I now have 75,000 miles on the vehicle, but at around the 15,000 mile point the driver's side front strut went out followed by the passenger front strut 4,000 miles later. In total both front struts have been replaced three times (the original and two replacement sets) and the driver's side front strut is again making a clunking sound, same as before. The dealer has replaced the original and first replacement set at their cost but the last set was at my cost. With the struts showing signs of needing replacement again I don't feel that I should be funding for the cost, there is definitely a defect in the struts if that many became defective in that short of a time period. The vehicle is driven on good roads and not abused. Since this is part of the suspension system it can/will affect driving safety and tire wear.
Mercury Sable harsh shifting problems
33 of the 4,888 owner complaints about the Mercury Sable describe harsh or hard shifting, most of them for the 1994 model year.
- owner complaints
- 33
- worst model year
- 1994
- typical mileage
- 67,220
By model year
- 20091
- 20033
- 20022
- 20001
- 19992
- 19982
- 19973
- 19963
- 19954
- 19944
- 19932
- 19922
- 19911
- 19903
Often reported together
Coil spring 4Grinding brakes 4Transmission failure 3Steering noise 3Jerking 2Tire blowout 1Power steering loss 1
What owners say
Approximately 39,000 miles. No rust car. Rubbing noise and all tires with history of losing air. While replacing all tires, wheel tech noticed right rear coil spring was fractured and completely wore off interior tire ridge. Placed doughnut tire on and advised I take to mechanic to have all springs fully checked. Car currentlyat mechanic shop this evening. Right rear coil spring definitely fractured. Seems many reports of same nature on this model. Why no recall on rear coil springs with so many complaints? Rubbing sound from beneath car has been noted and tires constantly needed air. Other issue(s): 1) ignition extremely hard to turn.2) accelerator seems to stick upon attempting to decelerate by letting up foot pressure. I inherited this car from my deceased father. I was always concerned that he accelerated too quickly from a stopped position. Father took down a large concrete planter due to this type of car jerking, yet I thought it was due to his putting too much pressure upon the accelerator. Now that I am driving the car, I note that car does not slow when I let up on the accelerator, leading me to believe that the accident was not due to father's driving. This was never a problem with his former car. 3) driver's door makes loud clunk upon opening and closing. Are these known problems?
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.
Backing out of my driveway I heard a loud clunk and the car wouldn't move. Discovered my left front tire was flat. Upon further examination, the spring coil had broken and popped the tire. Getting the tire replaced the mechanic told me that the back spring was broken also.
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 mercury sable. While driving approximately 20 MPH over a bump in the road, the contact heard a loud clunking noise. The noise was heard whenever the vehicle drove over a bump in the road. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection and they stated that the rear coil springs and shocks were the source of the noise. The vehicle has not been repaired. The vehicle was previously repaired according to the federal safety agency campaign id number 04v332000 (suspension,front;springs:coil springs). The failure and current mileages were 131,128.
Consumer reimbursement request regarding the replacement for the 1999 mercury sable ABS module.*mr the consumer stated the problem first began when the brakes were making a clunking noise and sticking when the brakes were applied. The problem with the brakes was not diagnosed properly which LED to unnecessary costly brake repair bills.
On may 10, 2005, I was driving to an appt. After I got off the highway, I was driving down tarkiln hill road and my car started to make a loud clunking sound and the steering was off. I applied my brake at the red light and my brake pedal went down to the floor. I was able to stop the car. I went to the appt. Which was two blocks away very slowly. When I got out of the appt. To come home, the car started and the noise was gone. I drove slowly home and when I got home, I looked on the internet to see if anyone had this problem. I came across a complaint page where someone is complaining of the same issue and stated that his steering went. He said it was due to a safety recall. I looked up the recall and came across a page that had the recalls for my vehicle which is a 1994 mercury sable. The campaign id # is 98v323000. It goes on to say: summary: detachment of the body mounts at the rear corners of the subframe, which supports the engine and transmission, allows the rear corners of the subframe to drop. If both rear corners drop, steering would become suddenly very difficult, affecting vehicle control and increasing the risk of a crash. I contacted the dealer on church street in new bedford, sentury lincoln/mercury. They told me to bring the car in. When I got there, they told me there would be a $75.00 charge to see if that is the problem, and if it is, I would have to pay, because the recall was not on their computer. I called the ford company's 800 number and was told the same thing. I then called a mercury number, that I got off the internet and was told by that gentleman that the id # of the recall is from a vendor and the ford company has a right to not consider it a recall and if they do not support it, which they do not, I would have to file a complaint with you, which is what I am doing.
Broken right front coil spring observed while servicing brake system. Severe clunking sound radiated through vehicle for 3-5 days prior to service.
Related recalls
Power train: automatic transmission: cooling unit and lines
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equpped with the "california" emissions package. An incorrect transmission oil cooler line was installed. The line contacts the anti-lock braking system module support bracket and over time, can wear and develop a leak.
- Risk
- Transmission fluid leakage onto the exhaust manifold or catalytic converter can result in a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install the appropriate transmission oil cooler line.
Recall number 98V288000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with ax4s automatic transaxles. The low/intermediate servo cover can separate from the transaxle while the vehicle is being driven. If this occurs, transmission fluid will leak contacting the catalytic converter.
- Risk
- The catalytic converter temperature may be hot enough to ignite the transmission fluid and cause a vehicle fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the transmission and replace these servo covers.
Recall number 97V097000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- The automatic transmission park pawl shaft may not be free to rotate as intended. If the park pawl shaft does not rotate, it would prevent the park pawl from engaging the park gear when the shift lever is in the park position.
- Risk
- This condition could result in the vehicle rolling as if in neutral with the shift lever in the park position.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the park pawl shaft rotation and those shafts with restricted rotation will be replaced with a shorter shaft that will not restrict rotation.
Recall number 96V176000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission: gear position indication (PRNDL)
- What is wrong
- The park pawl abutment bracket has a sharp edge which can cause the parking pawl to hang up and not engage the park gear. This would allow the vehicle to move even though the gear shift indicator shows that the vehicle is in park.
- Risk
- Unintended and unexpected vehicle movement can result in personal injury and property damage.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the park pawl abutment bracket.
Recall number 96V166000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- The park pawl shaft was improperly positioned when the roll pin that retains it was installed during transmission assembly. If the shaft was not properly positioned, the roll pin may not have lined up with the groove in the shaft and have been crushed at assembly. Also, a burr could have been raised on the shaft.
- Risk
- This could result in the park pawl occasionally not engaging when the transmission selector lever is placed in the park position. This could result in the vehicle rolling as if in neutral if the vehicle operator does not apply the parking brake.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the park pawl shaft roll pin. If the roll pin is damaged, both the roll pin and the park pawl shaft will be replaced. In addition, owners will be reminded to fully apply the parking brake, in addition to placing the transmission in park.
Recall number 96V086000 · Recall details
Questions about the Mercury Sable harsh shifting
Which Mercury Sable years have harsh or hard shifting problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1994 (4 complaints), 1995 (4 complaints) and 1990 (3 complaints).
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