Most common 2001 Mercury Sable problems
Share of the 430 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Mercury Sable complaints by model year
Best Sable years: 2009, 2004, 2008. Years to avoid: 2000, 2001, 2002, 1995, 1996. Compare all years →
2001 Mercury Sable recalls (8)
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,…
Exterior lighting › Brake lights › Switch
Certain passenger vehicles are being recalled to correct a problem with a malfunctioning stop lamp switch and/or associated wiring. This malfunctioning could render the stop lamps inoperable or cause them to stay on all the time. This could cause confusion to a following driver, which could lead to a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will remove the stop lamp switch and associated wiring assembly and install a newly designed stop lamp switch and wire assembly. Owner notification is expected to begin on April 5, 2004.
Service brakes, hydraulic › Pedals and linkages
Certain passenger vehicles equipped with adjustable padels are being recalled in order to adjust the brake and accelerator pedals to a minimum of 50 mm of lateral separation. Simultaneous application of both the brake and accelerator pedals could result in an increase in engine RPM.
Remedy: Owners will be instructed as to the proper way to set the position of the pedals and to take their vehicles to a dealer to have the spacing between the brake and accelerator pedals measured.
Visibility › Windshield wiper/washer › Motor
Vehicle description: passenger cars, sport utility vehicles, and light and medium duty pickup trucks. A switch located in the plastic cover of the wiper motor gear case could malfunction and overheat, potentially resulting in loss of intermittent wiper function, loss of wiper park function, complete loss of wiper function, or…
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the date code on the wiper motor. Motors built with the suspect time frame will have the wiper motor gear case cover replaced. Owner notification began August 20, 2001.
Seat belts › Front › Buckle assembly
Vehicle description: passenger cars. The seat belt buckle tongue May not fully eject from the buckle assembly when the release button is pushed slowly. This condition could also result in a partial latch of the tongue in the buckle.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the driver and right front passenger seat belt buckles. Owner notification began May 4, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive…
Exterior lighting › Tail lights › Switch
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with adjustable pedals. If the grease from the adjustable pedal assembly enters the stop lamp switch, it can contaminate the contacts leading to carbon build up, and potentially, a short circuit.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the brake lamp switch and wipe down the adjustable pedal assembly to remove excess grease. Owner notification began March 22, 2001.
Show 2 more recalls
Equipment › Other › Owners/service/other manual
Vehicle description: certain sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, and passenger vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of FMVSS 225, "child restraint anchorage systems." the affected expedition/navigator owner guides do not identify the locations of seating positions equipped with tether anchorages, and do not provide…
Remedy: Owners will be provided with owner guide inserts revised to provide the required information, and instructions for affixing these inserts to their owner guides.
Seat belts › Front › Anchorage
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The child safety seat anchor latch (iso-fix anchor) fasteners do not have adequate residual torque. The anchors are secured to the floor pan with a reinforcement plate that has two studs that extend upward through the floor pan and the iso-fix anchor.
Remedy: Dealers will remove and re-install the bracket nut using a torque retention material (red loctite). Owner notification began September 11, 2000.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 8 possible defects involving the 2001 Mercury Sable:
Brake light switch failure
Ford conducted a recall in March, 2001 to correct a defect affecting the brake light switch in my 2000 through early-2001 taurus and sable vehicles equipped with power adjustable pedals (recall 01v-078).rq03-008 was opened to investigate complaints concerning the remedy and scope of 01v-078.odi's analysis identified concerns with post-repair failures in recalled vehicles,failures in my 2001-02 vehicles with…
Brake/accelerator pedal application
Ms. Rodman reported that after her vehicle was inspected for the recall, her mother experienced a sudden acceleration and crashed the sable into a light pole.previously NHTSA had conducted an investigation for this issue (pe02-035) that resulted in the recall (02v-266) of 369,000 my 2000-2002 taurus and sable vehicles equipped with adjustable brake and accelerator pedals to insure that the separation between the…
Speed control cable damage
On June 21, 2013, Ford initiated Customer Satisfaction Program 13B04 to address a concern with Speed Control Cable damage in certain model year (MY) 2000 through 2003 Taurus and Sable vehicles equipped with 3.0L 4V Duratec engines and built at the Chicago assembly plant.In the dealer letter for the program, Ford indicates that the Speed Control Cables on affected vehicles may be susceptible to damage or becoming…
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…
Frontal air bag non-deployment in crash
Ford motor company has identified 260 reports alleging frontal air bag non-deployment for any (severity) frontal or near-frontal crash on model year 2000-2001 Ford taurus and Mercury sable vehicles.additional crash reports are contained in NHTSA's fatality analysis reporting system (fars) database.the single odi report listed in the report summary is NHTSA's special crash investigation's case no.
Brake/accel pedal separation
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…
Frontal air bag non-deployment in crash
This investigation identified a total of 427 reports alleging non-deployment of the frontal air bags.of the 427 reports, two incidents (fatal crashes) have been identified as severe frontal crashes in which the frontal air bags did not deploy.a defect trend has not been identified at this time.further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of…
What 2001 Mercury Sable owners say
Suspension all 204 →
I got in my car started to drive and heard something snap then smoke came from the hood and the car pulled hard right. I immediately stopped and parked the car. The coil spring broke and dug into my front passenger tire and it pulled the axle out of the cv joint.I was in allentown,pa. On a main road in the city. Feb.8,2020.
The engine cradle/frame supporting the engine & transmission and suspension and steering assemblies failed due to excessive corrosion causing the rear mount at the body connection on both sides to separate and drop about 3" causing a loss of steering. The drop of the cradle and engine and transmission pulled down on the steering shaft universal joint under the dash causing the steering to bind up and also causing the entire steering and suspension geometry to fail. The vehicle was not garaged, was purchased new by me, was not in involved in any flood damage, was not in close proximity to salt water and the undercarriage was sprayed each time I frequently washed the vechicle. The engine cradle in addition to the rear mount failure has extensive rust and corrosion thruout the structure. …
Speed control & acceleration all 61 →
Lately my car has been over accelerating to about 4,000 rpm's at random moments. I almost got into a wreck today and I was driving 30 mph. I've 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 I'm too scared to even drive it!
Transmission issues included a near death experience when faulty cruise control wiring / functionality caused automatic transmission to rev to to high rpms. Was unable to shift to neutral gear and was forced to jump from vehicle to avoid potentially fatal wreck. Brake pads burned through to the calipers when trying to brake.
Brakes all 40 →
My 2001 Mercury Sable accelerated as I entered the highway. The car would not stop even when I applied the brake. I called 911. The 911 operator suggested that I apply the parking brake which I did. I went about 15 miles riding the shoulder going between 60-70 miles per hour. I eventually exited the highway but could not stop even at the end of the exit ramp. I made a right hand turn. At this point I had reduced my speed to approximately 30 miles per hour. The car eventually landed in a ditch. At that point, I ended my call with 911. I looked to my left and found four men yelling to me to get out of the car. I then learned that the car was on fire. I exited the car. The four men put the fire out with a fire extinguisher. The car was towed to a Mercury dealership where it is documented that it was in fact the speed control cable that caused the car to accelerate. …
I was driving my car at about 20 miles an hour and I felt a vibration. I made a decision to pull the car over and get off the roadway and stop. When I tried to use my brake I felt the resistance half way down and then it suddenly went all the way to the floor. I saw myself gaining on the car in front of me. I quickly turned to the right and up on the sidewalk hitting the curb in the process and then instead of hitting a store wall I turned slightly to the left and headed dead center for an edison pole. I could have killed someone. I need to talk to someone who can tell me who to get to look into my brake system to see what went wrong. I am so scared to ever drive that car again. My car is only 5 years old and in excellent condition and maintained well. Never had any hint that my brakes were faulty. My car has been looked at and he said the body can be fixed. …
2001 Mercury Sable engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0L 6-cyl | 4-speed automatic | FWD | 17 / 25 / 20 |
EPA ratings. Class: Midsize car.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2001 Mercury Sable a good car?
Based on 430 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2001 Sable rates use caution: 1.8× as many complaints as a typical year of the Sable at the same age. It is one of the Sable years we suggest avoiding. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2001 Mercury Sable?
The suspension — 204 complaints, 47% of all complaints for this model year, most often about rear › springs › coil springs. Next are the speed control & acceleration (61) and brakes (40).
How many recalls does the 2001 Mercury Sable have?
There are 8 recalls for the 2001 Mercury Sable, the most recent from July 15, 2004 (coil springs). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Mercury Sable?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2009, 2004 and 2008. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2000, 2001, 2002, 1995 and 1996. See the full Mercury Sable years comparison.
At what mileage do 2001 Mercury Sable problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 65,000 miles; 30% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
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.