2005 Mercury Sable: complete transmission failure

6 of the 83 complaints about the 2005 Mercury Sable describe complete transmission failure.

owner complaints: 6
of this car's complaints: 7%
typical mileage: 92,563
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 6 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Complete transmission failure by model year

2005
6
2004
3
2003
10
2002
3
2001
7
2000
4
1999
1
1998
4
1997
10
1996
10
1995
6
1994
20
1993
14
1992
18
1991
41
1990
5

What owners say

Filed Sep 16, 2018 · Transmission · 88,700 miles · MS

I drived it on highway and suddenly there was noise and rmp passed 4000 but no accelerated. I managed to stopped on shoulder, and restarted the car, engine run ok, and car wasn't moving, either forward or backward. I could be hit by other cars if I didn't manage to shoulder. I searched online and I found out a lot of complaints about mercury sable's transmission issues. This is very dangerous and people may get killed because of sudden transmission failure without any warning. My car has about 88700 miles on it.

Filed Mar 26, 2017 · Transmission · 155,000 miles · CT

Transmission died while driving down the highway.

Filed May 27, 2012 · Transmission · 49,000 miles · PA

I'll add my car to the list of sable/taurus transmission failures. Failed with no warning whatsoever. The car suddenly came out of gear and the rpms shot way up. It's at a transmission shop now but it appears to be the same failure as hundreds if not thousands of others online. This is a known issue with bad torque converters/input shafts. Why isn't there a recall/investigation going on for this issue. I probably won't keep the car after it's repaired as many have reported repeat failures on rebuilt transmissions even though I'll be out around $2000.00. I don't trust the car anymore.

Filed Aug 8, 2011 · Transmission · 113,700 miles · MI

I was driving along on a busy street at about 2:50pm and suddenly without any warning lights coming on, the transmission on my 2005 sable failed. I could not get the vehicle into any gear, drive or reverse. The vehicle appeared to be locked into neutral. I became stuck in the middle of heavy traffic. I got out of the vehicle and with the help of two young men pushed the vehicle into a nearby parking lot. I had the vehicle towed to pat milliken ford, redford, mich. They indicated it would take two days at least before they could advise me on the vehicle repair. The next day they called and advised me the transmission had to be replaced and it would cost $3400.00. Based on my knowledge of the powertrain system in cars this estimate was excessive. I spoke to the service advisers in person at the dealership and learned they only have two transmission technicians. In my opinion it was easier for the dealer to replace the transmission that to repair it. Its also more profitable for the dealer. It is likely this situation exist all across the USA. I had the vehicle towed to USA transmission in livonia, mich. And I explained what had occurred as I was driving along that day. They immediate told me that based on their repair experiences with the ford taurus and mercury sable, the torque converter was most likely the problem. They indicated their shop repairs a lot of taurus's and sables for the same transmission problem that I experienced. After testing, they advised the torque converter was the problem. The actual repair cost was $295.00 for the torque converter plus $50.00 for trans fluid and $695.00 for labor, total repair cost including sales tax was $1060.00. Before leaving the shop I looked at my torque converter. They indicated the inner spline on the torque converter is wearing out. This sudden failure caused by the torque converter is a safety concern.

Filed Mar 17, 2011 · Transmission · 92,563 miles · FL

Driving down street, stopped to turn, then accelerated when transmission went out, no warning signs just went out, no reverse or forward use. Sent car to repair shop and told no codes show up on computer no signs of leaks or damage to transmission, bad torque converter. Keeping old converter after hearing of similar problems with other vehicles that share same transmission. Called several transmission shops and ford dealerships and it seems to be a fairly common problem.

Filed May 8, 2008 · Transmission · TN

While driving and after coming to a complete stop the automatic transmission would not change gears. W/o warning no previous car problems, regular vehicle check-ups and the transmission goes out. I have been told by a transmission repair shop that it is the converter. After calling that shop and a ford dealership they all have had stories about this piece going out in the transmission and basically indicated that I need a new transmission or a rebuilt one. Keep in mind this is a 2005 mercury sable.