Tl* the contact owns a 1996 mercury sable. While driving at various speeds, a squeaking noise was heard under the vehicle, especially when slowing down, making turns, and reversing. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the cradle and subframe bushing were corroded and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. In addition, while driving at certain speeds and making right or left turns, the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
Mercury Sable grinding brakes problems
62 of the 4,888 owner complaints about the Mercury Sable describe grinding or squealing brakes, most of them for the 2002 model year.
- owner complaints
- 62
- worst model year
- 2002
- typical repair cost reported
- $700
- typical mileage
- 70,300
Is there a fix? There are 5 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Coil spring 15Transmission failure 5Harsh shifting 4Tire blowout 2Steering noise 2Stalling 2Slipping 2Misfire 2
What owners say
Car was completely stopped. When engaged into reverse, car made loud noise, tires squealed, engine raced and crashed into parked car behind it at high rate of speed. Parked vehicle that was struck then struck car next to it since impact was so great. Car was uncontrollable, could not be stopped via brakes.
Passenger side front brake caliper and hydraulic hose not working properly. Had replaced caliper, hose and master cylinder. Brakes still make noise, grinding when brakes are applied. I took back to have looked at twice, replaced hose again. Over $500.00 in fixing and still not working right. Replaced caliper and hose twice.
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.
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.
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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 mercury sable. The contact stated that the vehicle made a loud grinding noise while reversing then the left front end dropped. The contact inspected the vehicle and found that the left front tire was flat. The vehicle was towed to the mechanic and was inspected. The left front coil spring fractured due to corrosion and cut the tire side wall. The manufacture was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 55,000.
I was driving on route 31 west in medina ny and the car would not stop I had to put my car in park and my transmission was really grinding. Thank god no one was in the area or someone would have been really hurt ? I brought the car to the repair shop and the cause was the cruise control and it was removed.
Without warning I experienced a loss of power with my 2004 mercury sable. After driving my car approximately 46 miles (I live 47 miles from job) I came to a stop sign and when I went to proceed through the stop sign, I was not able to do so. I had lost forward and reverse gears and the car would not move. There were no warning signs. No slipping, no banging, no grinding or any other noises that almost always are associated with transmission failure. I had the car towed to a transmission shop (aamco of mineola, ny) and the transmission was replaced. I never in all my 32 years of driving had a transmission fail in the manner that this transmission did. I also truly felt it was a torque converter or input shaft failure but I am not a mechanic (I do have a good knowledge of how a car and it's components work) and just decided to get the transmission fixed. I did not think much about this until I received a notice that my ford freestar is involved in a recall (11s25/the federal safety agency recall 12v‑006) which described the same failure. It just so happens that it is also a model year 2004 and is equipped with the same model transmission (ax4s). I am now very confident that the transmission's torque converter failed just as it is described in the recall for my ford freestar. I believe that there is a design problem with the splines in the torque converter when it is manufactured and a possible failure of the input shaft (which the torque converter spins on).
Driver backing out of parking space when heard metallic grinding sound followed by a bang. Then we heard the sound of metal on pavement. When got out of car the drivers side of the car was sitting so low that I could not get a jack under it. The driver front tire was completely shredded on the inside of the wheel well. It is costing us $700 to repair. As per odi resume ea 08-18 document under reason for closing the following sentence appears, "the coil springs in the subject vehicles are defective." even if there is no real danger to traffic safety it is still and issue that ford should be required to address, we as the driving public should not have to pay hundreds of dollars to repair it. Also if ford wants to keep their customers they should address problems such as this. We are thinking of looking to toyota or honda for our next car after driving fords since 1997.
Related recalls
Service brakes, hydraulic: pedals and linkages
- What is wrong
- Certain passenger vehicles equipped with adjustable padels are being recalled in order to adjust the brake and accelerator pedals to a minimum of 50 mm of lateral separation. Simultaneous application of both the brake and accelerator pedals could result in an increase in engine RPM.
- Risk
- This could result in a customer experiencing an "unintended vehicle speed increase" or a perceived "unable to stop" condition.
- Remedy
- Owners will be instructed as to the proper way to set the position of the pedals and to take their vehicles to a dealer to have the spacing between the brake and accelerator pedals measured. If the spacing is found to be less than 50 mm, the dealer will adjust the pedals to increase the distance between them to greater than 50 mm. Owner notification began october 28, 2002. Owners who do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1‑866‑436‑7332.
Recall number 02V266000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: brake fluid low warning: lamp
- What is wrong
- The brake system fluid level indicator lamp switch can malfunction. This does not comply with fmvss no. 105, "hydraulic brake systems."
- Risk
- Consequence of non-compliance: if the switch malfuntions, the brake system warning lamp will either remain illuminated continuously or fail to light as intended when the fluid level falls to a certain level. In either case, the vehicle operator would not be warned of a low brake fluid level condition.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the brake system fluid level indicator lamp switches.
Recall number 96V016000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: pedals and linkages
- What is wrong
- The retainer clip which holds the master cylinder push rod to the brake pedal arm is missing or not completely installed. The push rod can separate from the brake pedal arm.
- Risk
- This can result in loss of braking ability and an accident.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, install the retainer clip.
Recall number 94V198000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
- What is wrong
- Anti-lock brake system controllers designed for rear wheel drive cars may have been installed on these front wheel drive cars..
- Risk
- This could result in reduced braking ability and possiblevehicle accident.
- Remedy
- Replace the rear wheel drive ABS controller with a front wheel drive ABS controller.
Recall number 93V023000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: disc: rotor
- What is wrong
- Front disc brake rotors of the subject vehicles may experience severe corrosion if operated in areas where calcium chloride and sodium chloride are used extensively.
- Risk
- Severely corroded rotors may fracture or separate nearthe inner edges of the brake discs resulting in reduced braking effectiveness,higher than normal pedal efforts, loud grinding noises, and moderate pulls whenthe brakes are applied. Reduced braking effectiveness may increase minimumstopping distances, possibly resulting in an accident.
- Remedy
- Replace front brake rotors with full cast front brake rotors.
Recall number 91V134000 · Recall details
Questions about the Mercury Sable grinding brakes
Which Mercury Sable years have grinding or squealing brakes problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2002 (12 complaints), 2001 (6 complaints) and 2003 (6 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix grinding or squealing brakes on the Mercury Sable?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $700 (median of 12 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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