Suspension complaints by model year
| Year | Complaints | Share of year's complaints | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 3 | 15% | 34,000 miles |
| 2008 | 3 | 5% | 158,000 miles |
| 2005 | 1 | 1% | — |
| 2004 | 1 | 2% | 140,000 miles |
| 2003 | 47 | 23% | 78,000 miles |
| 2002 | 239 | 54% | 77,000 miles |
| 2001 | 204 | 47% | 72,000 miles |
| 2000 | 158 | 34% | 67,000 miles |
| 1999 | 48 | 19% | 73,000 miles |
| 1998 | 22 | 12% | 92,000 miles |
| 1997 | 17 | 7% | 96,000 miles |
| 1996 | 11 | 4% | 184,000 miles |
| 1995 | 30 | 9% | 85,000 miles |
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, springs).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
I now have 75,000 miles on the vehicle, but at around the 15,000 mile point the driver's side front strut went out followed by the passenger front strut 4,000 miles later. In total both front struts have been replaced three times (the original and two replacement sets) and the driver's side front strut is again making a clunking sound, same as before. The dealer has replaced the original and first replacement set at their cost but the last set was at my cost. With the struts showing signs of needing replacement again I don't feel that I should be funding for the cost, there is definitely a defect in the struts if that many became defective in that short of a time period. The vehicle is driven on good roads and not abused. Since this is part of the suspension system it can/will affect driving safety and tire wear.
I have a 2009 merc Sable premiere, when I go over bumps in the road the struts bottom out, and the car like slides side ways. I took it to the dealer where I bought it and they looked on the internet and found that Ford says when driving over bumps the car will bottom out and this is normal. I told the service man that this was [redacted] and he said he could not replace the struts until they recall them. I asked how much it would cost to replace them myself and he said it would run $1000. To have all 4 replaced. Do people have to get killed before they will cover this? I still have warranty left on my car and I want it fixed. Thank you very much for your time.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Mercury Sable. The contact stated that while inspecting the vehicle doing basic maintenance, the contact noticed that the driver's side rear spring was fractured and the rear sub frame bolts failed causing the subframe to drop. The vehicle was towed to the toycen Ford (1000 chippewa crossing blvd, chippewa falls, wi 54729, [phone]) where the vehicle was inspected. The technician determined that the vehicle was unrepairable. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 158,000.
Originally, 2 days prior, car felt like I was dragging something underneath. Got out and looked around car, didn't see anything. Left car for 2 days, then started to head to work. Was going only about 20mph when smoke poured out from under my car. A moment later my front passenger side tire blew. Had a friend come to help me change to the spare. He drove the car about 2 minutes back to my house and as soon as he parked it, he took the spare off because we heard a weird popping noise when he was jacking the car back up. Looked and the coil spring on the passenger side had broken and rubbed so violently against the tire that it had torn a 10-14" long hole in the tire and had burnt a ring around the inside of the tire. Thankfully I had 2 friends to replace the whole unit. …
I recently had a tire blow out on my vehicle. Upon removing the tire it was discovered that the right front spring snapped, which had ruptured the tire. I was able to get the car to a local shop to replace the spring and tire at my expense, with a used spring to keep the cost down. I contacted Ford ,and Ford advised they would not cover any expenses related to this. The carwas a 2003 Mercury Sable with low miles on it. Also , contacted my dealer , and the dealer agreed that this type of damage should not have occurred , yet could not rectify the problem since Ford has not recalled it for springs. I believe there was a fault in the springs ,and was fearful this May happen to the remaining springs on this car. Ford's advice to me was to have the remaining springs examined, at my own expense, as they reminded me that therewas no recall for faulty springs. …
Approximately 39,000 miles. No rust car. Rubbing noise and all tires with history of losing air. While replacing all tires, wheel tech noticed right rear coil spring was fractured and completely wore off interior tire ridge. Placed doughnut tire on and advised I take to mechanic to have all springs fully checked. Car currentlyat mechanic shop this evening. Right rear coil spring definitely fractured. Seems many reports of same nature on this model. Why no recall on rear coil springs with so many complaints? Rubbing sound from beneath car has been noted and tires constantly needed air. Other issue(s): 1) ignition extremely hard to turn.2) accelerator seems to stick upon attempting to decelerate by letting up foot pressure. I inherited this car from my deceased father. I was always concerned that he accelerated too quickly from a stopped position. …
Our 2002 Sable was brought in for an emergency brake cable issue. While working on the rear brakes, the mechanic noticed that a rear suspension spring was broken. He said we were very lucky it did not rupture the tire. We had both rear springs replaced, because we did not know what caused it to break. After that work was done the car needed to be aligned, and that is when they noticed that a front suspension spring was even more severely broken that is when we searched for possible bulletins or recalls. There were many complaints about 2002 Sable spring breakage, and some actually rupturing tires. There in fact was a recall issued for 2001 Mercury sables with spring breakage problems, but not for 2002s. We know in fact that the same part is used on 2001 and 2002s. So, for safety reasons we had no choice but to replace both front springs. We feel that this is a severe safety issue. …
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.
Related recalls (1)
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
Front suspension spring
There is no summary currently available
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…
Front suspension coil spring fracture
A total of 161 front suspension spring failures are known to odi and Ford from all sources, 59 of these leading to tire damage.these failures are concentrated in the corrosion states, where 253,814 subject vehicles were sold.warranty and consumer complaint data show that the subject fleet experienced a spring fracture rate of 0.009% at 30,000 miles and 0.03% at 60,000 miles.these rates are very low when compared to…
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…
Front Suspension Coil Spring Fracture
To date, ODI is aware of 2,401 non-duplicative complaints related to the alleged defect. In addition, ODI is aware of 1,411 subject vehicles with one or more warranty claims related to the alleged defect. In total, ODI is aware of 3,645 unique subject vehicles that have experienced one or more front suspension coil spring fractures.
Frequently asked questions
Which Mercury Sable years have suspension problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2002 (239), 2001 (204), 2000 (158), 1999 (48) and 2003 (47) model years. Suspension complaints make up 54% of all complaints for the 2002.
Is there a recall for Mercury Sable suspension problems?
Yes — 1 recall, including 04V-332 (coil springs, Jul 15, 2004). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers; check a specific car with the VIN recall check.
At what mileage do Mercury Sable suspension problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 75,000 miles; 18% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the front › springs › coil springs (267 mentions), followed by the rear › springs › coil springs (178).
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.