Idriving under normal conditions on a city street in 2003 merc sable with 33k miles. While in motion, the transmission fails with no forward or reverse working or any other mechanical warnings.( no transmission codes on obdii. I was immediately able to coast into a drugstore parking lot. Car towed to local ford dealer. Dealer informed that the torque converter splines have failed and torque converter needs to replaced for $ 1726.00. Dealer repaired vehicle, replaced with ford re-manuafactured torque converter. Searched intern net and found same numerous complaints of ford torque converters spline failures. Based on the type and number of complaints this appears to warrant an audit of this safety problem. There are other reported complaints that vehicles were traveling on highways and suffered transmission failures while in motion without any warnings.
Mercury Sable transmission failure problems
162 of the 4,888 owner complaints about the Mercury Sable describe complete transmission failure, most of them for the 1991 model year.
- owner complaints
- 162
- worst model year
- 1991
- typical repair cost reported
- $2,200
- typical mileage
- 65,000
By model year
Often reported together
Stalling 10Slipping 6Jerking 5Grinding brakes 5Knocking 4Harsh shifting 3Fire or smoke 3Check engine light 3
What owners say
I drived it on highway and suddenly there was noise and rmp passed 4000 but no accelerated. I managed to stopped on shoulder, and restarted the car, engine run ok, and car wasn't moving, either forward or backward. I could be hit by other cars if I didn't manage to shoulder. I searched online and I found out a lot of complaints about mercury sable's transmission issues. This is very dangerous and people may get killed because of sudden transmission failure without any warning. My car has about 88700 miles on it.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. While the vehicle was operated, it lost engine power without warning. The vehicle was towed to dom's getty service station (308 mercer st, hightstown, nj) where it was diagnosed as a transmission failure. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 57,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. The contact stated that the transmission failed. While driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle lost acceleration. The vehicle was towed to dom's getty station (heightstown, nj 08520, phone (609) 448-4146) for diagnostic testing, which located the failure at the transmission input shaft and torque converter. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 57,000.
Transmission died while driving down the highway.
In 2014,. My power train (transmission) stopped propelling my car. Several years earlier, my friend who owned a mercury sable (the same type car as I am writing to you about), had the same transmission failure while on an interstate highway. He had approximately the same mileage on his car that I had when our transmissions failed. This type of failure is dangerous yet the ford motor co. Advised me there had not been a recall. Please advise.
The torque converter in the transmission failed. The vehicle stopped dead in the street. I was on a side street at the time and not on the highway. I called 4 transmission repair shops in the st. Charles, mo area for pricing. They were all aware of this defect but ford does not have a recall and will not offer any type of satisfaction for the repair. If I had been traveling at a higher rate of speed, on a busy street or highway, an accident would have occurred. I think this is definitely a safety hazard. I don't know that any other consumers have complained but a survey of transmission repair shops would surely reveal the extent of the problem.
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.
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 transmission failure
Which Mercury Sable years have complete transmission failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1991 (41 complaints), 1994 (20 complaints) and 1992 (18 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix complete transmission failure on the Mercury Sable?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $2,200 (median of 16 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used Mercury Sable?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history