Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||||
| 6612 | 07/01/1999 | 610705 | Some vehicles may exhibit front suspension noise due to front strut, front sway bar links or symptoms such as premature rear brake pad wear due to seized rear brake calipers or slides. *tt | 05/11/2000 | |
| SUSPENSION - FRONT | |||||
| 98-4731 | 09/01/1998 | 607143 | Clunk or plop coming from front end. *ak | 11/02/2000 | |
| 97111097231 | 11/10/1997 | 53658 | Diagnostic and inspection procedure for front suspension noise. *yc | 03/30/1998 | |
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - STABILIZER BAR | |||||
| 8199 | 02/01/2000 | 612411 | Some vehicles may exhibit a rattling or clunking noise from the front end (front stabilizer link) under normal driving conditions. | 06/08/2000 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||
| 02/01/2009 | 94100 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 1998 mercury sable. while driving 45 mph, the driver's side tire suddenly blew out. there was no crash as a result of the failure. an independent mechanic assisted the contact with placing the spare tire on the vehicle and then informed him that the coil spring was the cause of the blow out. the dealer stated that only 1999-2001 sables were included in nhtsa campaign id number 04v332000 (suspension:front:springs:coil springs). he spoke with the manufacturer and they confirmed that the vin was not included in the recall. the current and failure mileages were approximately 94,100. | |||
| While driving vehicle vibrates and severely pulls to the right, cause unknown. please give any further details. *ak | |||
| 3 | 02/01/1998 | ||
| Vehicle makes a clunking noise when vehicle hits a bump. | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT | |||
| 12/21/2007 | 143000 | ||
| 98 sable wagon. (spring plate gave and spring blew out tire and damaged front end rods or arms, shock according to ford service analysis) and left front end almost sitting on the ground. according to ford analysis). i thought it was just a blow out so i had aaa come to tow it to my dealership. when the aaa driver saw the damage, he said he's seen this several times and that there was a safety recall out for this specific situation. ford dealership looked up recalls for my car and said there was one for what happened to my car but it was for 99 and newer models and that there was nothing they could do about repairing it under a recall. i called ford corporate customer service and they told me that there was nothing they could do and wouldn't invest their money into repairing my car. fortunate for me the incident occurred while backing out of my driveway. if it were on the highway, it would have been a catastrophe. i've been told that the 98s and 99s are very similar, so i don't understand why ford wouldn't make the repairs at their cost under the safety recall. *cn | |||
| 04/16/2002 | 1 | 09/17/1998 | |
| When consumer moved the vehicle from the driveway, front spring broke causing front left tire to blowout. *nlm *yd | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM | |||
| 12/21/2007 | 143000 | ||
| 98 sable wagon. (spring plate gave and spring blew out tire and damaged front end rods or arms, shock according to ford service analysis) and left front end almost sitting on the ground. according to ford analysis). i thought it was just a blow out so i had aaa come to tow it to my dealership. when the aaa driver saw the damage, he said he's seen this several times and that there was a safety recall out for this specific situation. ford dealership looked up recalls for my car and said there was one for what happened to my car but it was for 99 and newer models and that there was nothing they could do about repairing it under a recall. i called ford corporate customer service and they told me that there was nothing they could do and wouldn't invest their money into repairing my car. fortunate for me the incident occurred while backing out of my driveway. if it were on the highway, it would have been a catastrophe. i've been told that the 98s and 99s are very similar, so i don't understand why ford wouldn't make the repairs at their cost under the safety recall. *cn | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - SHOCK ABSORBER | |||
| 12/21/2007 | 143000 | ||
| 98 sable wagon. (spring plate gave and spring blew out tire and damaged front end rods or arms, shock according to ford service analysis) and left front end almost sitting on the ground. according to ford analysis). i thought it was just a blow out so i had aaa come to tow it to my dealership. when the aaa driver saw the damage, he said he's seen this several times and that there was a safety recall out for this specific situation. ford dealership looked up recalls for my car and said there was one for what happened to my car but it was for 99 and newer models and that there was nothing they could do about repairing it under a recall. i called ford corporate customer service and they told me that there was nothing they could do and wouldn't invest their money into repairing my car. fortunate for me the incident occurred while backing out of my driveway. if it were on the highway, it would have been a catastrophe. i've been told that the 98s and 99s are very similar, so i don't understand why ford wouldn't make the repairs at their cost under the safety recall. *cn | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - COIL SPRINGS | |||
| 04/05/2011 | 132000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 1998 mercury sable. the contact was driving in reverse 3 mph and in a residential driveway when the vehicle lunged forward abnormally. while inspecting the vehicle, he found that the front coil spring had fractured and punctured the front driver side tire. the vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was not contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 132,000. | |||
| 06/01/2009 | 80000 | 1 | 08/14/1998 |
| Tl*the contact owns 1998 mercury sable. several mechanics stated that the rear suspension and the rear coil springs failed. the dealer stated that the rear coil spring corroded and was related to a manufacturers recall; however, the vin was not a part of the recall. the vehicle has not been repaired. the current and the failure mileages were 80,000. updated 10/21/09 *bf the consumer was also informed the front coil springs were defective as well. updated 10/23/09*jb | |||
| 12/21/2007 | 143000 | ||
| 98 sable wagon. (spring plate gave and spring blew out tire and damaged front end rods or arms, shock according to ford service analysis) and left front end almost sitting on the ground. according to ford analysis). i thought it was just a blow out so i had aaa come to tow it to my dealership. when the aaa driver saw the damage, he said he's seen this several times and that there was a safety recall out for this specific situation. ford dealership looked up recalls for my car and said there was one for what happened to my car but it was for 99 and newer models and that there was nothing they could do about repairing it under a recall. i called ford corporate customer service and they told me that there was nothing they could do and wouldn't invest their money into repairing my car. fortunate for me the incident occurred while backing out of my driveway. if it were on the highway, it would have been a catastrophe. i've been told that the 98s and 99s are very similar, so i don't understand why ford wouldn't make the repairs at their cost under the safety recall. *cn | |||
| 05/27/1998 | 109000 | 1 | |
| I was just pulling out of work when i heard my front drivers side tire exploded. i was still in the parking lot going less than 10 mph. when i got the tire off i noticed that my spring had broken and was rubbing up against my tire causing my low-speed blowout. ford has acknowledged that there is a problem with these springs due to rust and corrosion, but have only recalled the 99-01 models. i would like ford to look into extending the recall as i know i am not the only 98 owner to experience such an issue. i am thankful, though, that this did happen in a parking lot. i was only two minutes away from getting on i-75, and probably could have lost my life. *tr | |||
| 07/21/2006 | 73267 | 1 | 07/28/1998 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while backing out of the garage a loud bang was heard. when the consumer exited the vehicle the front driver side tire was observed to be flat. the vehicle was towed to the dealership, where it was determined the coil spring fractured causing the flat tire. the coil spring has been replaced. updated 08/14/06. *jb | |||
| 06/19/2006 | 85000 | 1 | 02/02/2000 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while driving 10 mph the right front coil spring fractured and blew out the right front tire. the dealership has been informed. updated 07/25/06. *jb | |||
| 05/04/2006 | 121000 | 1 | 04/17/1998 |
| Noise from front during turns. took car to shop same day and was told the driver front coil spring had fractured and rubbing on tire during turns. this is the second fractured coil spring on this car. both rear coil springs were replaced 4/20/05 after the passenger side rear spring fractured (reported to nhtsa -odi 10146034). broken front coil spring replaced 5/4/06. was told by shop we were lucky the tire didn't blow. *nm | |||
| 04/08/2005 | 174030 | 1 | 08/01/2001 |
| Got into vehicle and heard a sudden snapping noise. vehicle was parked in the driveway and the left front coil spring sheared off. driver contacted the dealer for appointment. *bf | |||
| 01/03/2004 | 91000 | 2 | |
| While parked front driver's side coil spring failed. as a result, the tire was punctured. one month later, the front passenger side failed. *ak consumer doesn't know if first failure was occurred while parked or while moving it out of 3ft of snow. consumer couldn't see it until moved from snow, 2nd failure occurred in the parking lot. both times it ripped a 12' whole in the tire. consumer neighbor also has the same model vehicle and the same problem. consumer had to replace both coil springs and tires.*sb | |||
| 02/20/2004 | 80926 | 1 | 05/18/1999 |
| While the tow truck driver was backing the consumer car out of the garage noticed a scraping noise. tow truck driver found that the coil spring broke and punctured the left tire. dealer was contacted. dealer informed consumer that the vehicle was not covered under a manufacturer's recall.*ak the consumer stated that the front springs, struts, sway bar needed to be replaced. *tc | |||
| 01/01/2003 | 2 | ||
| While driving left spring popped and punctured the tire, causing it to blow out. one year later the same incident happened with the right side. *ak | |||
| 07/22/2004 | 92000 | 1 | |
| Recall 04v332000 concerning front coil springs failure. dealership did not repair the problem, because the vin was not included. *ak | |||
| 07/15/2004 | 54000 | 1 | |
| Car set in driveway and left front spring broke. *la | |||
| 04/12/2003 | 51800 | ||
| While driving at 20 mph, the front coil spring failed, and punctured the passenger side tire. *jb | |||
| 05/22/2001 | 1 | ||
| While consumer was backing out of driveway front coil spring broke, and went through the tire. dealership was aware of problem. *ak *jb | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR | |||
| 04/23/2002 | 1 | 08/01/2099 | |
| I took this car in for routine tire rotation and wheel alignment and was told about the defective rear camber. they said it needs a kit 20% of the time before 60,000 miles. this rotation and alignment cost me $206.09. this is unacceptable in my opinion.*ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR - SPRINGS - COIL SPRINGS | |||
| 06/01/2009 | 80000 | 1 | 08/14/1998 |
| Tl*the contact owns 1998 mercury sable. several mechanics stated that the rear suspension and the rear coil springs failed. the dealer stated that the rear coil spring corroded and was related to a manufacturers recall; however, the vin was not a part of the recall. the vehicle has not been repaired. the current and the failure mileages were 80,000. updated 10/21/09 *bf the consumer was also informed the front coil springs were defective as well. updated 10/23/09*jb | |||
| 05/04/2006 | 121000 | 1 | 04/17/1998 |
| Noise from front during turns. took car to shop same day and was told the driver front coil spring had fractured and rubbing on tire during turns. this is the second fractured coil spring on this car. both rear coil springs were replaced 4/20/05 after the passenger side rear spring fractured (reported to nhtsa -odi 10146034). broken front coil spring replaced 5/4/06. was told by shop we were lucky the tire didn't blow. *nm | |||
| 04/17/2005 | 107305 | 1 | 04/15/1998 |
| While researching another problem online, i found references to coil spring problems for other sable model years, so thought i should notify nhtsa my rear coil spring broke also. while parked in my garage, the passenger side rear coil spring on my 1998 mercury sable wagon broke. incident date is estimated, i had to wait for the shop to get the springs. both rear springs were replaced april 20, 2005 (i have receipt). *jb | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR - SPRINGS - LEAF SPRING ASSEMBLY - LEAF | |||
| 1 | |||
| While driving 45 mph outer right rear tire blewout . consumer changed tire, noticing rear spring struts broke and caused blowout of tire. *ak | |||