Problems · NHTSA complaints

2005 Mercury Sable problems

Owners filed 83 complaints about the 2005 Mercury Sable with NHTSA between Dec 2005 and Sep 2023. The most-cited component is vehicle speed control (38).

Complaints
83
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
3
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
3
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Vehicle speed control38
  2. Power train26
  3. Service brakes7
  4. Steering7
  5. Electrical system6
  6. Engine5
  7. Air bags4
  8. Structure3
  9. Engine and engine cooling3
  10. Visibility3
  11. Fuel system, gasoline2
  12. Visibility/wiper1
  13. Fuel/propulsion system1
  14. Suspension1

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20051
20062
20072
20084
20091
20101
20118
201219
201316
20148
20153
20163
20174
20184
20193
20202
20210
20221
20231

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Vehicle speed control

38 reports1 crash
“Im owner of Mercury Sable 2005 only 79000 miles..The car problem speed control idle over 2200 so high when stop red light have to brake pedal to slow the vehicle down, and the vehicle failed to accelerrate..”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 14, 2023Vehicle speed controlODI 11544491

Power train

26 reports
“AFTER LEAVING A STOP, THE CAR WAS ABLE TO MOVE, THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE CAR WOULD NOT CHANGE GEARS AND STAYED IN A NUETRAL POSITION. AFTER SAFELY PARKING THE CAR, IT WILL NOT SHIFT INTO DRIVE OR REVERSE. LOOKING ONLINE I SEE NUMEROUS CONSUMER WITH THE SAME ISSUE AND THE COST IS MORE THAN THE CAR IS WORTH, BUT IS A KNOWN ISSUE THAT THE MANUFACTURER WILL NOT TAKE THE BLAME ON.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 24, 2019Power trainODI 11270869

Service brakes

7 reports
“CAN NOT SEE OUT MY FRONT AND BACK WINDOWS. I WILL CLEAN THE WINDOWS 3-4 TIMES A DAY. IMPROPER CODES REQUESTING REPAIR AND ONCE REPAIRED STILL THE SAME THING. STARTS NO CRANKS. VERY DANGEROUS CONDITIONS, COULD NOT CONTINUE TO WORK DUE TO VISION ISSUES. ANTI THEFT FUNCTIONS PREVENTING ME FROM OPERATING MY CAR.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 20, 2018Vehicle speed control, Service brakes, Visibility/wiperODI 11130293

Steering

7 reports1 crash
“THIS WAS THE THIRD INCIDENT IN WHICH THE CAR STOPPED ON ME. ONCE BEFORE I WAS LEAVING MY APARTMENT AND ANOTHER TIME WHEN I WAS DRIVING ON MY WAY TO CHURCH. DURING ALL THREE INCIDENTS, I HAD TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND TRY TO RESTART THE CAR. THE THIRD TIME I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, THE DASH BOARD ALL OF A SUDDEN LITE UP AND ONE OF THE MESSAGES WAS "LOW PRESSURE". THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP AND SO DID THE GAS PEDAL. I HAD JUST ENOUGH TIMES TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD (GOOD THING THERE SIDE STRIP. I HAD MY 5 YEAR GRANDSON IN THE CAR SO THAT WAS REALLY SCARY. THE CAR HAS BEEN PARKED EVER SINCE,I HAD IT TOWED TO A REPAIR SHOP, THE DIAGNOSTIC SUGGESTS REPLACEMENT OF THE IGNITION SWITCH, IGNITION CYLINDER, ANTI-THEFT AND IGNITION. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 25, 2014Steering, Electrical systemODI 10605961

Electrical system

6 reports
“THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON. EACH TIME I HAVE THE PART REPAIRED OR REPLACE ONLY TO HAVE IT COME AGAIN WITH A NEW CODE. I HAVE REPLACED NUMEROUS PARTS AND HAVE SPENT OVER $2000 SO FAR. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STILL KEEPS COMING ON. THE CAR RUNS GOOD. SOMETIMES THE TRANSMISSION ACTS UP BUT EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE WORKING FINE. I JUST CANT STOP THE CHECK ENGINE LITE TO STAY OFF.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 22, 2015Electrical systemODI 10795341

Engine

5 reports
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 MERCURY SABLE. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, BUT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO STOP AS THE RPMS INCREASED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE WOULD OCCUR OCCASIONALLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER, BUT THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE FAILURE OCCURRED PRIOR TO PURCHASING THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT REQUESTED THAT THE DEALER REPAIR THE VEHICLE BEFORE THE SALE WAS FINALIZED, BUT THE ISSUE PERSISTED. THE CONTACT WAS UNAWARE OF THE REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 80,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 2, 2017Service brakes, EngineODI 10983133
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.