment of the body mounts at the rear corners of the subframe, which supports the engine and transmission, allows the rear corners of the subframe to drop.
- Risk
- If both rear corners drop, steering would become suddenly very difficult, affecting vehicle control and increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install subframe rear mount bolts, reinforcement plates, and plate nuts.
Recall number 98V323000 · Recall details
Vehicle speed control
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: vehicles equipped with 3.8l engines and originally sold or currently registered in the following states: alaska, colorado, iowa, idaho, illinois, indiana, kansas, massachusetts, maine, michigan, minnesota, missouri, montana, north dakota, nebraska, new hampshire, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, south dakota, vermont, wisconsin, and wyoming. Water can accumulate within the speed control cable conduit. If enough water accumulates, it could freeze within a low area of the cable routing when exposed to a long term cold soak at temperatures at least several degrees below freezing.
- Risk
- Driver control of vehicle speed using the speed control system or the accelerator control system would be diminished increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will add a boot to the speed control cable.
Recall number 97V025000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling: cooling system: fan
- What is wrong
- These vehicles are originally sold or currently registered in the following states: alaska, iowa, minnesota, nebraska, north dakota, and south dakota. The vehicles involved are 1992-1994 tempo/topaz vehicles with 3.0l engines; 1994 tempo/topaz with 2.3l engines; 1992-1995 taurus/sable with 3.8l engines; 1994-1995 taurus/sable with 3.0l engines and 1992-1994 lincoln continental vehicles with 3.8l engines. During high winds, heavy, blowing and drifting snow, and low temperatures, the engine cooling fan can become blocked or frozen with snow. The fan motor may not rotate and could overheat.
- Risk
- This condition can cause smoke or flames from the fan and/or shroud, the fan electrical wiring, or the fan motor resulting in a vehicle fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install an electrical jumper harness containing an automatic resetting circuit breaker to protect the fan motor low speed circuitry from overheating.
Recall number 97V019000 · Recall details
Wheels
- What is wrong
- Children can accidentally lock themselves in the footwell area of the rear-facing third seat, or in the storage compartment in station wagons not equipped with an optional third seat. Once the compartment is closed it cannot be opened from the inside.
- Risk
- There is a danger of air deprivation, hyperthermia,and/or panic response to a child who has locked himself or herself into thecompartment, with the possibility of asphyxiation.
- Remedy
- Replace the self-latching assembly currently used in the rear storage compartment with a latch assembly that can only be closed with a key.
Recall number 92V065000 · Recall details
See all 4 recalls for the 1992 Mercury Sable
Defect investigations
Engine cooling fan fires
There is no summary currently available
EA96024
Headlight failure
Excessive heat in an improperly manufactured circuit breaker within the headlight switch caused that circuit breaker to open for time periods of varying length to cool off.opening of the circuit breaker in this manner interrupts electric current flow to the headlights, shutting them off.headlight outages have ranger from brief flickers (less than one second) to greater than 20 seconds.over time, the outages grow in length and duration because of heat-induced deterioration of the switch and associated wiring.recall 98v‑009 will apply to approximately 506,000 taurus, sable, mark viii, and continental vehicles produced from 1-dec.-92 through 30-sep-93 at the atlanta, chicago,and wixom assembly plants.87% of my 1992-1995 taurus/sable and 97% of my 1993-1995 mark viii warranty repairs (headlight switch replacement) involved vehicles built during the dec. 92 - oct. 93 build range.
EA96019
Engine cooling fan fires
In december 1995, ford recalled 119,313 vehicles in canada to remedy the subject condition in certain 1992-95 taurus, sable, tempo, topaz and continental vehicles.ford is aware of similar incidents occurring in northern regions of the united states, but maintains that the frequencies do not warrant a finding of an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety.
PE96033
Alleged defective tie rods
Alleged defective tie rods
DP95004
Broken tie rods
There is no summary currently available
EA94008
Polycast road wheel cracks
There is no summary currently available
PE93100
Idle air spd ctrl vlv malf
There is no summary currently available
EA93022
Underbody fuel line fails
There is no summary currently available
PE93065
Broken tie rods
There is no summary currently available
PE93058
Idle air spd ctrl vlv malf
There is no summary currently available
PE93010
Sub-frm/unibody absor.fail
There is no summary currently available
EA92040
Technical service bulletins for the 1992 Mercury Sable 77
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- New transmission cooler flusher - service tips. 2003 escort and super duty f series included. tt
- Climate control a/c service tech tips. eh
- Lamp-brake-invadvertent disabling of brake shift interlock. mj
- Transfer service tips for the front wiper motor mount bracket and depressed park output arm. tt
- Some engine assemblies with aluminum cylinder heads repaired in-vehile have been found to leak coolant...
- Brake shift interlock. jb
- Some vehicles may exhibit heater core leaks. slc
- Information regarding transmission fluid usage charts. slc
- This information is a supplement to the wiper system service information provided in the workshop manuals....
- On some vehicles, engine oil may continue to leak from the engine oil pan gasket area after an engine oil...
1992 Mercury Sable fuel economy
Official EPA estimates in miles per gallon (MPGe for electric). Ranges cover trims that share the same engine.
| Engine | Drive | City | Highway | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0L 6‑cyl | FWD | 18 | 26 | 21 |
| 3.8L 6‑cyl | FWD | 16 | 26 | 19 |
What 1992 Mercury Sable owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
While at a destination about 30 miles from home, my left-front tire valve failed just as I was about to enter the parked car to head home. The air whooshed loudly out of the tire as I watched it deflate before my eyes. I called aaa for assistance in changing the tire and took the flat tire to my dealer the following day for replacement of the defective tire valve. The valve was installed as part of a new-tire installation on 04/24/2007 by my ford dealer.
Tl*the contact owns a 1992 mercury sable. When the contact took his vehicle to a local mechanic, corrosion was discovered in the steering column. He also discovered that he was experiencing the same failure listed in the federal safety agency campaign id number 98v323000 (structure:frame and members). The manufacturer was unable to provide assistance; however, they stated that because it had exceeded ten years, the parts were unavailable. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 85,591. Updated 10/16/08. *lj the vehicle would pull to the side. Updated 10/17/08.
Tl*the contact owns a 1992 mercury sable. While driving approximately 30 MPH, the contact heard a loud thumping noise. Approximately thirty seconds later, the vehicle shut off. He pushed the vehicle to the side of the road and noticed that the front frame failed. Two days later, the vehicle was towed to aaa. A local mechanic arrived a week later and stated that there was wear and tear on the front frame bushing sway bar, which caused the front frame to fail. He notified the manufacturer and they stated that there was a recall for the rear frame, but not the front. The manufacturer would not provide any financial assistance with the repairs and stated that the vehicle was not worth repairing. The vehicle has not been repaired. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 100,000. Updated 11/06/07
Dt*: the contact stated while driving at low speeds down a hill and trying to stop the vehicle stalled. All the lights on the dashboard illuminated prior to the vehicle stalling. The brakes did not work when this occurred. The parking brake must be used to stop the vehicle. An independent repair shop has been unable to duplicate the problem.*ak updated 1/25/2006 - the manufacturer indicated there were not recalls related to the failure.
The consumer's general tires developed separation between the tread and the core. *ts
Dt: the contact stated while driving at night the consumer struck a deer and experienced difficulty stopping with the brakes. There was damage to the front hood and headlights. No police report was taken. He drove the vehicle home. Upon inspection there was corrosion on brake lines. He suspected this was due to dissimilar metal corrosion and road salts. The vehicle has not been repaired at this time. *ak updated 12/27/05. *jb the brake line burst.
Mercury sable 1992 power steering leaked. *bf the leak was coming from the rack and pinion.
The vehicle had been in a frontal crash at 35-40 MPH and none of the air bags deployed. No injuries were reported and the dealer was notified.
While driving 30 MPH rear sub frame mount bushing separated from the vehicle. Recall 98v323000 for the sub frame mount bolts was issued. Dealer refused to repair the vehicle because it was not included in the recall due to VIN.
Compare the 1992 Mercury Sable
Other model years
1990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620082009
Questions about the 1992 Mercury Sable
Is the 1992 Mercury Sable reliable?
Owners have filed 364 complaints about the 1992 Mercury Sable, 4.4 times a typical Sable model year.
What is the most common problem with the 1992 Mercury Sable?
Engine and cooling, with 151 complaints. Next is transmission (61).
How many recalls does the 1992 Mercury Sable have?
4 recalls, covering structure, vehicle speed control and engine and engine cooling.
Was there a recall on the 1992 Mercury Sable engine?
Yes, 1 recall: 97V019000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Mercury Sable have bad engine?
The Mercury Sable model years with the most engine complaints are 1993 (356 complaints), 1992 (151 complaints) and 1994 (144 complaints).
What gas mileage does the 1992 Mercury Sable get?
Official estimates for the 1992 Mercury Sable range from 19 to 21 mpg combined. The most efficient version (3.0L 6-cyl, FWD) gets 18 city and 26 highway.
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