On April 12 I exited my drive onto the 55 mph highway in front of my house when suddenly the car began to shudder. I jammed the gas to get up to speed to prevent oncoming cars from hitting me which made the problem much worse. It was violently shuddering and wouldn’t accelerate. I took my foot off the gas which stopped the shaking. I gassed it slowly and I could accelerate to speed much slower than I would have liked. It wasn’t smooth. One half mile later it suddenly and violently began again. Taking my foot off the gas it smoothed out and I could accelerate again. I changed plans and went to the service garage to see what the problem was. It seems the problem is a known issue that hasn’t been addressed. I’m glad there were no cars coming from the opposite direction which could have impacted the drivers side while I was floundering out of my drive. I will enclose the garages assessment.
Mercury Sable shudder problems
11 of the 4,888 owner complaints about the Mercury Sable describe shudder or vibration when accelerating, most of them for the 2000 model year.
- owner complaints
- 11
- worst model year
- 2000
By model year
- 20092
- 20081
- 20051
- 20021
- 20003
- 19962
- 19931
Often reported together
Jerking 2Check engine light 2Sudden acceleration 1Stalling 1Loss of power 1Brake failure 1Adaptive cruise 1
What owners say
The contact owns a 2002 Mercury Sable. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light and transmission symbol remained illuminated. Additionally, while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would not properly accelerate. The contact stated that the vehicle shuddered and stalled occasionally. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was unknown.
Purchased vehicle from a private seller 10 days prior to incident. Seller informed me they had replaced throttle body sensor to fix unintended acceleration issues. Drove vehicle home on 4/10/22 with one incident on highway where I attempted to slow vehicle after reaching approx 70mph, and vehicle seemed to jolt/shudder as if unable to brake smoothly. Did not drive again til 4/18/22: I attempted to drive vehicle to tire shop to have new tires installed. After backing out of driveway, I accelerated quickly to approx. 25mph. Acceleration continued past 25mph despite me letting off the gas pedal. I hit the brakes and felt the acceleration continuing to push against them, causing the car to jolt/shake with the application of the brakes. I slowed to a stop at a nearby traffic light, where the engine continued to rev at approx. 2000rpm. When I let off the brakes and drove through the intersection, the car continued to accelerate to around 30-35mph without me pressing the gas pedal at all. I again applied the brakes to regain control of the vehicle, and it again jolted against them as the engine continued to rev excessively. After the next light, I pulled over and placed the car in park. Here, engine stopped revving high, and when I put it in drive again, the issue had ceased. Reading up on complains, have found dozens of similar driver issues with uncontrollable acceleration on similar model-year Mercury Sables and Ford Tauruses, with no clear solution to the issue to allow me to safely drive this vehicle with my child inside. My and my child's safety is placed at risk with increased chance of brake failure, without recourse from manufacturer or the federal safety agency, who've concluded their investigation despite frequent complaints. Problem has not yet been confirmed by dealer/ISC. Vehicle has not been inspected. No check engine lights or other warning of issue from vehicle. At no point was gas pedal physically stuck in the acceleration position. Issue is known to the federal safety agency, but not resolved.
Automobile engine inadvertently stopped running while driving at highway speed. Only indication was illumination of alternator system failure warning light and tachometer indication of zero. There was no associated shudder, lurching, or other physical indication that engine had failed. No engine service light or other indication was displayed. Vehicle transmission was placed into neutral, restart attempted, and engine resumed normal operation without further incident. This problem has occurred three times in the last 120 days. I contacted the dealer, where the vehicle was purchased - sentry ford in medford ma., and the service rep on the phone found no apparent reason for the malfunction or to schedule a diagnostic dealer service appointment, since no engine service light came on, based on my testimonial. He also told me that if the engine service light does not come on, no failure codes are stored in the on board vehicle operation history database and the problem can not be diagnosed and the dealer can not provide assistance or guidance for repair.
Automobile engine inadvertently stopped running while driving at highway speed with cruise control engaged. Only indication was illumination of alternator system failure warning light and tachometer indication of zero. There was no associated shudder, lurching, or other physical indication that engine had failed. No engine service light or other indication was displayed. Vehicle transmission was placed into neutral, restart attempted, and engine resumed normal operation without further incident. This problem has occurred three times in the last 60 days. Vehicle was taken to manufacturer dealership for troubleshooting and repair. Technicians have found no apparent reason for the malfunction and claim there are no failure codes stored in the onboard vehicle operation history database.
Brakes shudder when applied, been cut down once already stopped for about 5000 miles then started again increasing in intensity as mileage climbed, also car will shut off for a moment or two causing loss of all power, and all dash indicator lights to come on, also had to replace brake light switch twice now.
Severe front shudder during braking. This became apparent about 45000 miles and continued to increase over time. Owner preformed own investigation and discovered front rotors badly warped. Owner preformed own maintainence by installing aftermarket new rotors and pads. Owner wishes to indicate that original rotors removed from car appear to have what looks like fracture cracks across surface of ea rotor and unusual patterns and discolors not seen on other cars before. These parts have been kept at owners home for future investigation if requested. Car is now back in service with brakes operating correctly after repairs were completed.
When applying brakes at highway speed, (55+) the brakes shudder and vibrate the steering wheel. Took car to stuart powell, ford-mercury, danville, ky. And was told the rotors were surfaced and the brakes were repaired. About 1 1/2 months later the same problem started again in addition to when the brake pedal is pushed it seems hard and doesn't stop unless a lot of pressure is applied. Also when putting enough pressure on the pedal to stop, the pedal goes almost to the floor . Took the car back to stuart powell ford-mercury and they kept it for one full day, test drove it for 1.2 miles and told me they could not find anything wrong. I believe the brakes on this car need to be repaired before I have a serious accident.
While driving 45 MPH vehicle shuddered, then stopped, engine still running. Also, transmission had failed.
Transmission exhibits a shudder. Common practice on other similar vehicles. It also sticks when put into gear.
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 shudder
Which Mercury Sable years have shudder or vibration when accelerating problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2000 (3 complaints), 1996 (2 complaints) and 2009 (2 complaints).
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