Just bought a mercury sable 1996. After driving this vehical for about 10 miles, the transmission began to slip badly. It began with having trouble accelerating from a complete stop. Luckily I was driving in a rural area with few stops and little traffic. By the time I stopped at the 3 stop sign. The transmission would no longer engage into 1st or 2nd gear. Never got into 4th gear. But had to get push the vehical from the last stop sign until I reached a small hill that allowed me to reach the speed so that 3rd was able to engage and was able to make it to my house. The car hasn't moved since then. Waste of $1,000!! Transmission is finished.
Mercury Sable slipping problems
35 of the 4,888 owner complaints about the Mercury Sable describe transmission slipping, most of them for the 1996 model year.
- owner complaints
- 35
- worst model year
- 1996
- typical mileage
- 62,472
Is there a fix? There are 5 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Transmission failure 6Sudden acceleration 2Loss of power 2Hesitation 2Coil spring 2Check engine light 2Grinding brakes 2Won't start 1
Trouble codes mentioned
P0733 1P0723 1
What owners say
Check transmission light on. Seeing higher RPM but not shifting hard. Fluids checked - ok. Transmission codes p0723 and p0733 these are codes for slipping issues. They rebuilt the transmission. Mileage was only 68769 on car.
My mechanic advised that the coil spring is lacking a cover and is rusting and may break. My transmission "slips" and "revs" at random. Both of these items are supposedly under recall, but ford will not honor the recalls.
While driving last week my wife noticed that when turning into a parking spot the steering stiffened up and had to make a sudden stop as to not hit the vehicle to her left . I checked the car out and noticed it is mostly affected at low speed while making turns either left or right this had no warning and could be very dangerous.it is just luck that a walker or jogger were not on the streets at the time .this needs immediate attention I will attempt at repair myself as it is out of warranty possible rack and pinion also transmission slippage at times.
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).
Tl* - the contact has a 1999 mercury sable. The contact stated that when she purchased the vehicle may 22 2006, the vehicle did not have heat. The contact stated that she has had many problems with this vehicle since she purchased it. The vehicle operates with a high temperature reading, and the transmission seems to slip gears when you apply the gas pedal and back fires while switching gears. The dealer has not addressed the failures that the contact has experienced with her vehicle. The contact stated that october of 2006 was the last time she corresponded with the dealer and they still have done nothing to help her.
The transmission slips bucking the car out of control when idling along with the aluminum pistons being damaged. The car jumps forward which causes unneccesary accidents and causes the car to stall on busy streets. A new transmission was needed and all new pistons due to a bad design. There is a website www.visi.com/~bruns/results2.html that contains about 50 complaints about the transmission on this car. Ford should take responsibility for this, it was a bad design and they should take the heat for it. Thank you.
I own a 2002 mercury sable VIN # [xxx]. The automatic transmission slips badly when going from first to second gear. I have been trying to get the dealer, fairfeild lincoln mercury, 6065 dixie highway, fairfeild ohio, 45014, to repair the problem since 11/17/03 with no result. On october 25, 2004 I pulled out in traffic and was almost struck when the vehicle failed to shift and accelerate through the intersection. The transmission fails to shift and the rpms maxed out. The vehicle simply coasted through the intersection and the other vehicle was able to narrowly avoid hitting me. On the three occasion (which I can document) the dealership said they drove the vehicle and could not duplicate the failure and thus they could not repair the vehicle.*ak information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Car has always shifted hard. At approximately 90k miles automatic transmission started to fail evidenced by gear slippage and car decellerating while being driven. Transmission pump was also "knocking". Car was taken to transmission shop and they stated that a 10 cent "o" ring had failed in the transmission pump and that the transmission pump had literally "come apart". Also, the transmission pan had a smal, shiny indention where the pump was located, further evidence of where the problem possibly originated. They had also stated that they have seen numerous tuarus' and sables with the same problem. Transmission was completely rebuilt at a cost of $1700.00 and the pump was replaced with one with a metallic "o" ring to help eliminate further failures. I personally take great care and pride with my vehicles and on average have checked all fluid levels, including the transmission fluid on a bimonthly bases. The transmission failure was rather sudden with no warning, to include an engine light.
While driving 40 MPH transmission intermittently slipped gears. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.
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 slipping
Which Mercury Sable years have transmission slipping problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1996 (7 complaints), 1991 (6 complaints) and 1994 (5 complaints).
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