I started my car to take it for an oil change. With the engine warmed up I shifted into gear to go. Without any warning symptoms (no clunking, no grinding gears, no loss of fluids,...) the transmission decided to completely fail. The car would not go forward nor backwards as no gears were working. As this is now the third complete failure of the transmission on this car, I am trying to decide if I should try to get it repaired again. In all my years of driving, this is the only car that I have owned that has had transmission problems. There are known design flaws - the torque converter splines are not beefy enough and the vent fitting with a check valve on the trans housing malfunctions closed and causes the trans fluid to shoot back out of the dipstick tube, and there are other issues with this transmission as well... The same ford/mercury transmission model was recalled in another ford vehicle. I repeat, the same failure prone part in another vehicle was recalled. There are thousands of complaints online about this particular transmission in sables and taurus vehicles it is a serious problem as the instantaneous complete transmission failure can easily occur in dangerous traffic situations. It previously failed with my car in motion on a highway! It's not clear as to why there is no recall nor warning. An investigation on the internet will clearly reveal thousands of failures and data is available at transmission and garage shops. Do something please.
2003 Mercury Sable transmission complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 30 of 30, newest first, as owners wrote them.
After refueling at busy gas station, started the car and the car would not go forward or backwards as no gears were working. The car engine was working fine but the transmission died without any warning symptoms - no clunking, no grinding gears, no loss of fluids,... It just completely failed. The car was repaired with a used transmission. The same ford/mercury transmission model was recalled in another ford vehicle. There are thousands of complaints online about this particular transmission in sables and taurus vehicles it is a serious problem as the instantaneous complete transmission failure can easily occur in dangerous traffic situations. It previously failed with the car in motion on a highway! It's not clear as to why there is no recall nor warning. An investigation on the internet will clearly reveal thousands of failures and data is available at transmission and garage shops. Do something please.
Wife was driving vehicle on highway. The car engine kept running but the transmission died without any warning symptoms - no clunking, no grinding gears, no loss of fluids,... It just completely failed while in motion. Thank god she was able to coast towards the shoulder and avoid being hit. The car was repaired with a used transmission. The same transmission was recalled in another ford vehicle. There are thousands of complaints online about this particular transmission in sables and taurus vehicles it is a serious problem as the instantaneous complete transmission failure can easily occur in dangerous traffic situations. It's not clear as to why there is no recall nor warning. An investigation on the internet will clearly reveal thousands of failures and data is available at transmission and garage shops. Do something.
Third time here we go!!! The torque converter has been replaced twice on this mercury sable piece of junk! Please see the federal safety agency report id # 10333941 this was the first time the torque converter failed. I had it repaired at a ford / mercury dealership. Received a 12/12 warranty (12k miles or 12 months) it failed again at eleven months and 12100 miles 100 miles over the warranty so they told me tough luck buddy.. I had it repaired again same dealership. I did not even bother to file a report I figured its a waste of time any how. And now here we go again 3rd time. That ford can manufacture and sell junk and get away with it is criminal. I guess buyer beware don't by ford and especially do not buy ford front wheel drive. When it comes to ford... I would never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence when it comes to class action lawsuits ... Does it matter what the judge drives ? Have you been driven by ford lately.
My wife was accelerating at about 10 MPH when the vehicle completely went out of gear. The engine was running but the car failed to move quickly coming to a dead stop. It turns out it is the torque converter. I understand that mercury sables have this problem. It is the same transmission as is in a ford windstar that did have a recall to replace these defective transmissions. If this had occurred on the interstate during rush hour in our area she could have been hurt and in an accident. Why no recall??
While driving at 40 MPH transmission suddenly failed, no ability to move car out of traffic. Driver and passengers almost were rear ended by following traffic. Unable to move car off of roadway. Engine ran but car would not move.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. The contact stated that he attempted to accelerate from a complete stop however, the vehicle would not respond. The vehicle was later towed to an independent mechanic where the contact was advised that the torque converter failed and deposited metal shavings into the transmission. The vehicle was repaired by rebuilding the transmission. The torque converter was also replaced. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The failure and current mileages were approximately 70,000.
I pulled up to a stoplight. When it turned green, I depressed the accelerator and the vehicle's engine revved as though it were in neutral. When shifted into any forward gear or reverse gear, it would not move. It was as though it were stuck in neutral. The transmission specialist said it was a common problem, knew exactly what it was, and quipped that he was surprised mine had lasted this long. Upon researching online, it appears that this is an incredibly widespread problem. In fact, ford knows it is a problem as it has recalled two of their minivans that contain the very same transmission. It is the same part failing. Why does it warrant a recall in one vehicle but not another??
I was driving north on us31 just north of muskegon, michigan. I was going 70 MPH when with no warning the car (2003 mercury sable) lost drive train power and was suddenly only coasting. I had to pull of onto the shoulder of the highway in heavy traffic. Also I had my three adult autistic children with me, and they all got extremely nervous sitting at the side of the highway as the passing cars were making our vehicle move from the air currents. I was very concerned one of them might try and jump from the car from panic. As for the car itself, I thought maybe the serpentine belt has broke but when I checked it was okay. I restarted the car and put the transmission in gear and nothing... No forward or reverse, no movement at all. So I called my father who was fortunately there within half an hour (or with my kids it could have been a really bad situation) and he rescued us and I had a wrecker tow the car home. I called several transmission shops who all told me it is a very common transmission problem with this vehicle as well as the ford taurus. They pretty much all told me it should be rebuilt as the new parts are better than the original because the new parts are replacing parts ford knows they have a problem with. Even a mechanic at the ford dealership told me these vehicles have tranny troubles. My car has 157,000 miles so I guess I should feel lucky after reading internet posts of many of these cars doing to same thing with under 50,000 miles. I think it is a problem that should be recalled before someone gets killed with the tranny just quitting like that if someone hasn't already. Cant imagine being on a road with no shoulder in extreme heavy traffic and I sure don't have the $1200 to $3200 to get it repaired.. Ford should be required to fix this obvious bad transmission.
I was driving the car. Came to a stop and pressed the gas pedal to accelerate. The car started out ok and the MPH reached 15mph and then there was nothing. It was like the car was in neutral. I had to coast off the side of the road. Had t have the car towed home. Spoke with several ford dealerships service mechanics and everyone of them said that they were almost 100% that it was the torque converter (inside the transmission). And could also be the whole transmission. The car wont go into gear. You can move the gearshift flawlessly thru the gears and nothing the car wont move. I was also told by every ford mechanic that this is a huge problem with that year of car and that transmission (ax4n). Then to find out that ford knows of the problem and no recall! Then I find out today that ford issued a recall on the ford windstar for the transmissions (which are the same transmissions that are in the sable and in the ford taurus, the model # tranny ax4n). If ford can issue a recall on the windstar for the same problem as the sable and taurus why cant they issue a recall on all of them? The cost to fix my sable is anywhere from $1300 to $1800 and that's if its only the torque converter and not the whole tranny which would cost in the $3500 to $4500 range. And both quotes are coming from ford mechanics who have done numerous sables etc with this same problem. I am a single mother and definitely do not have the money to have my car fixed!!!! Apparently this is a huge problem and I feel along with so many others that ford should do a recall and fix it for free!!!! Especially when they recall the windstar for the same tranny and same problem! This is an ongoing problem and ford should address it and take care of it. Because as of right now I sit without a car. I have had other ford cars and never a problem that's the only reason I purchased this one. If I would only knew.....
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. The contact stated that the vehicle began to loose power while attempting to enter the highway. The contact was able to exit the highway without incident and while stopped at a traffic light, the rpms began to increase tremendously. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but denied any assistance with repairs to the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 101,000.
Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) please see your report pe09033. My mercury sable uses the same transmission. And this week end me and my family almost got killed when on I-75 in the middle of a construction zone with concrete barriers on both sides my transmission died with no warning. This car has only 40000 miles on it and I changed the fluid as recommended at 30000 miles. The mechanic said that this was a catastrophic transmission failure and never should have happened at 40000 miles! The mechanic said to me you had no warning did you! I agreed. He said the torque converter had probably failed! The he told me it would cost about $2200 for parts and about $1100 for labor a grand total of $3300. I am an engineer so I know a little about engines and mechanical applications. This should never have happened. I believe after some research that these transmissions have a significant design fault in them partly from torque converter failure and partly from over heating because of poor circulation and heat dissipation design. I would like to register an official complaint with the federal safety agency about the above and join or start a campaign for a recall about the above stated problem. I hope that at some point I will have some recourse with ford. So with some anticipation I respectfully request some help or a response with to my request. [xxx]
I have a 2003 sable upon driving on the interstate, my car just stopped going forward. I had to have it towed to a garage and have it diagnosed. Come to find out the transmission failed and will cost me over $2700 to replace it. I have contacted every transmission repair shop in a 75 mile radius and they all give me the same price. They have also told me that every sable they have run across around that year of production has had the pump in the transmission has failed. There is only 72,000 on this car and I do not have the money to replace the transmission. This is an issue that should be taken care of by the manufacturer.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. The contact experienced issues with shifting the gear shift into the appropriate gears. He could not move the gear shift at all, even when the brake pedal was depressed. He also noticed that the brake lights were inoperable when the brake pedal was depressed. The gear shift would not budge from the park position. The VIN was excluded from the federal safety agency campaign id number 04v106000. The vehicle has not been repaired. The current and failure mileages were less than 157,000.
I was driving along, and with no warning, no noise no squeak transmission failure at 34,000 miles, also master cylinder failure. Last month.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. The contact stopped into a service station and turned off the vehicle. He restarted the vehicle and attempted to shift into gear; however, it would not shift until approximately 20 minutes later. The contact drove home and noticed that the rear brake lights were not illuminating. Through online research, the contact discovered the federal safety agency campaign id number 04v106000 (exterior lighting:brake lights:switch); however, his VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 101,000.
I was heading to church. I turned on to another road when my car stopped going. It sounded fine but when I tried to push the gas to go, the car would not go. I've only had the car about 3 to 4 yrs, and have only put about 50,000 miles on the car. I had the car towed to eckenrod ford in cullman, al. With a lot of persistence and a bulldog attitude, they are currently fixing my car. But, it is costing me money I don't have since I just had a baby. Who ,by the way, was with me when the car failed to drive properly (on a cold snowy sat. Morning). They know they have this problem, I don't know why they don't take care of it all together. I could have been in the middle of a busy highway like the last car I had when it did the same thing. Guess what, it was a 2000 ford taurus with the same service bulletin as this car and had to be fixed but I didn't pay for it. Instead they managed to get me in the car I currently have with the same problem. They need to fix their cars and quiet giving the consumer a hard time about it. How many have to tear up before they do anything about it?????????
Went to take my daughter to school one morning, noticed that the car took extra long to engage into reverse. Drove my daughter to school, went to work and decided that I better check the transmission fluid. Upon removing the dip stick, the transmission fluid came boiling out of the dip stick hole. I immediately called a tow truck and had it taken to aamco transmission located at 1705 w. Kennedy blvd., tampa, fl 33606, 813‑251‑1049. Upon their inspection of the transmission, they had determined that the torque converter had gone bad which in turn caused the pump to go bad. So therefore, I had to have a complete overhaul of the transmission which has now cost me $2223.04 plus $88.11 for car rental. Total amount was $2311.15. I am going to make a formal demand for payment from mercury as this should not have happened on a car that only has 37000 miles on it.
Dt: contact stated the instrument panel would light up and the radio would go out, and the vehicle would shut off. She put the vehicle in park and was able to restart it. She contacted the mechanic, who replaced the two sensors on the vehicle. *ak the mechanic stated the vehicle thinks it is being stolen. The vehicle is still having the same problem.
Engine noisy.
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