Miles 70,290 (acc) I was driving ob the highway , to avoid a crash I had to stop quickly. All indicator lamps came on but the car did not shut off. Small clouds of smoke from exhaust (white-grey). It was parked for 2 days , start up was fine driving was fine also. Once again a( lead foot) driver cut me and another car off. Same thing avoiding a crash slamming on my break. Again all indicator lights on but the cut shuts off completely. Turn it back on its was hesitation smoke and shaking. And more. A tsb was issued for a part/piece that will cause premature engine failure.
Mercury Sable hesitation problems
36 of the 4,888 owner complaints about the Mercury Sable describe hesitation when accelerating, most of them for the 1995 model year.
- owner complaints
- 36
- worst model year
- 1995
- typical mileage
- 94,950
Is there a fix? There are 5 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Jerking 6Won't shift 3Stalling 3Sudden acceleration 2Slipping 2Engine failure 2Transmission failure 1
What owners say
Tl* the contact owns a 1999 mercury sable. While driving various speeds, the brakes hesitated to stop the vehicle. In addition, the vehicle independently accelerated without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 155,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mercury sable. While driving various speeds, the vehicle would suddenly hesitate to accelerate. The contact indicated that the failure occurred on multiple occasions. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 55,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 1995 mercury sable. While driving approximately 40 MPH, the transmission jerked severely with extreme hesitation. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing who stated that the rear subframe was completely corroded, which caused damage to the transmission. The VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 93v106000 (structure). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was invalid. The approximate failure mileage was 103,219.
I took by vehicle to a tire retailer to have all four tires replaced. When the mechanic removed the wheels he found the left rear coil spring had fractured in the first active coil above the lower spring seat. The fractured end of the coil spring remained captured in the lower coil spring seat so that there is no contact (yet) between the tire and the fractured coil spring. The nature of the fracture is such that corrosion is deemed the source of failure. The service center manager referred me to by local vehicle dealership. In fact, the service manager told me mine was the "third coil spring failure in the past month" that he'd seen on 2000 ford taurus/mercury sables, one of them from his own fleet! I understand there is an existing recall campaign, manufacturer recall number 04v332000 , describing defective front coil springs for this vehicle. The failure mode described in the recall and in the federal safety agency investigation pe 04-044 is the same mode of failure described in this complaint for the rear coil springs. To the best of my knowledge though, there has not yet been any recall issued to address the defective rear coil spings of this vehicle. As I write this I am attempting to arrange a service appointment with my lincoln-mercury dealer to have the all the car's coil springs replaced, hopefully under warranty. At the very least I recommend the federal safety agency re-open investigation pe 04-044 and examine rear coil spring failure for the same vehicles (1999-2000 ford taurus/mercury sable). Consequences for rear coil spring failure are the same as for front coil spring failure, described in recall 04v332000: "tire may rupture resulting in a rapid air loss, which could result in a crash." don't hesitate to contact me should you need additional information.
While driving at 35 MPH vehicle hesitated when attempting to accelerate . Consumer was concerned that she will be rear ended. Vehicle had be repaired ten times, however the problem recurred.
In 1998 I purchased a new mercury sable. Stopping distance has been inadequate since new. Returned to dealer 3 times, checked and stated everything was fine. In panic stops it feels as if only the rear wheels are braking. Now, after 95,000 miles I have changed the rear brake pads 3 times and rear rotors once, but the original front pads are still on the car - just now needing replacement. Front rotors excellent - no outer ridge. Obviously, front brakes are not working effectively - normally front brakes provide about 60& of braking power. On november 19 I rear-ended another car in a chain-reaction panic stop. Body damage is now repaired, but I hesitate to put it back in service without determining and repairing the brake problem that has existed since the car was new. I wrote ford about the problem years ago but received no answer. The service manager at the dealership has no record that I ever complained about inadequate braking. Car was checked at brakemasters, but they could find nothing wrong. With millions of sables and tauruses built by ford, I can't believe I have the only car with this problem. I wonder how many of these cars have been involved in rear-end collisions with the owners never realizing that they had a braking problem?
In 1998 I purchased a new mercury sable. Stopping distance has been inadequate since new. Returned to dealer 3 times, checked and stated everything was fine. In panic stops it feels as if only the rear wheels are braking. Now, after 95,000 miles I have changed the rear brake pads 3 times and rear rotors once, but the original front pads are still on the car - just now needing replacement. Front rotors excellent - no outer ridge. Obviously, front brakes are not working effectively - normally front brakes provide about 60% of braking power. On november 19 2004 I rear-ended another car in a chain-reaction panic stop. Body damage is now repaired, but I hesitate to put it back in service without determining and repairing the brake problem that has existed since the car was new. I wrote ford about the problem years ago but received no answer. The service manager at the dealership has no record that I ever complained about inadequate braking. Car was checked at brakemasters, but they could find nothing wrong. With millions of sables and tauruses built by ford, I can't believe I have the only car with this problem. I wonder how many of these cars have been involved in rear-end collisions with the owners never realizing that they had a braking problem? I would like to know why the front brakes are not working, so I can repair the problem!
About 1 month after the mass air flow sensor was replaced and about 6 months after my head gaskets were replaced, my sable started to hesitate when warm. The vehicle has no power. The fuel pump, fuel filter, air filter and throttle position sensor have all been replaced with no effect. The timing has also been found to be right on.
Hesitation in transmission. Excessive leak in trans fluid, made a large puddle. Had a wobble as vehicle accelerated. Had front trans seal and axle seals replace, as well as one axle
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 hesitation
Which Mercury Sable years have hesitation when accelerating problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1995 (6 complaints), 1993 (5 complaints) and 1994 (5 complaints).
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