Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, springs).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2000 Mercury Sable owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The front driver's side coil spring fractured, dropping the front left side of the car and causing it to veer to the left. The end of the broken spring also pierced the inside sidewall of the almost new Michelin tire and instantly deflated it. [redacted] suffered sprained wrists and a sprained back from the sudden loss of control of the 2000 Mercury Sable gs wagon. If the vehicle had been moving at a higher speed or on an interstate road, serious injury and severe damage would have occurred. The spring failure and damage was reported to Ford's customer relations center, heather nabb, Ford supervisor. This problem has already resulted in recall 04s17. I was never notified by Ford on this recall and I have owned the car since it was purchased new in 2001. It has always been registered in nh. …
My daughter was driving my 2000 Mercury Sable around a curve to the left when the rear of the vehicle began to slide to the left causing her to loose control and strike 2 guard rails,2 vehicles traveling in the opposite direction and then head-on into a stone retaining wall. Vehicle was severely damage and my daughter suffered a minor head injury. The airbags did not deploy even after striking the wall head-on. We are concerned that the rear coil springs were defective, rusted and May have cause her to loose control and the rear-end of the vehicle to slide to the left. 1 week prior to vehicle crash/incident, the rear end of the vehicle slid to the left on dry pavement while turning to the right. Vehicle tires were fairly new and in good condition. Please review the 2000 Mercury Sable for defects in the rear coil springs and the airbag deployment failure.
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 Mercury Sable. While driving 35 MPH over a bump, the contact heard an abnormal noise underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that both springs had fractured. The mechanic also diagnosed that the brakes and ball joints needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the springs were not replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 200,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 Mercury Sable. The contact stated that while driving at a low speed, the contact heard a loud noise. Upon further inspection, the contact noticed that the front driver side coil spring fractured. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 192,000.
On 12/15/2005, I was driving my two kids to school in my 2000 Mercury Sable when my left rear tire (only 5 months old) blew out. I swerved and came to rest on a grassy median. My kids and I were pretty shaken up but I managed to compose myself to get out and change the tire. As cars drove relatively close to me, I managed to get the spare on and noticed that my tire had a groove carved on the inside with a deep puncture. I searched to see what had caused this and noticed that the coil spring was broken the sharp broken edge protruded out. Luckily this did not interfere with the small spare tire. I have called my dealer (reedman/toll) and they told me there was no recall on the rear springs and that it would be a few days before they could get the parts to make the repair. …
I currently own a 2000 Mercury Sable with 45,000 miles. I replaced the front coil springs around 28-30 thousand miles because of a breakage, in which the dealer is taking care of getting those reimbursed, because there was a recall on those. On 19 May 2008 got in the car to go to Sunday breakfast as I put it in reverse & started backing up heard a noise, just thought it was the breaks since it wasn't driven for a few days. Got about half way there & smelled something nasty wasn't sure what it was, got turned around to head back home & pow! The back drivers side rear tire blows out. In changing out the tire to the spare I looked & the coil spring was broke & wore a fine groove in the back of the tire which is what stunk & punctured it. …
We were notified of the recall on the front springs of the 2000 Mercury Sable in August of 2004. We went to the garage to ask what we should do. The garage said they would call when the parts were made and when to come in for replacement of the springs. We were never called to bring the car in. On January 23, 2005 while backing out of the garage the front spring exploded with such a force it blew out the front tire. The car was then towed to the Ford garage where it was repaired. They put new springs on the front of the vehicle and replaced the tire at no cost. While in the garage they found a rear spring that was broken. The service manager contacted Ford motor company to see if it could be repaired at no cost also. Ford said no because there was no recall on the rear springs. We had to pay for the rear springs. …
My car was sitting in the garage, and when I put it in reverse to go to my drs, a loud bang happened, left front side of car went down, I thought it was a flat tire, but upon inspection by the garage, I was informed that the coil spring had let loose and flew thru the tire, flattening it!. This is unacceptable to me, as my car is a 2000 Mercury Sable, it has only 14,565 miles!!. Also , the dealership, sherman Ford, westfield,ny, I was treated as I was dirt!, to the extent, my bill was made out to a person with a "different" first name!, and they refused to change it, but they sure were fast enough to grab my "credit card"!!!. I then asked Ford, Mercury division(1-800) number , if there was any way to recoup any of my money, as I am a 83 yr. …
Ford taurus/Mercury Sable rear coil springs. Although, not under recall, the rear springs appear just as susceptible to failure as the front springs which are under recall. On 2/23/07 the coil springs failed. This was within 3 months of front coil spring failure. The vehicle is a 2000 Mercury Sable with only 59,000 miles. My brother in law is the service manager of the local Ford dealership and said "I'm surprised we haven't seen a recall on the rear springs too. We have had about three of these in the last month." this is a service manager with a four year degree in auto tech and 30+ years of experience. The problem was discovered during routine maintenance. During this visit to the dealership the auto tech had to twist the spring into a position so not to puncture the tire until another appointment could be made to replace the springs. …
This vehicle was taken to a tire store/auto repair shop for evaluation of excessive tire wear, and sagging rear suspension. Mechanic found both rear springs broken in about the same spots while examining the underside of the vehicle. This vehicle had already been repaired under recall 3 years ago due to broken front springs. Owner already aware that rear springs are not included in that recall or subject to recall of their own. Springs and worn struts replaced, along with new tires installed. Cost of new springs and labor alone $250. Owner informed that premature tire wear (wear bars showing and inner side wall wear at 26,000 miles on 40,000 mile warranty tires) was attributed to broken springs which rendered vehicle out of alignment, thus voiding warranty on tires. Springs were not broken when the tires were first installed. …
Related recalls
Suspension › Front › Springs › Coil springs
On certain passenger vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in the states of connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, and the…
Remedy: Dealers will install protective spring shields. In addition, Ford is extending the warranty coverage of the front coil springs in all other states, for fracture only, up to 10 years of service or 150,000 miles,…
NHTSA investigations
Rear coil spring fracture
The office of defect investigation (odi) opened preliminary evaluation, pe05-054, based on 131 vehicle owner questionnaires related to alleged rear coil spring fractures.since opening the investigation there have been an additional sixty-three (63) complaints alleging rear coil spring fracture.an analysis of the vehicle owner questionnaires (voqs) submitted to odi reveals that 42% of the complainants allege that the…
Front suspension coil spring fracture
Odi possesses 130 vehicle owners questionnaires (voq) alleging front suspension coil spring failure in the subject (model year 1999-2000) vehicles.an additional 11 voqs concerning my 2001 vehicles have been found, bringing the total to 141.more than 75% of these reports allege that the broken spring damaged or punctured the adjacent tire.all of these reports originated in the salt belt states located in the…
Rear coil spring fracture
Odi's analysis identified a high complaint rate for the rear coil springs in the salt belt states (approximately 250 per 100,000 vehicles).approximately 59 percent of the complaints alleged that the coil spring failure caused damage to the adjacent rear tire, with about half of these (30 percent of total complaints) alleging that the damage resulted in air loss.because air loss from a rear tire can result in changes…
Suspension complaints in other Sable years
Frequently asked questions
How common are suspension problems on the 2000 Mercury Sable?
NHTSA has 158 complaints about the suspension of the 2000 Mercury Sable, 34% of the model year's 464 complaints. The component named most often is front › springs › coil springs (55 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2000 Mercury Sable suspension problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 04V-332 (coil springs, Jul 15, 2004). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2000 Mercury Sable suspension problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 67,000 miles, and 7% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 3 injuries to suspension problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.