Three problems related to headlights have been reported for the 2001 Mercury Sable. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2001 Mercury Sable based on all problems reported for the 2001 Sable.
The knob to turn on the headlight broke off. It seems to be made of plastic that is not strong enough. Now it's very difficult to turn on the headlights. We read that this is a problem in the 2000 model and Ford had a recall on the 2000 model. We had the exact same problem with the 2001 model. Maybe some of the faulty knobs were installed on some of the 2001 models and those should be included in the recall as well since it's the exact same problem.
For over ten (10) years the headlights (but not the side driving lights) have been going off (for about 3 minutes) and then coming back on. This does not occur every time the lights come on and seems to be more frequent in the summer time when it is warm or hot outside. The date below is just approximately when this problem started and is not the only date/'time it has occurred, it has occurred sporadically but continuously since that date.
The right headlight has an over abundance of moisture inside the lens. Dealer was informed of the problem, but refused to remedy it.