Five problems related to steering rack and pinion have been reported for the 2008 Mercury Sable. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2008 Mercury Sable based on all problems reported for the 2008 Sable.
Loss of power steering assist while driving on ohio turnpike 07/19/2014. With no power steering it was a very dangerous condition while entering a service plaza. Also subsequent maneuvering on city streets was nearly impossible. Subsequent repair (07/23/2014) of lower cradle, and installed new (updated) motocraft rack and pinion unit. New alignment was performed per TSB. Vehicle took 3 days to repair. Cost to repair vehicle was over $1000. Ford issued a technical service bulletin (09-5-7) on March 23, 2009 but to my knowledge has not issued a recall.
The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Sable. The contact stated that it became difficult to steer the vehicle. The dealer stated that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 29,650.
Tl-the contact owns a 2008 Mercury Sable premier. The contact stated that while driving 55 mph, she heard a popping noise as the vehicle veered to the right and the steering wheel became difficult to turn. Three days later while pulling into a parking lot, doing 5 mph, the contact felt the tightness on the steering. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact can no longer turn to the right. The dealer was notified of the problem. The rack and pinion was fractured and would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 55,000. An.
While driving last week my wife noticed that when turning into a parking spot the steering stiffened up and had to make a sudden stop as to not hit the vehicle to her left . I checked the car out and noticed it is mostly affected at low speed while making turns either left or right this had no warning and could be very dangerous. It is just luck that a walker or jogger were not on the streets at the time . This needs immediate attention I will attempt at repair myself as it is out of warranty possible rack and pinion also transmission slippage at times.
The contact owns 2008 Mercury Sable. The contact stated while driving, the steering failed. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told the rack and pinion failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact was concerned because the failure occurred without warning. The failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 61,000.