NHTSA — Engine And Engine Cooling: Engine Problems

5.1

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
19,564 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

1997 Mercury Sable engine problems

engine problem

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1997 Mercury Sable Owner Comments

problem #10

Dec 032004

Sable

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Faulty design of cam sensor and actuator on 1997 merucry Sable. My car failed. Proof of multiple failures: autos.msn.com/research/vip/reliability.aspx?modelid=2008&src=vip I request recall and replacement of this part on all cars.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #9

Jan 012003

Sable 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 72,000 miles
Transmission rebuilt.head gasket replaced.

- Chicopee, MA, USA

problem #8

Jan 292003

Sable 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 43,635 miles
My husband and I own a 1993 Mercury Sable wagon. We purchased it used 3 years ago. It currently has 44,000 miles on it. At approximately. 43,000 miles ( a month ago) it blew the head gasket. I am aware that Ford extended the warranty on 1994-1996 models of the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable for this same problem. My Ford dealer stated to us that this head gasket blowing has been a consistent problem on the 3.8 engines, which ours has. It would seem to me that Ford is very aware of this problem and chose to do nothing about it for owners of 1993 cars. I feel is was their responsibility to help these customers financially--we just spent $1700 for this repair. Needless to say, it was money we didn't have. Why hasn't this problem been addressed with the 1993 models with the 3.8 engine before this? Ford suggested that I address this with your Agency.

- Lansdale, PA, USA

problem #7

Jan 192003

Sable 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 80,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The most recent problems are electrical in nature. First, all of the passenger power windows have failed. They can only be controlled by the driver side panel. Second, even though all of the doors are securely closed, the interior dome light will remain on between 20 seconds and several hours. There were occasions when the light would come on by itself while I was driving down the highway to work. An audible clicking noise could be heard from under the dash. The click is similar to the sound made when manually operating the switch. Third, this started on Sunday, 01/19/03, the headlights will turn on and off by themselves while the vehicle is off and the headlight switch is off. Additionally, with the car running and the daytime lights only, the highbeam indicator came on. When I turned the headlights on, the indicator went off. When I turned the headlights off, the highbeam indicator came back on. The highbeam indicator eventually turned off on its own within 5 or 10 minutes. Previous problems have included front end suspension related failures and an oil pan that sprung a leak in December 2001 at around 78K miles. The oil pan sprung another leak in December 2002. The service dealer attributed the leak to the same problem and another failure with the oil pressure switch. I agreed to the oil pressure switch repair and told them that if the oil pan gasket failed a 2nd time (original cause of leak in 2001), that it was due to poor repair work. They tightened the bolts to the oil pan. The winter weather has hampered my efforts to check for the leak. Although I no longer smell burning oil.

- Schenectady, NY, USA

problem #6

Oct 262002

Sable

  • miles
Consumer states that while driving at any speed and no warning the vehicle will shut off causing consumer to pull over. Dealer notified.

- Mc Allen, TX, USA

problem #5

Apr 012002

Sable

  • miles
Car overheated, taken to mechanic who diagnosed blown headgasket - retooled headgasket. Also replaced water pump, radiator, plugs, plug wires, coil, thermostat, since headgasket problem - car has needed to be repaired constantly. Still has cylinder 1 misfire. Car is 5 yrs old. Seems like excessive prblems for a car that new.

- Clearwater, FL, USA

problem #4

Sep 012000

Sable

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When driving vehicle overheated which prevented clutch from going into gear. Also, passenger's side rear door would not open from either inside or outside. Consumer has contacted the dealer. The cam shaft sensor was broken. The torque converter failure.

- Richmond, VA, USA

problem #3

May 232000

(reported on)

Sable

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
While traveling a hot oil smell was coming from vehicle. Also, transmission fluid was leaking, contacting the catalytic converter.

- Amelia, OH, USA

problem #2

Jun 211999

Sable

  • miles
Every time vehicle hits a puddle after it has rains, the vehicle would stall out. The engine would still be running. Does not have to restart vehicle. Would have no brakes or power steering. Lost control. Taking vehicle to dealer.

- Mc Queeney, TX, USA

problem #1

Jun 011998

Sable

  • miles
Vehicle would stall out at any speed 35 and under. Sometimes when coming to a stop, vehicle just diesout. Took vehicle to dealer & was informed nothing was wrong. Its an intermittent problem.

- Grays Lake, IL, USA

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