- The problem
- These vehicles are originally sold or currently registered in the following states: alaska, iowa, minnesota, nebraska, north dakota, and south dakota. The vehicles involved are 1992-1994 tempo/topaz vehicles with 3.0L engines; 1994 tempo/topaz with 2.3L engines; 1992-1995 taurus/sable with 3.8L engines; 1994-1995 taurus/sable with 3.0L engines and 1992-1994 lincoln continental vehicles with 3.8L engines. During high winds, heavy, blowing and drifting snow, and low temperatures, the engine cooling fan can become blocked or frozen with snow. The fan motor may not rotate and could overheat.
- The risk
- This condition can cause smoke or flames from the fan and/or shroud, the fan electrical wiring, or the fan motor resulting in a vehicle fire.
- The fix
- Dealers will install an electrical jumper harness containing an automatic resetting circuit breaker to protect the fan motor low speed circuitry from overheating.
Engine & cooling
1993 Mercury Sable Engine problems
Owners have filed 344 complaints about the 1993 Mercury Sable's engine & cooling with NHTSA - 51% of all its complaints, most recently on June 25, 2005. They describe 1 crash, 4 fires and 0 injuries. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.
- Complaints
- 344
- Recalls
- 1
- Crashes
- 1
- Fires
- 4
- Injuries
- 0
- Deaths
- 1
Engine recalls for the 1993 Mercury Sable
Engine complaints
Blowen head gasket on 1993 ford sable wagon witn 87,000 miles on engine engine replacement needed
WHILE DRIVING ENGINE BLEW OUT. *AK
Consumer stated vehicle's head gasket failed prematurely. Dealer notified. *Ph temperature gauge showed vehicle is over heating, which led to the replacement of the thermostat; however, problem still occur. Also, mechanic noted that head gaskets were blown. *La
I have a 3.8L ford engine in my car. It was replaced before I purchased it at 126219 miles with another rebuilt 3.8L. Now I have a blown head or head gasket. I called ford and they say mercury didnt have the problems. My vin showed no past recalls. Whats up. Its a rebuilt 3.8L. I cant afford to fix it and its only got 15543 miles on it. Cant ford do anything. The motor has been in a little over a yr. The warranty is up the salespeople from instant auto quote. Help.
Ford 3.8L head gasket failure transmission failure
About 1 month after the mass air flow sensor was replaced and about 6 months after my head gaskets were replaced, my sable started to hesitate when warm. The vehicle has no power. The fuel pump, fuel filter, air filter and throttle position sensor have all been replaced with no effect. The timing has also been found to be right on.
I don't have the information for all the above but could find it if necessary. I am more concerned about the head gasket which needs to be replaced. I was never made aware that there was a problem that could happen at any time. I do not know what to do and, living on a small pension and social security, do not have thge money to repair or replace the vehicle.
While driving at 40 mph, the vehicle began to overheat. The consumer drove the vehicle to a mechanic, who found the head gasket was blown. The manufacturer and the dealer are aware of the problem. *Ph
Within the first 4000 miles, the engine was replaced because of an oil filter not doing it's job,according to the mechanics at negherbon mercury in oakland. The new engine ran hot. The dealer said it was within the normal range. The brand new engine actually had a cracked head gasket. All the repairs cost me $1800.00 That time. The dealer wouldn't even perform a compression check. Then the car would stall while driving, usually at freeway speeds. Most times it would restart. But this was very scary and...
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dangerous. I brought it to the dealer, they claimed they could not duplicate it. I took it to my neighborhood mechanic who hooked up some machine to the computer. We drove it on a nearby freeway, where of course it stalled. He was able to immediately determine the computer was faulty!!!! The device that basically runs the entire vehicle was shutting off gas flow to the engine. I had my mechanic correct the problem. There was also other defects, such as the steering wheel mounted turn signal stalk was replaced but the replacement did the same thing. Only low wiper speed no high speed, and the variable speed went out. The lightbar in the front of the vehicle all went out. I spoke with other sable owners who said the same thing about the lights. The vehicle spent almost one year at my mechanics. Then within two months of finally getting it back, the torque converter went out. My mechanic said I should replace the transmission at the same time. When he told me it would be $2700.00 I threw in the towel on that car. At that point blue book worth was $3000.00. Why would I want to put in any more money? It is now up on blocks at my father-in-laws. I consider this car a lemon. The dealer was not very helpful at all. In fact they seemed very hostile. *Ak
Several repairs as well as maintenance done to a 1993 mercury sable.*Mr repairs range from head gasket to radiator. *Ph *jb
Vehicle experienced the same defect as stated in recall 97 v 019 000, but this vehicle not included in recall due to vin. *Ak
The head gasket cracked, and coolant leaked onto the engine. *Jb
Own a 1993 mercury sable ls which has had the head gasket gone bad 3 times. Ford motor co. Has fixed 1991 & 1992 with same engine but will not fix 1993 with same engine.
I have seen this same complaint by numerous people, nhtsa graph of gasket failures shows thousands for 1993 3.8L sables/taurus. Is there any recourse? Help!! Dt
Car has stalled since first day when stopping and upon acceleration engine stalls and won't crank,also had broken motor mounts,power windows not working,tachometer not working,windshield wiper was mising when bought. *Ak
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK
Nine year old car with only about 36,000 miles. Car never overheated yet head gasket blew. $1,600 Repair bill from my private mechanic. I've had 4 other cars with more than twice the mileage, and older, and never encountered anything remotely similar. *Ak
Head gasket failure in my mercury 3.8Liter v6 engine at about 84,600 miles. My 1993 mercury sable gs wagon (vin = [[redacted]]) had a sudden head gasket failure on may 23, 2002 at about 84,600 miles. The repair costs came to over $2200. This head gasket failure is a known problem on 1988-1995 ford taurus and mercury sable vehicles with this engine (ford tsb # 98-4-9 and ford service campaign 98m01). I talked to ford customer relations (800-392-3673) twice about my case both times to ford associates in...
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their san diego customer relations office. The first time was on may 30, 2002 (spoke to a lady who gave her name as [[redacted]]) and the second time was on june 6, 2002 (spoke to a lady who gave her name as [[redacted]]). They were able to pull up my case on their computer via my home phone number ([[redacted]]). I was told that ford had a 7year/100,000 mile warranty on this head gasket problem. However, even though my car was under the 100,000 mile requirement (my car has only about 84,600 miles), my car did not meet the 7 year requirement (my car is 9 years old). Due to these reasons I was told that ford will not cover my repair either fully or partially. This is the first ford-manufactured vehicle that I have bought in my life. I bought it new in 1993 and maintained it exceptionally well. I have all the maintenance receipts right from day one in 1993. I expected it to last me till at least 100,000 miles without major problems. The head gasket is a non-maintenance item and it is quite reasonable to expect it to last at least 100,000 miles. This major problem and fords uncooperative attitude towards me have left a very bad taste in my mouth. My only recourse is to never buy a ford-manufactured vehicle again and to tell my friends about my bad experience in dealing with ford. *Ak information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.S.C. 552(B)(6). *Tr
While driving, engine temperature started climbing and no heat from vents. Pulled over and towed to garage where diagnosed as blown head gasket.*Ak
Consumer stated the head gasket and thermostat were replaced.*Jb
Consumer states engine head gasket blew. Dealer not willing to do anything. *Tt *tt
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK
Everytime while driving vehicle it will stall out at 35mph. Would have no warning when this happened. Intermittent stalling problem. Had not been to dealership.*Ak *jg
Consumer states vehicle stalls when accelerating onto a major highway or through an intersection.*Ak. *Jb
Consumer states that the air conditioner failed. *Slc
Mercury Sable engine complaints by year
Sable engine problems, every yearSource: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data