Wheel & Tire complaints by model year
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (wheels, lug nuts, original-equipment tires, TPMS).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Mercury Sable equipped with douglas x-trac 2 tires, size: p215/60/r16. While driving 65 MPH, the front passenger side tire blew out. As a result, the vehicle veered but the contact was able to regain control of the vehicle. The vehicle and tire were not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The dot number and VIN were unknown. The vehicle failure mileage was 105,029 and the tire failure mileage was 5,159.
I own a 2003 Mercury Sable platinum edition. I have experienced four flat tires in the last year with this vehicle (2/2005 to 2/2006). The first three I had repaired at a local tire store, as I was not aware that the problem was with the vehicle's aluminum wheels. In each case the wheels corroded around the sealing bead, or the valve stem causing an air leak. The corrosion occurs on the interior of the wheel, hidden from sight. The only clue is when the tires begin to lose pressure. The first flat tire occurred in February of 2005. The second and third happened in March and April of 2005 respectively. Finally the three wheels that had been repaired and the fourth began leaking, and in September 2005 I had all four of the wheels repaired at a local Ford dealer. …
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. …
I have a 2002 Mercury Sable w/ 40,000 miles on it. The car had to be taken back numerous times the hub caps fell off after the 6th time they replaced with alloy wheels. The right & left sway bar end links have been replaced. The altenator went out and was replaced. The transmission had to completely be overhauled. The powertrain control module replaed, the spark plug wire replaced, replaced processor and key. #4 plug wire shorting out caused coil to go bad and fouled #3 ac coil asy-ign replaced after fixing $3 & #4 showed up on power balance retest,but said road test was OK at this time suggested fel management. It scares me that so much can go wrong on a 2002 auto. I did have extended warranty on the altenator and transmission, but I would have hated to pay the $3028.00 charge to fix the problem, I wasn't real happy to pay the deductible. …
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.
Dt*: the contact stated there were two problems with the vehicle. The first being the engine would not start intermittently. The engine would start if it was boosted. The vehicle was taken to the local independent repair shop for inspection. The repair personnel discovered the battery cables had separated from the terminals. The cables were repaired. The second was a transmission failure. The transmission was shifted into park and the vehicle lurched forward. After this incident, the vehicle would not go into any gear. The vehicle was towed to the local repair shop for inspection. The transmission was rebuilt and the vehicle drives normal. The front bumper fascia cracked. The left rear tire failed. Updated 03/03/06.
Rear passenger side coil spring broke while driving and punctured the rear passenger side tire. This occurred due to the same defect as described in the front coil spring recall 04V332000. The rear coil spring and tire were replaced.
We were on a trip on September 20, 2000 on a northern california highway traveling about 58 MPH when the left rear tire blew out. The car had about 1200 miles on it at that time. A tow truck arrived and the operator changed the tire and stated that the tire was unrepairable due to sidewall failure. We drove to the les schwab tire dealer in burney. Ca. They agreed the tire was unrepairable and sold us a replacement tire for $84. The tire dealer told us to go back where we bought the car to get reimbursed for the cost of the new tire. The lithia motors service department took possession of the defective tire, ordered and eventually replaced it with one of the same brand and size, and stated they would reimburse us for the cost of the les schwab tire. I asked for all the tires to be replaced since I was afraid another tire would fail. …
NHTSA investigations
Tire valve cracking
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…
Frequently asked questions
Which Mercury Sable years have wheel & tire problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2002 (15), 2000 (13), 1995 (11), 1997 (11) and 1999 (9) model years. Wheel & Tire complaints make up 3% of all complaints for the 2002.
Is there a recall for Mercury Sable wheel & tire problems?
No. NHTSA lists no wheels & tires recall for any Mercury Sable model year. A widespread problem may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin, so ask a dealer.
At what mileage do Mercury Sable wheel & tire problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 84,000 miles; 27% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the tread/belt (11 mentions), followed by the sidewall (6).
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.