1992 Mercury Sable Engine Problems

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS DOWN A HILL AND TRYING TO STOP THE VEHICLE STALLED. ALL THE LIGHTS ON THE DASHBOARD ILLUMINATED PRIOR TO THE VEHICLE STALLING. THE BRAKES DID NOT WORK WHEN THIS OCCURRED. THE PARKING BRAKE MUST BE USED TO STOP THE VEHICLE. AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP HAS BEEN UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM.*AK UPDATED 1/25/2006 - THE MANUFACTURER INDICATED THERE WERE NOT RECALLS RELATED TO THE FAILURE. *NM

NHTSA ID

10147352

Incident

Nov 10, 2005

Mileage

47,000 mi

MY HEAD GASKETS KEEP BLOWING .. I REALIZE THIS IS A OLDER MODEL CAR HOWEVER JUST B/C IM A SINGLE FEMALE WHO DIDNT EVEN KNOW WHAT A RECALL WAS/IS DOESNT MEAN THAT I SHOULDNT BE ENTITLED TO PERHAPS A REEMBURSMENT OR TO HAVE MY CAR FIXED PROPERLY I HAVE BEEN OUT SO MUCH MONEY ON THIS CAR AND THE MOTOR AND I ALWAYS ALWAYS DO AS DIRECTED WITH OIL CHANGES AND WATER CHECKINGS I JUST DONT UNDERSTAND WHY I WASNT EVER NOTIFIED OF THE DANGERS OF MY COOLING SYSTEMS AND MY MOTOR. I AM A WIDOW WITH 3 CHILDREN AND I CANT AFFORD TO KEEP HAVING MY HEADS DONE OR MY MOTOR WORKED ON PLEASE GUIDE ME IN THE DIRECTION OF SOMEONE THAT COULD PERHAPS FIX THIS PROBLEM ONCE AND FOR ALL. *AK

NHTSA ID

10054584

Incident

Jan 1, 2004

THE CAR IS A 1992 MERCURY SABLE 3.8L V-6 ENGINE WITH 93,000 MILES. THE HEAD GASKETS NEED TO BE REPLACED. I HAVE BEEN QUOTED AN ESTIMATE OF $1,000 TO FIX THE PROBLEM. I AM THE SECOND OWNER OF THE AUTOMOBILE AND IT HAS BEEN WELL MAINTAINED. THE CAR BROKE DOWN ON JUNE 25, 2003 AND IS CURRENTLY PARKED AT THE MECHANIC'S SHOP.

NHTSA ID

10070531

Incident

Jul 15, 2003

Mileage

93,000 mi

1ST ONE REMOVE & REPLACE TIMING COVER/PUMP, HOUSING, REPLACE STUDS, WATER PUMP, RENEW COOLANT. COST $1,079.60 2ND R&R HEADGASKETS/ $1,304.10. I WOULD LIKE FOR SOMEONE TO LET ME KNOW IF I COULD GET SOME OF MY MONEY BACK BECAUSE THIS WAS A RECALL A BAD PART WHICH I HAD NO KNOWLEDGE OF. UNTIL I HAD TO HAVE IT REPAIRED. FORD SAID THAT I WAS 9 MONTHS TO LATE UNDER WARRANTY. I AM THE SECOND OWNER OF THIS CAR HOW WOULD I HAVE KNOWN THAT FORD HAD A PROBLM WITH THIS KIND OF CAR. ANY TYPE OF HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED. I'M A SINGLE MOM AND I CAN'T AFFORD TO HAVE THIS KIND OF CAR REPAIR. I HAD TO USE MY RENT MONEY INORDER TO GET MY CAR OUT OF THE SHOP. I JUST WANT SOMEKIND OF REPAYMENT A HEAD GASKET IS SUPPOSE TO LAST THE LIFE OF THE CAR. IT WILL BE JUST THREE YEARS THIS OCTOBER FOR ME THAT I HAVE HAD THE CAR. IT'S NOT MY PROBLEM THAT THEY PUT IN BAD PARTS AND KNEW THAT THEY NEEDED TO BE TAKEN CARE OF. BUT NO ONE WANTED TO PAY THE COST SO A LOT OF CUSTOMERS DIDN'T GET RECALL LETTERS INORDER TO TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM. I'M SURE THAT IF ANYONE THAT OWNED THIS CAR WOULD HAVE HAD THE REPAIRS DONE AT THE COST OF THE COMPANY. WHY WOULD THERE BE A TIME LIMIT SET ON MAJOR PART LIKE THAT. SO PEOPLE DON'T EXPERIENCE THE PROBLEM UNTIL YEARS AND THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO ME. I JUST WANT SOME KIND OF RESPONSE TOWARD THIS PROBLEM. THANK YOU MS. PATRICIA REESE P.O. BOX 59 SHIRLEY, NY 11967-0059

NHTSA ID

10070057

Incident

Feb 15, 2003

Mileage

22,161 mi

WHILE DRIVING, VEHICLE STARTED RUNNING HOT, OVERHEATING. CONSUMER HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALERSHIP, WHO INDICATED THAT THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM WAS THE WATER PUMP. DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE PUMP, BUT THE PROBLEM RECURRED 3 TIMES WITHIN A SMALL PERIOD OF TIME. PLEASE PROVIDE MORE DETAILS. TS

NHTSA ID

10001051

Incident

Dec 17, 2001

THE MOTOR MOUNTS WERE REPLACED IN 1999 WHICH HAS FAILED AGAIN. WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH THE OWNER HEARD SOMETHING DROP/BREAK. *MR

NHTSA ID

8020320

WHILE DRIVING IN A VERY HIGH TEMPERATURE, VEHICLE WILL STALL OUT.*AK

NHTSA ID

8013560

Incident

Jun 2, 1999

VEHICLE WAS LOSING COOLANT AND OVE HEATING WHILE DRIVING. VEHICLE TAKEN TO DEALER, AND INFORMED DEALER OF A BLOWN HEAD GASKET. FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK

NHTSA ID

8005443

Incident

Dec 15, 2001

VEHICLE STALLED THREE TIME IN HOT WEATHER AND HEAVY TRAFFIC.

NHTSA ID

9005867

CAR WAS RUNNING FINE ALL OF A SUDDEN I HAD NO HEAT THOUGHT NEEDED A THERMOSTAT BUT DEALER SAID I NEEDED A HEAD GASKET THAT THIS HAS BEEN A WELL KNOWN PROBLEM ON FORD 3.8 V6 CARS. THIS CAR HAS BEEN MAINTAINED BY ME AND THE PREVIOUS OWNER WHO IS MY FATHER A RETIRED FORD EMPLOYEE. THE CAR WAS ALWAYS TAKEN CARE OF AT A DEALER. I CALLED FORD AND WAS TOLD SORRY CAN'T HELP SO NOW I HAVE A$1600.00 BILL TO PAY. I AM IN THE PROCESS OF WRITING A LETTER TOFORD. THANK YOU. *AK

NHTSA ID

758137

Incident

Jan 18, 2002

ENGINE CHECK LIGHT HAD BEEN COMING ON INTERMITTENTLY FOR YEARS. VEHICLE HAD BEEN TAKEN TO DEALER NUMEROUS TIMES, PROBLEM COULD NOT BE REMEDIED. WHILE DRIVNG 40 MPH THERE WAS SMOKE COMING FROM TAILPIPE, AND ENGINE WAS RUNNING VERY ROUGH. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A REPAIR SHOP, A BLOWN HEADGASKET WAS DIAGNOSED.*AK

NHTSA ID

8003790

Incident

Feb 7, 2002

WITH OUT NO WARNING I HEARD A LOUD NOISE AND NOTICED THAT MY TEMPERATURE GAUGE WAS GOING UP. I WAS ON A BUSY 3 LANE HIGHWAY AT QUITTING TIME TRYING TO GET OFF A EXIT TO THE NEAREST GAS STATION. I CAME TO AN INTERSECTION AND NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF SMOKE EVERYWHERE, SMOKING UP THE WHOLE INTERSECTION TO WHERE NO MOTORIST COULD PROCEED. I TURNED OFF THE CAR AND NOTICED THAT THERE WAS ANTI-FREEZE COMING OUT OF MY EXHAUST. I HAD THE CAR TAKEN TO MY MECHANIC AND WAS TOLD THAT I HAD A BLOWN HEAD GASKET. THE MECHANIC INFOMED ME THAT THIS YEAR OF CAR HAS HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE ENGINES AND THE HEAD GASKETS. I NOTICED THAT MY HEATER WAS NOT PUTTING OUT ANY HEAT AND MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS COMING ON. SO I DECIDED TO RESEARCH THIS MODEL AND SEE IF THERE WAS ANY WARRANTY OR RECALLS ON THIS TYPE OF THING AND TO MY SURPRISE THIS SEEMS TO BE AN ON GOING PROBLEM THAT FORD REFUSES TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT. I BOUGHT THIS CAR EXACTLY 1YR AGO THIS MONTH FROM A FORD DEALER AND I FEEL THAT THIS DEALER KNOWING THE PROBLEMS THAT THIS CAR HAS HAD SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR SELLING ME A LEMON. I'M A SINGLE MOTHER WITH THIS BEING MY ONLY CAR AND I AM LOOKING AT $1000.00 TO $1500.00 TO EITHER REPLACE THE MOTOR OR FIX IT. NOW DOES FORD THINK THAT I'M GOING TO BUY ANOTHER MOTOR AND TAKE THE CHANCE ON THE SAME PROBLEM HAPPENING AGAIN. I THINK THAT FORD NEEDS TO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS PROBLEM. IS IT GOING TO TAKE SOMEONE BEING SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED BEFORE THEY WILL DO SOMETHING. THIS HEAD GASKET BLOWS WITH NO WARNING AND CAUSED TREMENDOUS SMOKE WHICH BLOCKS OTHER MOTORISTS VIEW. THIS IS A DEFECT DUE TO FORD AND FORD SHOULD BE MADE TO PAY FOR THERE DEFECT NOT ME. I COULD SEE IF THIS WAS A ISOLATED ISSUE BUT IT IS NOT AND I'M SURE THAT THERE ARE MANY MORE PEOPLE THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO AND THEY HAVE NEVER BOTHERED TO REPORT IT. SOMEONE NEEDS TO STEP IN AND MAKE FORD RESPONSIBLE.*AK

NHTSA ID

755097

Incident

Nov 20, 2001

MOTOR HAS FAILED, AND DEALER CAN'T FIND THE PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK

NHTSA ID

898689

Incident

Oct 15, 2001

WHILE DRIVING AND WITHOUT WARNING VEHICLE COMPLETELT SHUTSDOWN, CAUSE UNKNOWN. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS.*AK

NHTSA ID

897198

ON A TRIP TO NC THE ENGINE TEMP ROSE AND STALLED MANY TIMES. LOCAL DEALERS CAN'T DUPLICATE OR VERIFY WITH DIAGNOSTIC TEST. REPLACED OXYGEN SENSORS AND MOTOR MOUNTS NEW FUELFILTER. FORD DEALER REFUSED ADDITIONAL WORK FOR IGNITION PROBLEM THAT HE CANNOT SEE ON THIS CAR.CAR IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE BECAUSE STALLING COULD TAKE PLACE.

NHTSA ID

751546

Incident

Aug 1, 2001

FAILURE OF ENGINE HEAD GASKET CAUSED FAILURE OF ENTIRE COOLING SYSTEM. *AK

NHTSA ID

751280

Incident

Aug 16, 2001

ENGINE MOUNTS WERE REPLACED IN RECALL 10/27/94 BUT CONTINUE TO BREAK; WHY DOESN'T FORD WANT TO FIX?*AK

NHTSA ID

748241

Incident

Jul 9, 2001

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK

NHTSA ID

747727

Incident

Apr 1, 2001

HEAD GASKET FAILURE RESULTED IN REPAIR BILL OF $1336.18, PLUS $399.51 FOR RENTAL CAR FOR EIGHT DAYS (CAR WAS AT MECHANIC'S FROM 5/20/01 THROUGH 6/13/01, BUT I WAS ABLE TO BORROW A CAR FOR TWO WEEKS), PLUS $45 FOR TOW TO MECHANICS SHOP. MY MECHANIC HAD WARNED THAT CAR MIGHT HAVE TO STAY IN HIS SHOP FOR AT LEAST TWO WEEKS BECAUSE OF SCARCITY OF PARTS DUE TO HIGH DEMAND. AFTER HEARING THAT PARTS WERE SCARCE, I DECIDED TO DO SOME RESEARCH ON INTERNET AND LEARNED THAT THAT FORD HAS KNOWN ABOUT HEAD-GASKET FAILURE/VULNERABILITY ON ALL 1988-95 TAURUS/SABLES (AS WELL AS OTHER FORD MODELS) SINCE 1998 (TSB 98-4-9). FORD ISSUED A LIMITED RECALL, THE COVERAGE OF WHICH INCLUDED SABLES, BUT ONLY 1994-95 MODEL YEARS, EVEN THOUGH HEAD GASKET PROBLEM AFFECTS ALL 1988-95 FORD CARS WITH 3.8L V6 ENGINES. MY CAR HAD ONLY 51,244 MILES ON IT AT TIME THAT HEAD GASKET BLEW; FURTHERMORE, MY CAR HAS BEEN VERY WELL MAINTAINED, AND I HAVE RECEIPTS FOR ALL MAINTENANCE PERFORMED ON VEHICLE FROM DATE OF PURCHASE. MY MECHANIC ALSO INFORMED ME THAT ALTHOUGH THE HEAD GASKET WAS REPLACED, MY CAR IS NOT GUARANTEED AGAINST FUTURE HEAD GASKET FAILURE. I BELIEVE THAT FORD SHOULD HAVE ISSUED A FULL RECALL, ONE THAT COVERS ALL 1988-95 FORD CARS WITH 3.8L V6 ENGINES  IVE LEARNED THROUGH RESEARCH THAT HEAD GASKETS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE A NONMAINTENANCE ITEM AND ARE SUPPOSED TO LAST THE LIFE OF THE CAR (OR AT LEAST 120,000 MILES). *AK

NHTSA ID

747223

Incident

May 20, 2001

HEAD GASKET FAILED. CAR WAS PARKED IN DRIVEWAY. THE MORNING OF 5/15/2001 CAR DID NOT START. CAR WAS TOWED TO MECHANIC, UPON HIS CHECK HE CONCLUDED THAT HEAD GASKET HAD FAILED.*AK

NHTSA ID

745995

Incident

May 15, 2001

HEAD GASKET FAILED LEAKING ANTI-FREEZE INTO ENGINE, CAUSING DAMAGE TO OXYGEN SENSOR AND RADIATOR. CONSUMER HAD HEAD GASKET REPLACED AT PRIVATE GARAGE.*AK

NHTSA ID

889001

HEAD GASKET WAS CRACKED AND LEAKED COOLANT WHICH CAUSED ENGINE TO OVERHEAT. PRIVATE MECHANIC WAS REPAIRING THIS DEFECT, AND WAS GOING TO COST APPROXIMATELY $800-1200.00. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/ATTACHMENTS. *AK

NHTSA ID

888727

Incident

Apr 1, 2001

I AM NOT A MECHANIC SO HERE GOES. I FIRST WAS DRIVING AND WHITE SMOKE BEGAN BLOWING OUT OF THE MUFFLER. I STOPPPRED THE CAR AND HAD IT TOWED TO AN AUTO REPAIR SHOP.HE SAID I HAD A BLOWN HEAD GASKET WHICH IS QUIT COMMON IN THE MERCURY SABLE.I CONTACTED SEVERAL MECHANICS WHO ALL SAID THE SAME THING,IT MUST BE A DEFECT IN THE SABLE. I HAD THAT FIXED AND BECAUSE OF THIS MY TRANSMISSION LET GO AND BLEW A ROD.*AK

NHTSA ID

743803

Incident

Jan 15, 2001

THERE SEEMS TO BE A PROBLEM WITH FORDS 3.8 LITER V6 HEAD GASKETS. MINE PERSONNELLY FAILED AT 91,000 MILE MARK AND EVERYONE ELSE I KNOW THAT OWNS ONE HAS FAILED AROUND 90,000 MILES IT SEEM TO ME THERE IS A BIG PROBLEM THIS IS A COSTLY REPAIR FOR SOMETHING THAT SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING TO ALL OF THE 3.8 LITERS CAN YOU PLEASE LOOK AT THIS PROBLEM SO WE CAN STOP THIS TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE FROM ACCOURING ANY MORE. THANK YOU. *AK

NHTSA ID

741489

Incident

Oct 1, 1999

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOV EVEHICLE. *AK

NHTSA ID

741272

Incident

Feb 21, 2001