Two problems related to accelerator stuck have been reported for the 2002 Mercury Sable. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2002 Mercury Sable based on all problems reported for the 2002 Sable.
I have a 2002 Mercury Sable I stepped on the accelerator I got my speed up to about 50 mph, I then took my foot off the accelerator but the accelerator was stuck, the speed started climbing by in itself it got up to 70mph. I taped the accelerator a few times to try to get it to release, I also tried to lift pedal with my foot. I had to ride the brakes and that brought me down to about 50 mph, it finally let loose and slowed down. My husband had the same thing happen to him today January 22,2013, he stepped on the brakes to slow the car down as much as possible he then put the car in neutral the engine was revving he had to shut the car off then turn the key back to the on position so he could steer the car and coast to the side of the road to get out of traffic.
My daughter had just merged onto the highway going approximately 65mph. Initially it felt difficult to get the car up to speed. She noticed she was edging up on the vehicle in front of her and took her foot off the accelerator to slow down but instead the car sped up. She applied the brakes which did not slow the car down. She applied pressure to the accelerator in an attempt to "unstick" it which had no effect on the speed of the car. She then attempted to apply the brakes further at which time the brakes began smoking. The car had reached 90mph at this point and was shaking. While continuing to keep her foot on the brakes, she was able to pull into the breakdown lane and put the car into neutral but the vehicle only slowed down minimally at which time she put the car into park. The vehicle then stopped but she kept her foot on the brake because the engine continued to rev between 3,000 - 4,000 rpms and she could feel resistance as if the car wanted to continue to move forward despite being in park. At that time she shut off the engine and called for assistance. When my husband and I arrived on scene my husband verified that the accelerator was not stuck on anything, such as a floor mat. Once he saw that the accelerator appeared to be in a normal position he started the vehicle and immediately the engine was reving with rpms again between 3,000 - 4,000. The engine was again shut off and the vehicle was towed to the local Ford dealership.