Four problems related to automatic transmission park/neutral start switch have been reported for the 1999 Mercury Sable. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Vehicle was standing still with park gear on when consumer turned vehicle on, and vehicle went forward without prior warning.
Vehicle was parked with keys in ignition. Was not able to shift into park. Neighbor checked under hood & found transmission wires for shift lever had snapped. Wires were unhooked before lever was able to shift into park. Contacted dealership & service truck towed vehicle to dealership.
When shifting the car into reverse it would hesitate and would eventually shift after repeated attempts. After a couple days the car would not shift into reverse from park but would if it was first put into drive and then reverse. Then it would not shift into any gear and would freely coast on an incline. I had to have the car towed on a flatbed from my driveway to a dealership. They had it for 5 days, did not fix it correctly and I had to take it back in for service. The shift cable had to be replaced.
Vehicle rolled on a slight incline while in park , resulting in a minor collision. The dealer has been notified.