2003 Mercury Sable problems
The 2003 Mercury Sable has 251 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (20%) concerns suspension. Next are cruise control (12%) and drivetrain & axles (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 251 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Suspension 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 17 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 10 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 70,000 miles 192 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 28 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 20 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 30 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 36 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 21 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 24 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 10 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 11 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 7 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 5 |
What the data shows
Of the 192 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 70,000 miles. For suspension specifically, the median reported mileage is about 75,000 miles (45 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 17 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 10 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 13th most-complained-about out of 18 model years of the Mercury Sable with enough data (111 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Do any new cars offer an automatic release of the rear door child lock device. This means that the child lock will automatically un-set upon impact of an accident so people in the back seat can quickly get out. I had an incident in a mercury sable where the back seat passenger was nearly burned because they could not get out of the back seat (get the rear door open). This kind of problem is described on a website [link removed] in detail.
My wife swerved to avoid hitting another vehicle encroaching into her lane. She lost control of her 2003 mercury sable and slammed head-on into the concrete center divider of the westbound 60 fwy diamondbar ca. The passenger side air bag deployed, but the drivers side bag did not. She suffered a concussion, a fractured mandible, and a molar tooth was broken from the jaw bone which the maxillo-facial surgeon was unable to save. The car was a total loss.
While driving 45 MPH consumer's vehicle collided with another vehicle head on, and the air bags did not deploy.
2003 mercury sable ls 4 door sedan front coil spring snapped and punctured front winter tread tire while setting in my driveway. Location pennsylvania during winter.