Originally, 2 days prior, car felt like I was dragging something underneath. Got out and looked around car, didn't see anything. Left car for 2 days, then started to head to work. Was going only about 20mph when smoke poured out from under my car. A moment later my front passenger side tire blew. Had a friend come to help me change to the spare. He drove the car about 2 minutes back to my house and as soon as he parked it, he took the spare off because we heard a weird popping noise when he was jacking the car back up. Looked and the coil spring on the passenger side had broken and rubbed so violently against the tire that it had torn a 10-14" long hole in the tire and had burnt a ring around the inside of the tire. Thankfully I had 2 friends to replace the whole unit. I also was able to take my goodyear tire back to sam's and they prorated my tire (had less than 6,000 miles on them!!) and replaced it. Time will tell if the other one will go out but the federal safety agency needs to look at this problem. If I had been going faster, I most certainly would have been in a very bad accident. I am very thankful I had friends who were able to change the whole coil spring for me. But if this were to happen while traveling at a high rate of speed, the end result could be catastrophic.
2003 Mercury Sable suspension problems
47 complaints (23% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 75,000.
- owner complaints
- 47
- of this car's complaints
- 23%
- typical mileage
- 75,000
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Front19
- Front: springs: coil springs15
- Rear4
- Rear: springs: coil springs2
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Mercury Sable suspension problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2003 Mercury Sable suspension
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Front Suspension Coil Spring Fracture
To date, ODI is aware of 2,401 non-duplicative complaints related to the alleged defect. In addition, ODI is aware of 1,411 subject vehicles with one or more warranty claims related to the alleged defect. In total, ODI is aware of 3,645 unique subject vehicles that have experienced one or more front suspension coil spring fractures. ODI is also aware of four minor crashes related to the alleged defect resulting in one minor injury.With greater than eight years of exposure, a large subject vehicle population and approximately 2,052 reported front tire punctures caused by fractured coil springs (at all speeds), there have been no reported severe crashes, deaths or injuries related to the alleged defect. The real world consequences of these defective coil springs have been a small number of minor control problems that resulted in minor damage; suggesting that the effect of the defect on vehicle control is minor.A safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted. Accordingly, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist. The agency will continue to monitor this issue and will take further action if warranted by the circumstances. See the EA08-018 Engineering Analysis Closing Report for more details.
EA08018
What 2003 Mercury Sable owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
2003 mercury sable. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle front spring broke and slashed tire which caused an immediate flat tire.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH, a loud noise emitted outside of the vehicle. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that the rear passenger side tire exploded due to a fractured coil spring. The vehicle was towed to a private mechanic where it was diagnosed that both front clock springs, the coil springs, and the stabilizer spring bar needed to be replaced. The contact also stated that the failure occurred on the front driver's side several months later. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The approximate failure and current mileage were 91,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. The contact stated that while traveling approximately 10 MPH, the passenger side front coil spring failed and punctured the tire, causing a blow out. The vehicle was taken to a private dealer where it was determined that the coil spring had failed. The vehicle was repaired. The contact also stated that the failure occurred on the front driver's side several months later. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 154,000. The current mileage was 156,000. The VIN was not available.
Front coil spring failed while vehicle was parked in the driveway, coil spring broke in two places and punctured the front tire (spring went through the tire sidewall). If this happened while vehicle was in motion, the car would have steered sharply to the right and gone off the road. Our 2000 sable had a recall for this problem but the 2003 sable did not. Searching the web, spring failure and puncture of a front tire has occurred numerous times.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 MPH, a loud noise emitted outside of the vehicle. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that the front driver's side tire exploded due to the fractured coil spring. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where it was diagnosed that both front coil springs, the driver side tire, and sway bar needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 100,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. The contact stated that after shifting into drive, a loud noise emitted outside of the vehicle. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that the front passenger's side tire exploded due to the fractured coil spring. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where both front coil springs were replaced. Also, the front passenger's side tire was replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.
Backing up less than 5 MPH--all at once heard a pop, the car stopped moving and whooshing air. Got out of car-- driver side front tire was flat. Upon further investigation, the spring had broken and punctured the tire. Luckily, it happened at home-- not when my student driver was driving at 55 MPH or more. Over 2,400 cases reported as of june 30, 2011-- yet, no one has died or been seriously injured yet-- so no recall. If I had been on the road-- it would have been serious. The spring wedged into the tire and stopped the movement of the car-- no way would I have been able to steer and get the car off the road. I hope they reopen this investigation.
Coil spring broke. It almost punctured the tire...updated 01/25/12
Left front coil spring broke, cutting and ruining tire.
Questions about the 2003 Mercury Sable suspension
Does the 2003 Mercury Sable have suspension problems?
Owners have filed 47 complaints about the suspension of the 2003 Mercury Sable, 23% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2003 Mercury Sable suspension problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 75,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2003 Mercury Sable suspension?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Mercury Sable have bad suspension?
The Mercury Sable model years with the most suspension complaints are 2002 (239 complaints), 2001 (204 complaints) and 2000 (158 complaints).
Other 2003 Mercury Sable problems
Transmission 30Acceleration 28Engine 27Body 20Visibility 19Brakes 14Lights 13Electrical 10Airbags 8Fuel system 7Seat belts 5Steering 3Locks 2Wheels 2Driver assistance 1Tires 1
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2003 Mercury Sable?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history