Just bought a mercury sable 1996. After driving this vehical for about 10 miles, the transmission began to slip badly. It began with having trouble accelerating from a complete stop. Luckily I was driving in a rural area with few stops and little traffic. By the time I stopped at the 3 stop sign. The transmission would no longer engage into 1st or 2nd gear. Never got into 4th gear. But had to get push the vehical from the last stop sign until I reached a small hill that allowed me to reach the speed so that 3rd was able to engage and was able to make it to my house. The car hasn't moved since then. Waste of $1,000!! Transmission is finished.
1996 Mercury Sable: transmission slipping
7 of the 302 complaints about the 1996 Mercury Sable describe transmission slipping.
- owner complaints
- 7
- of this car's complaints
- 2%
- recalls
- 3
Is there a fix? There are 3 recalls and 40 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below
Transmission slipping by model year
What owners say
Power train slipping and failure. Transmission will slip after first stop. Let set for a few minutes and restart, will drive until next stop.
While driving, the transmission slips and would not shift into other gears. Cause unknown. Please give any further details.
While driving transmission slips out of gear and goes into neutral. This problem becomes more pronounced when making a turn or slowing down.
The battery was inexplicably drained 6 weeks after we purchased the car. Two days ago, the car slipped into neutral without warning whenever I turned or slowed down. Now, it slips into neutral all of the time.
The check engine light came on so the car was taken to the dealer to check it out on november of 1998. The dealer said it was a bad shift solinoid that would not effect the car very much but, should be replaced sometimes. On feb. 4, the vehicle would not start so it was towed to a local garage, they said that it needed to go to a dealer because they didn't have the proper computer to diagnose the problem. The car was then towed to bob hastings ford, east rochester ny, where they found that a fuel sensor was misssing. I contend that the sensor was never there to start with but, having no way to prove it could not get them to warranty it. Two weeks later the transmission began to slip so I drove it to empire transmission, webster ny, where I was told I needed to have the transmission rebuilt. I contacted ford to see if they would cover part of the work, but I was told that since I didn't have an extended service plan there was nothing they could do. I think this is premature failure for a transmission not used for towing or off road.
Sudden acceleration transmission is slipping.
Service bulletins that may apply
- Groan/buzz/vibration when the gear selector is in park with the vehicle parked on an incline
- New transmission cooler flusher - service tips
- Torque converter clutch not engaging when commanded and/or diagnostic trouble codes P0741 or P1744 stored...
- Some vehicles may exhibit a groan/buzz/vibration when the gear selector is in park
- Some vehicles may exhibit a park pullout clunk noise when shifting from park to another gear position
- Brake shift interlock
- Information regarding the new transmission cooler flusher- service tip
- Some vehicles equipped with AX4S transaxle, may exhibit a harsh 2-3 downshift may occur when coasting...
Related recalls
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- The automatic transmission park pawl shaft may not be free to rotate as intended. If the park pawl shaft does not rotate, it would prevent the park pawl from engaging the park gear when the shift lever is in the park position.
- Risk
- This condition could result in the vehicle rolling as if in neutral with the shift lever in the park position.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the park pawl shaft rotation and those shafts with restricted rotation will be replaced with a shorter shaft that will not restrict rotation.
Recall number 96V176000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission: gear position indication (PRNDL)
- What is wrong
- The park pawl abutment bracket has a sharp edge which can cause the parking pawl to hang up and not engage the park gear. This would allow the vehicle to move even though the gear shift indicator shows that the vehicle is in park.
- Risk
- Unintended and unexpected vehicle movement can result in personal injury and property damage.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the park pawl abutment bracket.
Recall number 96V166000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- The park pawl shaft was improperly positioned when the roll pin that retains it was installed during transmission assembly. If the shaft was not properly positioned, the roll pin may not have lined up with the groove in the shaft and have been crushed at assembly. Also, a burr could have been raised on the shaft.
- Risk
- This could result in the park pawl occasionally not engaging when the transmission selector lever is placed in the park position. This could result in the vehicle rolling as if in neutral if the vehicle operator does not apply the parking brake.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the park pawl shaft roll pin. If the roll pin is damaged, both the roll pin and the park pawl shaft will be replaced. In addition, owners will be reminded to fully apply the parking brake, in addition to placing the transmission in park.
Recall number 96V086000 · Recall details
Questions about the 1996 Mercury Sable slipping
Is transmission slipping a common problem on the 1996 Mercury Sable?
7 of 302 owner complaints about the 1996 Mercury Sable (2%) mention transmission slipping. The model year with the most reports is 1996.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1996 Mercury Sable?
There are 3 recalls and 40 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1996 Mercury Sable
Jerking 14Stalling 11Transmission failure 10Headlights 8Overheating 8Sudden acceleration 8Engine failure 7ABS 6Check engine light 6Fire or smoke 6Fuel pump 6Power steering loss 6Grinding brakes 5Door locks 5Seat belt 5Steering noise 5Won't shift 5Wipers 5
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 1996 Mercury Sable?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history