Cruise Control Problems of Mercury Sable - part 1

Gas pedal sticks. Cruise control randomly turns itself on vehicle accelerates on it's own without warning. Have had to shut the car off or shift into neutral while driving. It's absolutely terrifying.

See all problems of the 2005 Mercury Sable 🔎.

Transmission issues included a near death experience when faulty cruise control wiring / functionality caused automatic transmission to rev to to high rpms. Was unable to shift to neutral gear and was forced to jump from vehicle to avoid potentially fatal wreck. Brake pads burned through to the calipers when trying to brake.

See all problems of the 2001 Mercury Sable 🔎.

While on cruise control on a 6 lane divided highway the car suddenly accelerated from 72 to 85+ mph. Brakes did not disengage cruise control and could not slow down car. I had to shut the engine off to regain control and with flashers on I managed to get to the shoulder of the road and stop the car. Tried to restart the car to establish if condition cleared up, but could not. Had car towed to Ford dealer who was unable to duplicate the condition the following morning. They changed the mass air sensor but said it was unrelated to the acceleration problem.

See all problems of the 2008 Mercury Sable 🔎.

I was driving east on I-70 from kansas city mo. Cruise was set at 78. 4 lanes. Was in left passing lane and had to slow down quickly because of vehicle in front was doing about 50mph. The right was clear and I started moving to the right to pass. The car instantly accelerated as I started to turn right. The acceleration actually pull the car forward so fast the rear end slid to the left. Car moved a crossed the right 3 lanes of traffic at about a 60 deg angle. I managed to turn the car into the skid to avoid the guard rails and started back across the lanes with complete loss of control of the car as it did a complete 360. As I was returned to facing east again I pulled off into the median as I was again in the far left lane now in front of the vehicle I had started to pass. Having been in many emergency situation in my 67 years. I just road out the turn. I was no fun watching the vehicle I was trying to pass approach me while I was completing the 360. With so many vehicles surrounding the gap I was in, I am still amazed no one was killed, and no collision of any sort occurred. Took to the dealer and it was suggested the pcv valve was plugged. Replaced. Around Feb 2 2016 I was driving I 95 to florida. I noticed the cruise dropping out twice without braking and once accelerating without resetting. I understood now that the I-70 incident was actually the cruise control. I will have it disconnected so that it can not be used again. How I survived is beyond belief. I am extremely glad no one was with me.

See all problems of the 2003 Mercury Sable 🔎.

There were two separate incidents with this same vehicle. Incident #1 with first driver: at about 5 mph, the gas pedal was pressed significantly down. The gas pedal then stuck down in that position and the car started to quickly accelerate. After a quick tap on the gas pedal, the gas pedal started to operate normally. At no point was the cruise control on. We took our car in to the local Ford dealer. They inspected the car but didn't find any problems. Incident #2 with second driver: a couple of months later (estimated mileage 38,000), we were driving at about 45 mph and I pressed the pedal down almost all the way. The gas pedal stuck again and the car started to accelerate quickly to about 65 mph. I am not sure whether cruise control was on or not. I shifted out of drive into neutral while the engine was at high rpm. After aggressively stomping on the car pedal, the gas pedal started working again normally. I shifted back into drive and the car then drove normally. The first driver was in the car when this happened. Both drivers have about 35 years of driving experience. This is a very serious issue that needs to be investigated! in our case, no one was injured but with less experienced drivers it could have been much different.

My 2005 Mercury Sable suddenly had the cruise control stop working approximately 30 days ago. The next day some serious issues began to happen. I was traveling down a curvy 4 lane road at the posted speed limit of 45mph. Knowing there was an up coming light I took my my foot off the brake and anticipated the normal deceleration. Suddenly rather than slowing down my engine independently revved up to 3/4 rmp causing me to instantly jump to 50/55 mph. Apart from the immediate panic I have never had a vehicle react in this manner and was at a loss for what to do. I hit the brakes extremely hard to combat the acceleration while putting the car into neutral (still going 40+ mph). Despite having the car in neutral it was still revving itself at around 3 rpm. After slowing down to a safe speed I turned into a parking lot and immediately turned the car off. I left the car resting for about minutes and when started again, it immediately began revving the same as before. I am very concerned and have been since troubleshooting with my mechanic. This is clearly a very dangerous issue and significantly lowers my mpg while putting triple the stress on my brakes.

Got onto express way and tried to set cruise control at 70 mph. Cruise control wouldnt maintain speed, so I shut off. Got off of express way to a 40 mph zone. Took foot off of brakes, and car was accelerating to 60 mph. In park 4000 rpms. Incident has occurred 4 times in the past 3 days. Until this time, I never had any problems. Now it will randomly kick on at any point in time (hour into driving, five minutes, 3 hours ect. ) cannot get to shut off when it occurs. Have not used cruise control option since 1st incident. Does not stop if you shut car off and turn back on.

In cruise control--speed set between 37 & 39 mph I engaged brakes to slow car--eng stopped running --all lites on console lit. . Lost pwr brakes and steering. Almost hit car coming in opposite direction. Happened again in April, 2014 plaza Lincoln cannot find problem--scales Ford cannot find problem--several independent professional mechanics cannot find problem--no computers will identify problem--I'm afraid to drive car 32159,,I have reported this to Ford motor CO and ntsb. Need heelp --please.

See all problems of the 2009 Mercury Sable 🔎.

My car has accelerated without application of the throttle. I did not have cruise control on or engaged and the car continued to function as if the gas pedal was depressed. This has happened on several occasions now. Once, while at a speed of about 30 mph, I was able to safely pull over and put the car in neutral. The engine rpms continued to race upward as if the car was under load and under throttle input. There were no floor mats or any other obstacles or objects making contact with any controls or devices.

Vehicle maintained and accelerated speeds while on level ground with no cruise control engaged and foot off of the pedal. Depressing the brake slowed the car down, however rpms were still pushing 3. 5x1000 according to the instrument panel. Turning cruise control on/off seemed to fix it. Upon starting the engine, car idles extremely high upwards of 2. 75-3. 00x1000 rpm's. Turned cruise control on and off then I heard a click. . . Then power cycled the engine and normal rpm's since. However cruise control does not work anymore.

Driving vehicle on interstate with a speed of 75 mph with cruise control activated. The cruise control suddenly accelerated on its own. Pushing the off button for the cruise control would not stop the acceleration as well as pushing on the brake. Had to ride the brake and take the first exit available, upon stopping, the vehicle still wanted to go, put vehicle in neutral and then the engine rpm would race to over 4000 rpm and at that time the car was shut off. Tried to start, started hard but rpm would race to over 4000 rpm in neutral when started. After 5 or 6 restarts and shut downs it finally came out of it this, took about about half an hour of time. Did not use cruise control after that for fear of repeat. This had happened prior to this event with my wife but could not remember how long ago the event took place so did not list the event.

See all problems of the 2000 Mercury Sable 🔎.

Tl-the contact owns a 2001 Mercury Sable. The contact was driving approximately 65 mph and exhibited an unexpected increase in acceleration. The brake pedal was depressed several times before the vehicle would stop. The cruise control was not engaged when the failure occurred. The contact stated that the vehicle would be towed to an independent auto shop for inspection. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 125,000. Kmj.

While driving recently, my 2005 Sable suddenly accelerated, forcing me to brake and put the car in neutral while at speed. This has happened 3 or 4 other times. In the past. Now the cruise control does not work anymore.

I was driving on route 31 west in medina NY and the car would not stop I had to put my car in park and my transmission was really grinding. Thank god no one was in the area or someone would have been really hurt ? I brought the car to the repair shop and the cause was the cruise control and it was removed.

See all problems of the 2002 Mercury Sable 🔎.

The contact owns a 1997 Mercury Sable. The contact stated that when braking to a complete stop, the engine rpms would increase abnormally. In addition, the vehicle would slightly pull forward as if it were attempting to accelerate. As the contact was approaching a traffic stop, she crashed into the rear of another vehicle. There were no injuries. The contact took the vehicle to a mechanic for diagnosis but the failure was unable to be determined. The mechanic disconnected the cruise control as a precaution and the vehicle functioned properly. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified. The failure mileage was 43,000.

See all problems of the 1997 Mercury Sable 🔎.

I noticed that the car did not decelerate when I removed my foot from the gas pedal. When I braked, the engine continued to race. I put the car in neutral and I could hear the engine race even faster. At the light I kept it in neutral and gave it gas while braked. Then it went back to normal idle speed. It has done this several times since that first incident. Previous to that first incident, I noticed that the cruise control no longer worked.

See all problems of the 2004 Mercury Sable 🔎.

2001 Mercury Sable. Consumer writes in regards to cruise control failure the consumer stated the vehicle rolled over twice. The consumer and his wife had to be extricated from the vehicle. The vehicle was totaled.

Entered interstate 81, accelerated to 65 miles per hour and set cruise control, drove for several minutes when for no apparent reason the car accelerated to app. 85 miles per hour at which time the cruise crontrol ceased to work. I would like to know if there were any other reports of this happening.

The contact owns a 2003 Mercury Sable. The contact stated that the cruise control failed to function properly. A mechanic confirmed that the plastic cruise mechanism failed and caused the vehicle to accelerate up to 70 mph. The mechanic replaced the linkage component that controlled the cruise mechanism. Case # 0539942409 was filed with the Ford manufacturer regarding the failure. The failure mileage was 39,000 miles. The current mileage was 41000. Updated 03/19/10. According to the mechanic, the speed control actuator cable failed. Updated 07/06/10.

The contact owns a 2001 Mercury Sable. The contact stated that the cruise control would not disengage when he depressed the button. The cruise control button is currently inoperable. The current mileage was 61,111 and failure mileage was 60000.

The cruise control does not disengage (turn off) while in motion unless you tap the brakes, which could cause a car crash.

On February 14, 2006 as I drove up to my neighbor's garage door, my 1998 Mercury Sable wagon had 'a mind of it's own'. It would not respond to the brake but accelerated 'on it's own' causing me to go through the door and hit the side brick wall of the garage. The insurance company totaled the car. After much research, I found many such stories with several makes of cars. The cruise control causes an 'sudden involuntary acceleration' which does not allow the brake to work these are only a couple of the links I found. . Read more...

See all problems of the 1998 Mercury Sable 🔎.

The contact stated the vehicle experienced sudden acceleration. The contact set cruise control sat on 35 mph. When he went to tap the brake to deactivate the cruise control the vehicle accelerated. The vehicle would not stop. He had to turn the cruise control off by hand several times before the car would slow down. The manufacturer has not been contacted.

1) vehicle was having shifting problems with not easily coming out of the 'park" position. Dealer kept stating there was no problem. 2) oct. 30--traveling at 70 mph heading for a downhill with relatively sharp curve at bottom, braked to cancel cruise control with no response. Again braked hard with no response. Cancelled cruise control manually with steering wheel "off" button---just in time to avoid a certain disaster! later, I engaged the cruise control again on a straight stretch of road and again, the brake did not cancel the system! 3) dealer determined that the brake switch and harness had a strange burn in the wiring. Harness was replaced and (console) shift control and cruise control now are working normally.

Cruise control switch/controller - cannot disengage cruise control via on/off switch, only by turning off the ignition switch. Tapping the brakes will deactivate the cruise function but will not turn it off. We had a near miss of an accident several times because of this problem. Oem manufacturer refused to repair this situation because vehicle was out of warranty.

Mercury Sable had acceleration while using cruise control at highway speed. Car continued to accelerate in spite of turning off cruise, pulling up the accelerator, and only stopped when the car was put into neutral, stopped and the engine turned off. Could not stop with the brakes to the point of the brake pads smoking while the car kept accelerating.

I had the cruise control set in my vehicle while I was traveling on the expressway (2002 Mercury Sable). As I started to approach the vehicle in front of me I pressed on the brake pedal to slow down and disengage the cruise control. My vehicle slow down but when I took my foot off the brake pedal it started to accelerate. I press on the brake pedal again and it slowed down. When I took my foot off it accelerated again. This time I let it accelerate to see when it would level off or maintain a speed. It stopped at the previous cruise setting. I noticed there was no cruise light on. When the cruise control is activated there is a green lighted display saying "cruise" on the instrument panel. There was no light and the cruise was still engaged. I put my foot under the accelerator pedal and lifted the pedal to try and slow the vehicle and that did not stop disengage it. My next thought was to put the vehicle in neutral and coast onto the shoulder of the road. Before I did that I stompped on the accelerator pedal about 3 times and that finally disengaged what ever was stuck. I took the vehicle into the Mercury (sesi Lincoln-Mercury in ypsilanti,mi. ) dealership where I purchased the vehicle. They inspected it and could find no problem. I called Ford motor CO. Customer service and reported the incident. They said they would look into it. I heard back from them and their response was they could not find where a recall had been issued for this problem so there was nothing they could do. I know Ford or any of the auto companies don't voluntarily issue recalls unless it's a major problem, it costs lots of money. Whether this is a large or small incident, relating to the number of occurrences, anything that has to do with braking, not braking or acceleration to me is a major major problem. Ford breaks it down into dollars and cents.

While driving and without warning the electrical system failed. On several occasions, the brake lights remained on and/or came on by themselves after the engine was cut off. Defective brake light switch assembly had to be replaced. Cruise control would not deactivate at 76 mph.

The consumer said that he got out of the car to go get a hair cut, and when he came out the car was running although he had the keys in his hands. When the consumer popped the hood, the engine was running, and when he closed the hood it stopped all of a sudden. The consumer had no idea that this was going to happen. The consumer saw on cnn news about Ford. The consumer had become concerned and wanted someone to help him. The dealer said that they could not find anything wrong with the car. The manufacturer said that the car was not on recall. The caller was very concerned because he needed the car and wanted someone to help him. The problem may be due to the cruise control switch.

Brake light stays on and cruise control won't work, and vehicle will not shift out of park. Dealership is aware of problem.

Vehicle will accelerate without foot pressing the throttle. Speedometer doesn't register speed, vehicle's speed was increasing. Dealer will be replacing speed control chip for sixth time. Also, consumer has checked to see if cruise control did not engage. Dealer has duplicated the problem. Please provide more information.

Cruise control would not disengage when braking and vehicle would continue to accelate until switch was turned off. Dealer and the manufacturer were not notified at this time. . Consumer stated when vehicle began to accelerate the speedometer did not move, this has also happened on another occasion, however the cruise control was not engaged at that time, the dealer replaced the sensor assembly, but the problem reoccured.

Consumer was activating cruise control at 70 mph when vehicle accelerated suddendly, reaching speeds of 80 mph. To avoid hitting a vehicle in front, consumer swerved into an enbankment and was hit by an oncoming vehicle. Consumer will be contacting dealer to determine cause. Consumer states cruise had previously been set and no more than 20 minutes later, vehicle increased speed to 80 mph in approximately 5 seconds, the safety belt prevented consumer from hitting the windshield, however did not prevent him from hitting the ceiling with his head, one person was injured in accident.

While driving about any mph when could let accelerator go and vehicle will not decelerate. Vehicle was taken to dealer and problem was not diagnosed. A local service station diagnosed problem as a defective idler control and replaced it.

Idle races and does not come down once foot is taken off accelerator.

See all problems of the 1996 Mercury Sable 🔎.