2008 Mercury Sable: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2008 Mercury Sable
On the 2008 Mercury Sable, the failure owners report most often is other powertrain problem, and the reports cluster around 45,000 miles. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 50,000 miles. Overall it scores 74 out of 100, high risk for a 2008.
High risk for a 2008 — 45th riskiest of the 356 2008 vehicles we can rate. 81 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
What owners report breaking
Owners have reported 22 named failure modes on the 2008 Mercury Sable, and the three most-reported carry 30% of everything filed, which is an unusually even spread for one model year.
Other powertrain problem leads with 9 reports, about 170 per 1,000 vehicles and with the middle half of reports between 31k to 55,000 miles.
Other speed control problem follows with 8 reports, usually reported between 34k to 70,000 miles.
Other electrical problem follows with 7 reports, median 50,000 miles. 1 of those report mention a fire.
By system, the reports fall mostly into steering (19), adas (12) and transmission (10).
When these failures get reported
67 of the reports on the 2008 Mercury Sable came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 50,000 miles.
Cumulatively, 45% by 50,000 miles, 85% by 100,000 miles and 93% by 150,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed, with 1 filed above the top of the chart.
The busiest stretch is between 50,000 and 60,000 miles, which alone holds 16% of the dated reports.
31% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
Showing the 12 most-reported failure modes of 22. The full list is in the table below.
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A further 1 report came in above that, which is why the line stops short of the top. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the median reported mileage
Severity, and what it costs
Across the named modes, 8 mention a crash, 3 a fire and 1 an injury. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 4.60, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: other powertrain problem at $400–$4,500, other speed control problem at $250–$2,000, other electrical problem at $250–$2,000 and steering rack, gear or tie rod failure at $700–$2,600. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
21% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other powertrain problem | transmission | 9 | 8 | 31k | 46k | 57k | 169.8 | $400–$4,500 | High |
| Other speed control problem | adas | 8 | 8 | 34k | 48k | 68k | 150.9 | $250–$2,000 | Critical |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 7 | 6 | — | 51k | — | 132.1 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure | steering | 6 | 6 | — | 59k | — | 113.2 | $700–$2,600 | High |
| Other steering problem | steering | 6 | 5 | — | 50k | — | 113.2 | $350–$2,400 | High |
| Other engine problem | engine | 5 | 4 | — | 53k | — | 94.3 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 5 | 4 | — | 63k | — | 94.3 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Cruise control failure | adas | 4 | 4 | — | 36k | — | 75.5 | $200–$1,400 | High |
| Power steering pump or fluid leak | steering | 4 | 2 | — | 30k | — | 75.5 | $350–$1,600 | Moderate |
| Instrument cluster or gauge failure | infotainment | 3 | 3 | — | 3k | — | 56.6 | $350–$1,400 | Moderate |
| Loss of power steering | steering | 3 | 3 | — | 15k | — | 56.6 | $600–$2,800 | Critical |
| Other brake problem | brakes | 3 | 3 | — | 30k | — | 56.6 | $300–$1,800 | High |
| Radiator or coolant leak | cooling | 2 | 2 | — | 160k | — | 37.7 | $350–$1,900 | High |
| Parking brake failure | brakes | 2 | 1 | — | 10k | — | 37.7 | $250–$1,300 | Moderate |
| Other fuel system problem | fuel | 2 | 2 | — | 126k | — | 37.7 | $300–$2,200 | High |
| Torque converter failure | transmission | 1 | 1 | — | 79k | — | 18.9 | $1,100–$3,200 | High |
| Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure | fuel | 1 | 1 | — | 30k | — | 18.9 | $250–$1,800 | Moderate |
| Wiring harness or short circuit | electrical | 1 | 1 | — | 104k | — | 18.9 | $400–$3,500 | High |
| Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure | electrical | 1 | 1 | — | 61k | — | 18.9 | $700–$3,000 | High |
| Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure | suspension | 1 | 1 | — | 158k | — | 18.9 | $400–$2,200 | High |
| Other suspension problem | suspension | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 18.9 | $350–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other lighting problem | lighting | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 18.9 | $120–$1,200 | Moderate |
| Unclassified problem | other | 5 | 1 | — | 150k | — | 94.3 | — | Moderate |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2008 Mercury Sable draws about 1,528 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 99th percentile of complaint rates among 2008 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.
The working figure is 53 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2008 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Other powertrain problem
1. Trans fails to downshift,intermittently, when accelerating from appr. 50 MPH on and incline, revs to 5500 RPM but car slows down. Almost got hit by truck on freeway yesterday. 2. The car ground to a halt while making a left hand turn and accelerating at about 15-20 MPH. Occurred one time, almost rear ended. 3. On slight incline, in drive, car will roll back as if in neutral, almost hit car behind me several times and difficult to park vehicle. There are other trans related issues, but these three are safety concerns. Car has been at dealer several times, for days, they test drove it, had an engineer from ford drive it, state unable to duplicate any of my concerns. In other words, nothing was done to correct the problems. These problems continue to be easy for me to re produce, along with other problems, shifting late and hard, etc.. I have called the regional service person abe bush, twice in the last 3 1/2 weeks, and received no reply from him. *tr
Automatic transmission - when the vehicle is in drive and stopped on a hill the car will roll back when you remove your foot from the break even when in drive. This is an ongoing issue. You need to use both feet when on a hill, one on the brake and the other on the gas to avoid rolling back into another car. When the local dealer was in business they indicated this was normal. At this time I have no local mercury dealer to review this situation. *tr
Other speed control problem
On a 2008 mercury sable, on two separate occasions when the accelerator pedal has been fully or near fully depressed, it has become caught under the driver's floor mat, causing the engine to continue to race even when all pressure has been removed from the accelerator pedal. *tr
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 mercury sable. While driving at approximate speeds of 3 MPH, the vehicle abnormally accelerated without warning. The contact depressed the brake pedal but the brakes would not engage. The vehicle proceeded to crash into two other vehicles. The police arrived to the scene and a police report was filed accordingly. There were no injuries to any of the vehicle occupants. The contact confirmed the failure had occurred at least three times prior to the crash. The current and failure mileages were 8,000. Updated 05/19/10. *lj
Other electrical problem
2008 mercury sable AWD had an electrical issue[melt down] that required replacement of the main electrical harness. Then in september of 2008 a sudden acceleration problem caused it to jump a concrete parking lot barrier and travel down into a drainage basin--40 feet. $9000+ damage. Repeated attempts to ford has fallen in deaf ears. Updated 05/12/10 *bf updated ivoq 05/17/10.*jb
Tl*the contact leased a 2008 mercury sable. While driving 20 MPH up a hill, the contact smelled a strong odor inside the vehicle. She stopped the vehicle to inspect it and found no evidence related to the odor. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer four times but the failure could not duplicated. The odor seemed be inside of the vents which made it impossible to use the air conditioner. The vehicle was not repaired when the complaint was filed. The failure mileage was 231. The current mileage was approximately 18,000.
Recalls on the 2008 model year
NHTSA has issued 1 recall campaign covering the 2008 Mercury Sable, affecting an estimated 53 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover air bags:frontal. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
Recalls also distort complaint counts. Publicity about a campaign reminds owners that complaining is possible, so reports for a recalled component often spike after the recall rather than before it.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
695 vehicles 2016-04-26- Defect
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2009-2012 Ford Flex, 2008 and 2010-2012 Ford Taurus, 2008-2009 Ford Taurus X, 2008 Mercury Sable, 2009 and 2011 Lincoln MKS vehicles. The driver frontal air bag may improperly inflate during second-stage deployment in the event of a high speed crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
- Consequence
- An improperly inflated air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the driver's frontal air bag module, as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on June 13, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C06.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
How it ranks in the 2008 field
The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.
Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.
- Left fewer and less serious reports
- Right more, or worse
- Marker this vehicle
How 2008 compares with the other years
High risk for a 2008 — 45th riskiest of the 356 2008 vehicles we can rate. Because the ranking is against the same model year only, age cancels out of it.
Across the 12 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 2002 comes out best at 59 and 2008 worst at 74, with 2008 itself at 74.
If the model year is negotiable, 2002, 2003, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2009, 2004 and 2005 score lower than 2008 by a margin worth acting on. Same body, same engines, different luck — usually a supplier change or a mid-cycle fix, which the complaint data can show but never explain.
Within the 2008–2009 generation specifically, 2009 is the strongest year at 65 and 2008 the weakest at 74.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Within the 2008-2009 generation, 2009 Mercury Sable scores best at 65 and 2008 Mercury Sable worst at 74.
What the numbers say to check
The mileages below are where the first quarter of reports for each mode had already been filed, which makes them the point at which a fault is worth looking for rather than the point at which it happens: other powertrain problem from about 31k and other speed control problem from about 34k.
On a 2008 Mercury Sable with more miles than that on it, the useful question to put to a seller or a mechanic is whether other powertrain problem has been dealt with, and if so with what parts and at whose expense. A car that has already had the repair is in a different position from one that has not.
None of this is a diagnosis. It is a list of what other owners of the same model year reported, ordered by when they reported it, which is a good place to point an inspection and a poor place to stop.
What this page cannot tell you
81 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 81 reports, 67 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 83% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
Named failure modes come from matching phrases in the complaint text, so a badly worded complaint can land in the wrong bucket. The effect washes out across hundreds of reports and does not wash out across five.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2008 Mercury Sable?
The most-reported failures are other powertrain problem (9 reports, median 45,000 miles), other speed control problem (8 reports, median 50,000 miles) and other electrical problem (7 reports, median 50,000 miles). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
At what mileage do 2008 Mercury Sable problems start?
Other powertrain problem is the earliest failure mode to show up, with a median reported mileage of 45,000 miles and a quarter of reports before 30,000 miles. Across all failure modes on this year, the median report sits at 50,000 miles.
Is the 2008 Mercury Sable reliable?
It scores 74 out of 100 on our risk index, which is high — 45th riskiest of the 356 2008 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2008 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.
Which year of the Mercury Sable is best?
Within the 2008–2009 generation, 2009 scores best at 65 out of 100 and 2008 worst at 74. Same body, same engines, different luck.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed