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 2001 Mercury Sable owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
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. …
My 17 year old was driving the 2001 Mercury Sable and came to a complete stop at a light on a busy intersection however, the car automatically accelerated even with his foot on the brake. The acceleration stuck and fortunately he was able to control the vehicle without hitting anyone and causing an accident but immediately managed to get it to an open lot to shut the car off. Had someone look at it, and it was the throttle cable that snapped. It is only temporarily fixed at this time. Also, when driving in areas where there is any type of small bump, such as the end of our driveway, the front end suspension just isn't there. It hits extremely hard.
Something drastically wrong with the radiator system, antifreeze is always brown, have it changed and in 1 day it turns brown. The windows have been broken in this car since 2005, the two front windows do not go up and down, I don't feel safe without the windows working. There is something wrong with the suspension and I constantly have to put air into my tires and tires wear out quickly because suspension is messed up. Windshield washer has not worked since 2003. If it was built with pride like the company says it is, it would be a nice car. Falls apart too easily. I need help.
(1) I removed the right rear tire to inspect the brakes when I discovered that the coil spring had fractured and was making contact with the sidewall of the tire. Had I not investigated the brake grinding sound, I would not have realized the spring was broken. It is not a question of if, but when the tire would have blown out. (2) the minimum results of the spring failure is that when the spring finally wore through the tire, I would have been stranded somewhere. The maximum consequences is that when the tire finally wore through, I could have lost control of my vehicle and been involved in a severe automobile accident. (3) at present the vehicle is undrivable and sits on blocks in the garage. Ford motor company and the dealerships are taking no responsibility for the faulty spring even though a year earlier a recall was initiated on the front springs of the same vehicle. …
I own a 2001 Mercury Sable with 54,300 miles on it. As I was driving, I noticed a particular noise coming from the back end of the car. I needed to have the oil changed anyway, so when I took it in to the dealership, I asked them to check the back end because it sounded as if the brakes were hanging up. When the dealership checked, they told me that both of the back springs were broken and that one of the springs with a pointed portion had ruined my new tire (the tires had 7,000 miles on them). When I asked about a recall or warranty, I was told by the dealership that only the front coils/springs had been recalled and the total cost would be my responsibility. Thus, I had to purchase two rear coils/springs, a new rear tire, and have my car aligned again. At first, I considered myself lucky because I was not in an accident and hurt myself or someone else. …
2001 Sable (purchased new 10/20/2001) had four new Goodyear tires installed on 3/24/2006 at 25,998 miles. After several weeks of listening to my son, the driver of the car, complain that the rear was very low to the ground, I took it into the Goodyear dealer on 9/4/2006 with 29,255 miles. They discovered the cause was fractured rear coil springs on both the driver and passenger sides of the vehicle. The knife sharp fractured ends of the broken springs were extending down below the spring seats and resting up against the tires making slight contact with the inside walls of both rear tires. The service mechanic advised that it was unsafe to drive the vehicle. Being labor day and with no Mercury dealerships open, I had them replace the fractured springs with monroe quick struts at a total cost of $740.92. …
July 30th 2008, I took my car in for routine maintenance of oil change, tire rotation, etc. Repair shop discovered the left and right rear coil springs were broken. Broken in such a way that they were surprised that the jagged end of the coil springs was not rubbing into my tire. I have no ideal when this might have happened, there was no indication that they had failed. Although the casing around the coil spring easily tore by hand and the broken part of the coil spring is rusted. It scares me to think of how long I might have been driving around with my car on the edge like this. My car has 62,896 miles on it, but exactly when these coil springs failed is unknown. They want upwards of $800.00 to replace coil spring and struts. $500.00 just for coil springs. I had no choice other than to get coil springs replaced. …
Both rear springs on my car are broken. One of the front springs also broke (and has been repaired) and my mechanic has told me the other is about to go. I have found out that Ford recalled the front springs due to a substandard material used in construction, which is prone to road salt corrosion. Since I live in the northeast, road salt is a common occurrence during the winter months. The rear springs are made of the same material and are also corroding. It'll cost me around $1,600 to compensate for a design flaw that Ford is washing it's hands of (at 100,000 miles, my front springs aren't even covered under the recall, even though the problem was there from day-1). One would think Ford would do the right thing and replace the defective rear springs as well. …
The vehicle that I drive (2001 Sable) was found to have broken rear coil springs at the brake shop and was corkscrewing towards my sidewalls (65K). My wife was carrying my daughter in the backseat for a one-hour commute everyday before this was noticed (700 to repair). About two days ago my front coil springs were found to be fractured while visiting a local alignment shop because I found the tires to be wearing unevenly (80K). I called Ford to complain and said the recall on the vehicle had expired and that it was a customer courtesy to extend that to ten years or 140K and I was a year too late. She also said that engineers review these reports and sometimes reopen claims. I explained to her that I was posting with NHTSA because many families are being placed at risk in these vehicles - we did not make the defective parts, they did. And they should be good about making the repair. …
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…
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 2001 Mercury Sable?
NHTSA has 204 complaints about the suspension of the 2001 Mercury Sable, 47% of the model year's 430 complaints. The component named most often is rear › springs › coil springs (95 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2001 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 2001 Mercury Sable suspension problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 72,000 miles, and 5% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 1 fire and 0 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.