Owners' Stories

I have a 2003 sable wagon and I am have a proble with the seedometer bouncing when in idle and in geen but not moving. It will bounce up to 60mph and the car stalls out when it starts bouncing really badly. It will even cut on and right back on while driving it. I really dont know why and it's freaking me out really badly. The shop keeps telling me there is nothing wrong with it.

I HAVE A 95 sABLE WITH A 3.0 MOTOR. THE HEAD GASKET BLOW, SO i REPLACED THE HEAD GASKETS, BUT NOW i CAN,T GET THE VAVLE COVER GASKETS TO STOP LEAKING, I,VE BEEN THROUGH TWO SET SO FAR AND THEY STILL LEAK,THE COVER ARE NOT BENT I,M AT MY WITS END. GOT ANY IDEALS

We have own this car for 2 yeaars. The fuel milage is rated at 29 hwy 24 around town. We around town about 17 miles per gal. Hwy at the best is 25 miles per gal. Ford garage say there nothing wrong and it is not the diver. it also very from time to time. It run great. Jim

1989 sable original owner 3.8L. Gas peddle got stuck on full throttle. I managed to brake and release pedal that was flat to the floor. Is this technical bulletin sheet issue?

I just bought a Pre owned 1997 Mercury Sable from someone. I just have a question maybe someone out there is a mechanic or knows something about this. I turn the steering wheel and it like makes a noise kinda like an errrr.car runs and drives great but just wondering what it might be. I have not been a mechanic in so many years. does anyone know is it a belt or the Rack or what do you think it might be. I would love to hear from someone if they know something. I am in MN. my email is MNTwinsfan08@Gmail.com. so if someone possibly knows and can tell me. any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks Sean

got a 1996 gray as my first car, 126,000 miles and its still running like a champ for the year. i only have small issues [the brakes pull very slightly to the left over 55mph, it idles at 1-1/2 but thats to be expected of a 15yr old car, and the a/c needs recharging] every thing else is smooth as silk. id recommend mercurys to the grave. and yea it is a taurus and vice versa

MY 97' SABLE, was my 1st car, and i loved it like it was a luxurious car, UNTILL it started to mess up a year after i bought it. my dash-board 's electricity was shot, so the check-engine light would stay on, the car door open light would stay on, which means my interior lights would not cut off unless the car was off and sitting for an hour, and when i made right turns, my power-steering would cut completely off. My car radio would only work in Park, and Neutral. And my car would only have electrical problems in Reverse, Drive(1 and 2) i still haven't gotten it fixed but as soon as i do i'll be happy again. but other than ALL THOSE PROBLEMS, it rides so smooth!

EXCELLENT,LUXURIOUS,TRANSPORTATION!!!

I bought my '99 Mercury Sable Sedan 4 years ago with 55,000 miles on it and have driven it thus far to 128,000. My Mercury has been the most reliable car I have ever owned personally. Over the past 4 years I have had to replace the AC sensor which cost about $75 and also replaced the front rotors. The front rotors continue to be problematic as they develop a rhythmic vibration when braking after about 10,000 miles of running new ones. The drive train has been great in the car! Loads of power and can really get up and go when you want it to but still gets great gas mileage when you drive conservatively...I can get between 27-29 miles per gallon in my Sable. The interior is sparse but that is the way I like my cars...simple! One complaint I do have is about the 1/4" gap which develops between the dash and the instrument cluster..little bit of heat in the sun and this is what happens to all Mercury Sables and Ford Taurus cars of the '96-'99 vintage. Overall great car...I plan on driving mine till something major goes wrong with it and then I will get the car completely restored....freshen up engine, body work with new paint, freshen up interior, etc.... way cheaper then going out and buying a new car!!! Finding used and new parts for the '99 Sable is easy....there seems to be one in every junk yard in my area and also 3-4 '99 Ford Taurus cars in each one as well. Parts are easy to find!! I recommend the Sable if you need a reliable family based car which is safe and at the same time has great power and gets excellent gas mileage!

I have a question? I cut my high beams off the other night and when I did the volume on the radio turned down then went back up and the dash board lights and the low beams dimmed a couple times. What could have caused that? Does anyone know? Other than that I love the car!

Great car, except air bag light malfunction. Does wonderful badly overloaded driving in the Rocky Mountains. 28.5 MPG highway.

2008 Sable - I am having the same problem. Love the car but two times in the past three months the electrical system has completely shut down on me while I was driving it. The dealer can't find a problem so I am stuck. How do you get Ford to step up and replace the car. This is obviously very dangerous.

I have owned this car for 6 years. It has been fairly dependable but has had its share of electrical problems. Currently have a problem with the dome light staying on and the auto door lock not working. Also can not seem to get a set of front rotors that do not develop a hard spot causing a rhythmic vibration when stopping.

the best car that i've ever owned (as far as faithfulness). mine's a station wagon. it's basically a taurus. so i bought a taurus for my son.

I bought this care for $1100 ten months ago with 106,000 miles. The royal blue paint job is wearing off and the dashboard has cracks. I saw another identical Sable in the same color and it's paint is wearing off the exact same way! The car runs perfectly. Immediately after purchase I had my mechanic check it out and do a major tuneup and maintenance for $700. I was taking it on a 2,500 mile road trip right away and didn't want to get stranded in the middle of the Nevada desert. The car is a gem if you don't mind the ugly paint. The only thing that doesn't work is the rear window defroster (it's a station wagon). This transportation is about as cheap as it gets.

The only problem I have experienced is a trans-flush I am about to have done for minor slip at 40 mph. I hope this is just a fluid replacement and not a transmission replacement. Even so, this has been a great car no repairs except basic upkeep (I'm at 124k miles)until now.

Finally selling this one, something is wrong with the A/C and its not a recharge, Needs a new timing belt, I'm at 93K Miles. Has been for the most part a reliable car since purchases brand new.

Good car, a few common problems to note: 1. Headlights are poor, and aftermarket ones are nearly impossible to find. This has caused me to hit three deer last year. 2. Transmission slippage will probably occur around 150,000. Some people have driven this car an additional 200,000 before the transmission breaks down. 3. Strut replacement is needed a little more often than normal 4. Rusting is an issue. The factory engine is the best part about this car

My boyfriend and I recently got this car from his mom. His mom had to get some things done on it. For instance she had to get a new battery and transmission was slipping a little bit when she was driving it. But we had it sitting for 8 months and we had to get another new battery and put some tans-x in it and it runs perfectly. The only thing is now the power seating in the drivers seat hasn't worked since before the car was sitting. The seat is all the way back and i can not reach the peddles but my boyfriend can. Other than that i say its an all around good car. But if anyone has any ideas on what to do about the power seating we would gladly appreciate it.

The car is great if Ford will fix the problems that the car came with when they produced these cars. The 3.8L engine have bad head gaskets and they go out because of the engine design. They should still fix this problem. The transmission is another issue that Ford never fixed. Slips due to some cylinder inside of transmission. The A/C unit was poorly designed so it will not hold a A/C charge. The steering pump always makes noise. You can not adjust your own timing on this engine due to where the timing mark location, under the engine where you cant see it. Best part about the car is the room inside. Save your money and do not buy this car. That is why people give them away or sell them before the headaches begin.

My Dad has a '09 Sable. Great car...problem is...on rare unknown occasions...2 so far, the engine will shut down and the instrument panel lights come on as if you turned the key off, then back to the on position. This could really have been bad on our last 5 hour trip when a semi was barreling down on us. The FORD garage has had it all week and has even contacted the factory engineers with no luck so far. Has anyone else had this problem?

We bought our 2005 Sable in August 2009. It had 52,000 miles on it. My husband uses it to commute to work 130 miles round trip - 5-6 days/week. We also use it on weekends because our Taurus has 150,000 miles on it. So we put 43,000 miles on the Sable in one year. The check engine light came on and the Ford dealer said it was the #4 cylinder - low reading and so it will cost $3750 to repair. We are not too happy about this. Has anyone else experienced this problem. I can't find any recalls on the engine.

The amount of repair work and faulty equipment has been outrageous and irresponsible of Mercury/Ford and I am not what they call a "rookie."

suspension problems, powersteering almost works

why all american cars look the same?????

I can not complain bought the car for 200 at 145k miles still going at 310K the winter salt has taken its toll full of rust. With minor repairs it keeps running every day.

Best car I have ever owned. Reliable. Very few repairs.

This wagon has been great! I bought it in 2003 with 45,000 miles on it. I rarely drive so it has only 72,500 miles now. Only major repairs have been leaks in the head gaskets and the transmission pan gaskets.

Wife had this car for awhile. Great all around car.

This car is really great! It has never let me down and presently has 242,000 miles on it. Just recently has transmission slippage--need to find some repair costs to see if is worth repairing.

I have owned this car since 2000. Overall it has been a fairly good car. The problems I have experienced are the same ones that others seem to encounter. The transmission had to be completely rebuild at about 77,000 miles, the interior lights stay on long after the doors are closed etc. On the positive side the AC and heater work great as does the stereo and other components. It also has a nice ride and reasonably good preformance. More thumbs up than thumbs down.

love the car