KnownCarProblems2008 Mercury Sable Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 61 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Mercury Sable, most often about the steering (26% of complaints, typically around 49,000 miles). It is 6th of 9 Sable model years by number of complaints and has 1 recall.
Most common 2008 Mercury Sable problems
Steering
16 complaints · 26%Half of these problems showed up before 49,000 miles. Parts named most often: hydraulic power assist system, rack and pinion.
Car developed a knock in steering. Most notable when stopped and turning steering wheel a few degrees left and right. Took it to dealer who said steering core failed. Refused warranty coverage. Said it was caused by accident about 1500 miles previously. The accident was a low speed fender bender without air bag…
The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Sable. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, she heard a popping noise as the vehicle veered to the right and the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact can no longer turn to the right. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the…
Transmission
11 complaints · 18%Half of these problems showed up before 54,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Sable. The contact stated that the vehicle jerked while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle was taken to a mechanic where a diagnostic was performed, which located the failure at the continuous variable transmission. The vehicle was repaired and the transmission was rebuilt. The failure and…
The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Sable. While driving various speeds, the vehicle would suddenly hesitate to accelerate. The contact indicated that the failure occurred on multiple occasions. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was…
Electrical
11 complaints · 18%Half of these problems showed up before 44,500 miles. Parts named most often: instrument cluster/panel.
My 2008 Mercury Sable, when at highway speed, speedometer has moved higher and lower on its own. When in cruise control car suddenly accelerated when speedometer dropped to erroneous low speed. This could have caused a crash into car ahead of me if I were not alert. It could have caused a speeding ticket.
On thursday around 11:30 pm, on sept.12, 2013, while my 77 year old mother slept her 2008, Mercury Sable premier mysteriously caught fire and burned while parked under her car porch attached to her home. The vehicle was totaled and damage occurred to her home. Were it not for her little dog barking and running back…
Speed control
10 complaints · 16%Half of these problems showed up before 40,500 miles.
On a 2008 Mercury Sable, on two separate occasions when the accelerator pedal has been fully or near fully depressed, it has become caught under the driver's floor mat, causing the engine to continue to race even when all pressure has been removed from the accelerator pedal.
There were two separate incidents with this same vehicle. Incident #1 with first driver: at about 5 MPH, the gas pedal was pressed significantly down. The gas pedal then stuck down in that position and the car started to quickly accelerate. After a quick tap on the gas pedal, the gas pedal started to operate normally.…
Engine
6 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 50,500 miles.
The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Sable. While driving various speeds, the vehicle would suddenly hesitate to accelerate. The contact indicated that the failure occurred on multiple occasions. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was…
There were two separate incidents with this same vehicle. Incident #1 with first driver: at about 5 MPH, the gas pedal was pressed significantly down. The gas pedal then stuck down in that position and the car started to quickly accelerate. After a quick tap on the gas pedal, the gas pedal started to operate normally.…
Brakes
6 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 25,500 miles.
The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Sable. While driving at speeds of 10 MPH, the vehicle exhibited a grinding noise and the front brakes became inoperable. The dealer inspected the vehicle but could not duplicate the failure. There were no additional failures. The approximate failure mileage was 21000 and the current…
The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Sable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for routine maintenance when the technician advised that the rear brakes needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for a second opinion where the failure was confirmed. In addition, the contact was advised to…
Air bags
4 complaints · 7%Parts named most often: frontal.
On friday, february 27th, 2015 at approximately 9:30am, I was involved in a car accident on a major interstate. The incident involved two vehicles, mine and another 4 door car. I ended up hitting the person in front of me going approximately 74 MPH, no one was seriously injured, however no airbags deployed. Upon…
The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Sable. The contact stated their daughter was driving at 55 MPH, when the driver was approaching an intersection at a red light the driver depressed on the brake pedal and the brake pedal went straight to the floor and the vehicle could not stop causing the vehicle to hit the vehicle in…
Seats
4 complaints · 7%Parts named most often: front assembly.
The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Sable. While driving at speeds of 55 MPH, the rear passengers seat suddenly caught fire without warning. The contact was able to extinguish the fire and the fire department was not called. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer; however, there were no repairs made to the vehicle.…
Not long after I bought this car, the element on the drivers side heated seat stopped working. It was under warranty and it was repaired. Then it went again and it was under the extended warranty and again it was repaired. Now this winter, I went to use it and again the element went for the third time. I feel that…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2008 Mercury Sable recalls
Air bags: frontal
Risk: An improperly inflated air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the driver's frontal air bag module, as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on june 13, 2016. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16c06.
Full defect summary
Ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain model year 2009-2012 ford flex, 2008 and 2010-2012 ford taurus, 2008-2009 ford taurus x, 2008 mercury sable, 2009 and 2011 lincoln mks vehicles. The driver frontal air bag may improperly inflate during second-stage deployment in the event of a high speed crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) number 208, "occupant crash protection."
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Tire valve cracking
Summary
On october 14, 2008, odi opened pe08-060 to investigate allegations of cracked and leaking snap-in tire valves in model year (my) 2007 vehicles manufactured by ford motor company.the valves were supplied to ford by topseal auto-parts, a subsidiary of the shanghai baolong automotive corporation in china.valves made by topseal for aftermarket sale were the subject of two recent safety recalls by tech international (08t-018) and dill air controls (08t-028), the latter of which was investigated by odi in pe08-036 and ea08-022.the defect conditions addressed by the aftermarket tire valve recalls both involved inadequate resistance to ozone cracking due to issues with the supply of anti-ozonant ch
Questions about the 2008 Mercury Sable
- What are the most common problems with the 2008 Mercury Sable?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: steering (16 complaints, typically around 49,000 miles); transmission (11 complaints, typically around 54,000 miles); electrical (11 complaints, typically around 44,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2008 Mercury Sable have?
- 1 recall listed by NHTSA, the latest from April 26, 2016 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2008 a bad year for the Mercury Sable?
- It is 6th of 9 Sable model years by number of complaints, with 61 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.