Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | |||||
| 98-4737 | 09/01/1998 | 607151 | Engine spark knock on acceleration. *ak | 11/03/2000 | |
| 12163 | 11/01/1998 | 613178 | Some vehicles may exhibit a slight vibration during acceleration only. *mjs | 06/19/2000 | |
| 985084 | 06/19/2000 | 613212 | A condition may exist where reduced deceleration feel and less engine rpm reduction at closed throttle with the vehcle moving; speed control not responding quickly when switched to off or decel may also be noted. *tt | 06/19/2000 | |
| 12066 | 11/01/1998 | 613035 | Some vehicles were calibrated with increased air flow at closed throttle to prevent tip-in bumps, a result may be reduced deceleration feel and less engine rpm reduction at closed throttle with the vehicle moving. *mjs | 06/16/2000 | |
| 6646 | 07/01/1999 | 610719 | Some vehicles with 3.0l 4-valve engines built between 12/17/97 and 6/30/99 may exhibit a hard start / long crank or a rough idle after a cold start. *tt | 05/11/2000 | |
| 13250 | 09/01/1999 | 6090649 | Information regarding slight vibration upon acceleration. *mjs | 03/22/2000 | |
| 983221 | 02/12/1998 | 607433 | Exhibiting a vibration at sppeds of 45 mph and above with the cruise on. | 09/23/1999 | |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - CRUISE CONTROL | |||||
| 5203 | 12/01/1998 | 615335 | Some vehicles may exhibit a hard start / long crank, cold start stall, cold rough idle concern. *tt | 01/13/2001 | |
| 6646 | 07/01/1999 | 610719 | Some vehicles with 3.0l 4-valve engines built between 12/17/97 and 6/30/99 may exhibit a hard start / long crank or a rough idle after a cold start. *tt | 05/11/2000 | |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - LINKAGES | |||||
| 99126 | 06/14/1999 | 606443 | Some vehicles may exhibit a malfunction indicator lamp on with spark knock; rolling idle; and / or misfire codes stored in memory. *tt | 08/20/1999 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | |||
| 04/02/2012 | 93300 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 1998 mercury sable. the contact was driving approximately 5 mph in a parking lot when the vehicle began to accelerate to 70 mph. the vehicle failed to slow down when engaging the brake pedal repeatedly. the contact drove over three two-foot boulders and then crashed into several bushes, as well as a fence. the air bags deployed as the vehicle came to a stop. there were no personal injuries. the vehicle was completely destroyed and towed to an authorized dealer. the manufacturer was not notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 93,300. kmj | |||
| 04/02/2012 | 93300 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 1998 mercury sable. the contact was driving approximately 5 mph in a parking lot and unexpectedly the vehicle began to accelerate up to 70 mph. the vehicle failed to slow down when engaging the brake pedal repeatedly. the contact uncontrollably drove over three two foot boulders and then crashed into several bushes and a fence. the air bags deployed and the vehicle came to a stop. there were no personal injuries. the vehicle was completely destroyed and towed to an authorized dealer. the manufacturer was not notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 93,300. js | |||
| 05/16/2010 | 70000 | ||
| The contact owns a1998 mercury sable. the contact stated the vehicle has experienceoa few times of sudden acceleration. when the contact looked at the steering column, then found a build of corrosion on a pin found inside of the steering column. this caused the vehicle to accelerate with out warning and cause the horn to good go off. the had not been repaired. the vin was unknown. the failure mileage were 7000 and the current mileages was 12000.tl tl- | |||
| 09/17/2007 | 44933 | 1 | |
| 1999 mercury sable accelerated without warning. the customer stated the vehicle accelerated as he was attempting to brake at an intersection to make a right turn. *kb *tr the consumer was able to get the vehicle under control after putting it in neutral. updated 03/22/10 updated 05/28/10.*jb | |||
| 02/14/2006 | 108000 | 1 | 05/14/2004 |
| On february 14, 2006 as i drove up to my neighbor's garage door, my 1998 mercury sable wagon had 'a mind of it's own'. it would not respond to the brake but accelerated 'on it's own' causing me to go through the door and hit the side brick wall of the garage. the insurance company totaled the car. after much research, i found many such stories with several makes of cars. the cruise control causes an 'sudden involuntary acceleration' which does not allow the brake to work these are only a couple of the links i found. http://www.safetyforum.com/fordsua/ http://www.antony-anderson.com/cruise/9.5-links.html#ford many people have been injured or killed. fortunately, i had no injuries except to my emotions. i can still see myself going through that garage door and not being able to stop it. lorraine barnicle. *nm | |||
| 01/08/2006 | 73273 | 1 | 04/13/2002 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while driving in stop and go traffic, the vehicle lurched forward without prior warning. although brake pressure remained constant, the vehicle continued forward motion. the vehicle gently tapped another vehicle on the rear bumper. the driver turned off the key in the ignition and the vehicle stopped. there was damage to the sable's bumper, grill and headlights. no physical injuries were sustained. the police were on the scene and a report was taken. the vehicle was seen by a dealer. a diagnostic test was performed, but the test did not detect any failure codes. upon further inspection by the service department, the throttle plate and air motor were carbonated and it was suspected that this possibly caused the throttle to stick causing the sudden acceleration. *nm updated 2/13/2006 - *nm | |||
| 12/29/2004 | 69090 | 3 | 01/28/1999 |
| While sitting at a stop sign, the consumer's vehicle accelerated, resulting in a rear end collision the vehicle in front. the consumer's vehicle proceeded to knock down a stop sign. the vehicle was totaled. *ak (sudden acceleration) there was a repair for the same problem in june 02, 2004. the problem would occur when the brake was released and there was a strong pull when in reverse. this problem was diagnosed as an idle air control issue. *sc | |||
| 07/25/2004 | 89000 | 4 | |
| While driving at any speed overdrive light appeared on the dashboard and remained on. this caused the speedometer to drop to zero, and the srs light illuminated on the dashboard. also, horn became inoperative. vehicle was taken tot he dealer for inspection. *ak | |||
| 08/10/2001 | |||
| When vehicle is in park or foot is taking of gas pedal to brake, it will accelerate.has to apply a lot of pressure to brakes to stop vehicle. this causes brakes and rotors to warp. replaced part; however, problem reoccurred. *ak | |||
| When applying brakes vehicle revved up which caused vehicle to surge forward. consumer had to apply brakes even harder to stop vehicle. dealer contacted.*aik | |||
| 10/25/2000 | 2 | 04/29/2000 | |
| Consumer states that the vehicle would accelerate while in park and would lurch forward when shifted into drive. the dealer has not been able to correct or duplicate the problem. nlm dealer reprogram the engine processor, however the problem still exist. consumer also states the seat belt does not engage properly and consumer does not realize it, until leaning foward. *tt | |||
| 03/04/2001 | 35 | 02/01/2001 | |
| Engine increases rpm in park or neutral without accelerator being pressed. this condition is very dangerous because if you don't notice the engine is increasing in rpm, and you place the shift lever in drive, the car leaps forward. | |||
| 05/30/2001 | 1 | 04/01/1999 | |
| Driver had braked to turn into parking space in parking garage. vehicle rapidly accelerated and slammed into garage wall. no injuries, but both air bags deployed.*ak | |||
| 10/01/2000 | |||
| Vehicle accelerates when coming to a stop and applying brakes, engine revvs, consumer hit building on one occasion. *ak | |||
| 01/19/2001 | 1 | ||
| Coming to a stop, engine started to race while applying brakes, and caused vehicle to move forwad. consumer had to turn ignition off, and it restared as normal. consumer took vehicle to dealer, but could not determine cause.*ak *slc | |||
| 1 | |||
| Consumer had come to a complete stop when the vehicle slowly started to move forward and would not stop until the ignition was turned off, consumer nudged the vehicle in front due to loss of brake control (no damage). *slc | |||
| 07/01/1999 | |||
| When going downhill with foot off accelerator the vehicle accelerates unreasonably and excessive braking is required. this creates a dangerous situation in controlloing the speed of the car especially in wet or other slippery conditions. | |||
| 10/05/1998 | 4 | ||
| Vehicle surges forward when trying to stop, this happens occasionally. was told by ford that when the windshield defroster or a/c is operating and when driver attempts to come to a stop, there is a reaction in which compressor causes this forward acceleration. consumer contacted manufacturer, and dealer has not offered to repair. it has been to the garage the 4th time. *ak | |||
| 02/14/1999 | 4 | 02/01/1999 | |
| Vehicle experienced sudden acceleration of several occasions, one incident resulting in vehicle rear ending other vehicle. mjs | |||
| 04/16/1999 | 3 | 05/01/1998 | |
| Stopping at intersection with brakes applied, engine began throttling and caused racing and subsequent collision with another vehicle in front. standing on the brakes did not control the car and disengaging the transmission into n left the engine still racing! *ak | |||
| 06/23/1998 | 3 | 04/01/1998 | |
| Engine accellerates when you come to stop the car; you can not stop the car and can not put it in neutral. almost crashed 2x and almost ran over children in church parking lot. please help | |||
| 02/01/1999 | 01/01/1998 | ||
| Locked torque converter seems to disengage when going down hill. also, speed control cannot control speed of car going down any slight hill. seems to be not locked up, etc. cannot use engine compression, etc, to slow vehicle. cruise control us is useless on any type of downgrade! is this a design flaw or can it be repaired? vehicle is a leased car through wheels, inc. thank you. *ak | |||
| 12/19/1998 | 3 | 08/01/1998 | |
| When brakes are applied to stop car, the engine roars and car accelerates. requires addititional effort to stop car and the engine races until car is put into neutral or park. processor failed completely on 12/19/98 and was replaced with a new unit. | |||
| 09/22/1998 | 4 | ||
| Coming to a stop engine will begin to race, causing sudden acceleration which could result in an accident. *ak | |||
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - ACCELERATOR PEDAL | |||
| 09/09/2004 | 1 | ||
| Consumer pressed down on accelerator pedal and vehicle did not move. vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection. internal failure. had to replace transmission. *ak | |||
| 06/12/2000 | 1 | 08/01/1998 | |
| Accelerator releasing from speed of 15 mph to 20-25 mph when easing off gas pedal. *ak | |||
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - CRUISE CONTROL | |||
| 11/07/2005 | 1 | 08/02/2004 | |
| Dt: the contact stated the vehicle experienced sudden acceleration. the contact set cruise control sat on 35 mph. when he went to tap the brake to deactivate the cruise control the vehicle accelerated. the vehicle would not stop. he had to turn the cruise control off by hand several times before the car would slow down. the manufacturer has not been contacted. *ak | |||
| 10/30/2005 | 51000 | 2 | |
| 1) vehicle was having shifting problems with not easily coming out of the 'park position. dealer kept stating there was no problem. 2) oct.30--traveling at 70 mph heading for a downhill with relatively sharp curve at bottom, braked to cancel cruise control with no response. again braked hard with no response. cancelled cruise control manually with steering wheel off button---just in time to avoid a certain disaster! later, i engaged the cruise control again on a straight stretch of road and again, the brake did not cancel the system! 3) dealer determined that the brake switch and harness had a strange burn in the wiring. harness was replaced and (console) shift control and cruise control now are working normally. *jb | |||
| 10/01/1998 | 1 | 04/30/1998 | |
| The engine idles too fast. yh | |||
| 1 | |||
| The idle speed control unit design is poor causing the vehicle to continue speed after the accelerator is released. | |||
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - LINKAGES | |||
| 05/01/2001 | 2 | 06/01/1998 | |
| While consumer's wife was traveling at approximately 5 to 10 mph and slowing down to make a turn, brakes would not completely engage to stop vehicle. engine accelerated while brakes were being applied. dealership could not determine that there was a defect in vehicle. then, on may 14th, 2001 consumer's wife went to stop vehicle while approaching a red light and brakes did not work/ would not bring vehicle to a complete stop. engine acted as though it wanted to accelerate. *ak the brake had failed twice. *yh | |||
| 1 | |||
| After coming to a stop vehicle would accelerate and rev up engine. would take off when foot was off brake. has happened 5 times. contacted dealership, and informed consumer vehicle was out of warranty. problem was intermittent.*ak | |||
| 10/01/1999 | 0 | ||
| While stopping at an enter section vehicle accelerated out of control. consumer finally stopped vehicle by putting foot on brake. *ak | |||