2001 Mercury Sable: tire blowout or tread separation

Filed Oct 3, 2008 · Suspension · 50,000 miles · NJ

Noticed a few years ago a rattle in the rear passenger side, thought it might be a sheet metal brace inside a covered panel or something like that. My son made an observation this year of how low the rear of the car was. Took it in for service and found that both rear coil springs were destroyed, one having ground a groove on the inner sidewall down to the cord. Total cost of repair - $1395.14, $243.90 of which was for replacing 2 good tires damaged by the springs. Incident date is just an educated guess, as the failure was not readily noticed by me. Repair was done 7-12-08. This is an obvious defect that has not been addressed yet. Ford should be made to reimburse those owners who have had to pay for repairs. I have owned many ford products over the years and have never had an issue like this occur. A catastrophic tire failure at highway speed could have caused injury or even death that could have been avoided had this issue been properly dealt with.

Filed Aug 18, 2008 · Suspension · 140,000 miles · WI

Right rear coil spring broke and caused tire to blow out.

Filed Jun 1, 2008 · Suspension · 77,000 miles · NJ

Left rear tire blew out while driving on highway. Service station replaced tire. During test drive, new tire was damaged to almost blow out. Replaced tire again and discovered broken rear spring. Replaced both rear springs and struts, in addition to the 2nd new tire. (also had rear brakes replaced one month earlier. The original issue was that the car shook. Altogether, I spent $2,400. On springs, struts, tires, and brakes.)

Filed Jun 24, 2007 · Suspension · 95,630 miles · IL

I work nights in kankakee,I had just got off of work and was heading home on route 45/52 south 3 miles from kankakee at 60 MPH when I heard a noise coming from under the car about 15 seconds later the left tire blew,I pulled over to change the tire,when I removed the wheel I noticed the tire (side facing coil spring)looked as though it had been cut open like the top of a tin can,I then noticed the coil spring was broken and had a sharp edge protruding toward where the inner side wall would be,I mean this tire was cut all the way in a perfect circle aproximately 2 inches from the wheel edge,while changing the tire I was almost hit by a car that was passing another car.

Filed Apr 30, 2007 · Suspension · PA

I own a 2001 mercury sable sedan. On april 26 I was driving on the highway at approximately 9 MPH when my rear passenger tire blew out. I was able to keep control of the car with difficulty, and get it to the side of the road. Upon having the car inspected by a mechanic, it was found that the rear passenger side boot had broken and the coil spring had pierced my tire. I had the 2 front boots and springs replaced on january 10, 2006 because the same thing happened to the driver side front coil and boot. I found out at that time that this was a recalled problem. Upon calling the ford dealership on april 27 to notify them, I was informed that this is a "frequent problem with the taurus and sables, but there is no recall for the back coil springs". I then notified the ford motor company and was informed that what the dealer told me was true. This could have been a fatality. The public should be made aware that not just the front coils are an issue. The car is having both rear springs repaired at a cost of approximately $470.00 this does not include the cost of replacing the destroyed tire which will cost an additional $85.00. Thank you.

Filed Jul 17, 2006 · Suspension · 82,970 miles · CT

Dt*: the contact stated while driving at 55 MPH., on a clear dry day, the rear driver side tire blew out. When the tire was changed, the interior side wall was observed to be worn away and had been punctured by a fractured coil. The vehicle was driven to the dealer service for repairs. The manufacturer was also alert.

Filed Jun 4, 2006 · Suspension · 33,000 miles · NH

2001 sable rear coil spring corroded and broke. The broken spring punctured the tire causing a blowout. Our dealer informed us that both springs needed to be replaced. Additionally we were informed that there was a recall on the front springs o4s17. However the recall is not to replace the springs, they will be installing special shields on the front springs so that if a spring does fail it will not cause the tire to blow out. This to me is unacceptable! How can you allow the ford to produce and sell faulty and unsafe automobiles without demanding that they fix the problem and not apply a band-aid?

Filed Mar 30, 2006 · Suspension · 50,000 miles · NJ

Defective rear springs in 2001 mercury sable. The manufacturer admits a defect in the front coil springs and launched a recall. However, the rear coil springs also proved to be defective on my vehicle. Manufacturer refused to cover expense. The rear coil spring broke which in turn damaged the strut and gouged the new tire while vehicle was traveling on highway. It is apparent there was a flaw in the metal. The total amount of the repairs was $446.66 fortunately I was not involved in an accident when the tire blew out.

Filed Mar 14, 2006 · Suspension · 74,635 miles · NY

2001 mercury sable ls tire blew out. The front coil spring and strut assembly fractured, piercing the tire. This caused the tire inside wall to shred. *ts the vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop for repairs. The consumer later found out that the front coil spring had been recalled. The consumer contacted the manufacturer who advised her to contact the local dealer and submit the invoice for reimbursement. The invoice was taken to the local dealer but they refused to accept it because the repair were not made by them or at another ford dealer.

Filed Jan 11, 2006 · Suspension · 52,400 miles · IL

While driving on a busy toll way I heard some strange noises -- a loud banging and scraping or rubbing. In less than a minute, my right rear tire blew out. I pulled to the shoulder to change the tire. When I removed the tire, it had a groove cut into the inner sidewall with a puncture in the groove. I examined the wheel-well to determine the cause of the damage and saw a piece of the coil spring sticking out. I took the car directly to the dealer who informed me that the coil spring had broken and that both rear springs needed to be replaced. I asked what would cause that and he told me that usually it was due to corrosion. I remembered there had been a recall associated with the coil spring corrosion failure but the dealer informed me that the recall applied only to the front springs (though surely the front and rear springs would be made from the same metal). He further told me that he would not be able to get the ford parts for nearly a week but he could get 3rd-party parts immediately, though at a higher price. I could not afford to go a week without my car (and given that the ford parts had failed at five years with only 50000 miles, perhaps a new ford part wouldn't really be that much of a bargain) so I opted for the aftermarket springs. They replaced both springs with the aftermarket parts but afterwards the car did not handle correctly and continued to make loud percussive sounds when going over even modest road irregularities. I took the car back a few days later and the dealer informed me that both rear struts needed to be replaced, adding that they were probably damaged when the spring broke. After the new struts were installed the car seems to be mostly back to normal. The total for all repairs was around $1000, plus I spent another $120 on a new tire and $70 for car rental while waiting on repairs. I do not have any of the old parts available.

Filed Oct 7, 2005 · Suspension · 47,623 miles · OH

Dt: the consumer stated that the passenger side coil spring broke and punctured the tire. This caused the tire to blow out. The consumer was slowing down when the tire blew out. This happened on dry pavement. The tires were serviced regularly, but the consumer heard some type of noise. This happened on june 25, 2005. The dealer said that the noise was due to the coil spring. The dealer replaced the rear coil spring and the rear tire. *ak (11/17/05)

Filed Jun 27, 2005 · Suspension · 65,000 miles · NJ

My daughter was driving the car ( mercury sable ls ) on saturday night when she experienced a high speed ( 55 MPH ) right rear tire blow out. The inside wheel well of the tire was peeled off. These are brand new michlen p225-60r16 tires with approx. 10,000 miles of usage. Someone helped her change the tire. After I purchased a new tire and went to change the spare tire I saw that the right rear spring had come off the shoulder of the strut. This vehicle is on recall for the front springs which could cause a front tire blow out but ford motor company said that they were not aware of any problems with the rear springs. The car goes in the shop on thursday 6-30-2005 for the front spring recall and I'm going to let them look at the failure on the right rear spring. If I don't get satisfaction from them I will repalce the spring and strut at a cost for materials of approx. $300.00..