Mercury Sable Vehicle Speed Control Problems
Owners have filed 398 complaints with NHTSA about vehicle speed control problems on the Mercury Sable across 14 model years. The 2000 model year has the most (71). The words owners use most often: “control cable” (9% of reports).
- 398vehicle speed control complaints
- —median miles at failure
- 63mention a crash
- 20mention an injury
- 2related recalls
- 33%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Control cable: mentioned in 37 of 398 complaints (9%)
- Put neutral: mentioned in 27 of 398 complaints (7%)
- Suddenly accelerated: mentioned in 25 of 398 complaints (6%)
- Foot off: mentioned in 20 of 398 complaints (5%)
At what mileage do vehicle speed control problems happen?
Based on 216 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 398 complaints, 63 mention a crash, 1 a fire, 20 an injury.
Mercury Sable vehicle speed control complaints by model year
| Model year | Vehicle Speed Control complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 Sable | 5 | 25% | 29,933 |
| 2008 Sable | 10 | 16% | 40,490 |
| 2006 Sable | 1 | 100% | 6,500 |
| 2005 Sable | 38 | 46% | 80,422 |
| 2004 Sable | 15 | 29% | 82,000 |
| 2003 Sable | 28 | 14% | 106,000 |
| 2002 Sable | 56 | 13% | 87,755 |
| 2001 Sable | 61 | 14% | 96,000 |
| 2000 Sable | 71 | 15% | 86,198 |
| 1999 Sable | 16 | 6% | 132,000 |
| 1998 Sable | 32 | 17% | 71,182 |
| 1997 Sable | 28 | 12% | 53,894 |
| 1996 Sable | 17 | 6% | 56,000 |
| 1995 Sable | 20 | 6% | 28,000 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (2)
Vehicle speed control
Model years: 1999
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. A dash insulator retainer clip was not fully assembled to the accelerator cable dash fitting. The clip can disengage from the accelerator cable and fall into the accelerator pedal arm pivot area.
Risk: If this condition occurs, the engine may not fully return to idle. Also, the insulator may not stay in the intended location and could interfere with the accelerator cable.
Fix: Dealers will inspect these vehicles to ensure proper installation of the accelerator cable clip, and re-install if needed.
Vehicle speed control
Model years: 1995
Problem: Vehicle description: vehicles equipped with 3.8l engines and originally sold or currently registered in the following states: alaska, colorado, iowa, idaho, illinois, indiana, kansas, massachusetts, maine, michigan, minnesota, missouri, montana, north dakota, nebraska, new hampshire, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, south dakota, vermont, wisconsin, and wyoming. Water can accumulate within the speed control cable conduit. If enough water accumulates, it could freeze within a low area of the cable routing when exposed to a long term cold soak at temperatures at least several degrees below freezing.
Risk: Driver control of vehicle speed using the speed control system or the accelerator control system would be diminished increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Fix: Dealers will add a boot to the speed control cable.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
Im owner of Mercury Sable 2005 only 79000 miles..The car problem speed control idle over 2200 so high when stop red light have to brake pedal to slow the vehicle down, and the vehicle failed to accelerrate..
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…
Lately my car has been over accelerating to about 4,000 rpmâs at random moments. I almost got into a wreck today and I was driving 30 mph. Iâve cleaned the throttle body and the idle air control valve and still the same issue. The car only has 113,000 miles on it but now Iâm too scared to…
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 mercury sable. The contact stated that while driving 55 mph, the vehicle accelerated independently to 80 mph, without warning. The contact mentioned that the brake pedal was depressed to slow the vehicle down. In addition, the vehicle then failed to accelerate. The…
So sorry to bother you. I have a mercury sable 03 which has been accelerating by itself because the throttle cable gets stuck. I saw an article that said my year taurus and sable have this problem as well as saw that all those in the junk yard have the exact same problem. In the article it said…
Frequently asked questions
Do all Mercury Sables have vehicle speed control problems?
No. NHTSA has 398 owner complaints about vehicle speed control for the Mercury Sable. Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the Mercury Sable vehicle speed control?
Yes: 2 safety recalls list vehicle speed control. Check your VIN on NHTSA.gov to see whether the fix was done on your car.
What do owners say about vehicle speed control problems on the Mercury Sable?
The most frequent phrase is “control cable”, in 37 of 398 complaints, followed by “put neutral” (27).
Other Mercury Sable problems
- Suspension problems (784)
- Power Train problems (416)
- Engine and Engine Cooling problems (368)
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic problems (232)
- Electrical System problems (193)
- Air Bags problems (168)
- Visibility problems (165)
- Steering problems (143)
See all Mercury Sable problems.