1990 MERCURY SABLE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 165 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (25 complaints · 15.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 12
  • Fires 18
  • Injuries 8
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1989 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ENGINE appears in 25 of 165 owner complaints (15.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 25 complaints, 15.2% of reports ENGINE 25 · 15.2% · 1 crash reports 4 fire reports STRUCTURE: 22 complaints, 13.3% of reports STRUCTURE 22 · 13.3% · 1 crash reports STEERING: 19 complaints, 11.5% of reports STEERING 19 · 11.5% · 4 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 16 complaints, 9.7% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 16 · 9.7% · 9 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 13 complaints, 7.9% of reports POWER TRAIN 13 · 7.9% · 1 crash reports SEAT BELTS: 11 complaints, 6.7% of reports SEAT BELTS 11 · 6.7% · 1 crash reports AIR BAGS: 10 complaints, 6.1% of reports AIR BAGS 10 · 6.1% · 5 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 10 complaints, 6.1% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 10 · 6.1% · 1 crash reports SUSPENSION: 8 complaints, 4.8% of reports SUSPENSION 8 · 4.8% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 120 complaints, 72.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 120 · 72.7% · 10 crash reports 16 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ENGINE 25 15.2% 1 crashes · 4 fires
STRUCTURE 22 13.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 19 11.5% 0 crashes · 4 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 16 9.7% 0 crashes · 9 fires
POWER TRAIN 13 7.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 11 6.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 10 6.1% 5 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 10 6.1% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 8 4.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 120 72.7% 10 crashes · 16 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1995. 1995-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 1995-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 1995-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 1995-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 1996-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 1996-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 1996-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 1996-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 1997-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 1997-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 1997-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 1998-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 1999-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 1999-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1999-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 1999-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2000-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2000-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2000-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2001-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2001-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Sep 1990 Jan 2010 Investigation EA90045 ● Investigation EA90045 Investigation PE91108 ● Investigation PE91108 Investigation EA91042 ● Investigation EA91042 Investigation PE92014 ● Investigation PE92014 Investigation PE92044 ● Investigation PE92044 Investigation EA92040 ● Investigation EA92040 Investigation PE93058 ● Investigation PE93058 Investigation PE93065 ● Investigation PE93065 Investigation PE93100 ● Investigation PE93100 Investigation EA94008 ● Investigation EA94008 Investigation DP95004 ● Investigation DP95004
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 13
1995-Q2 Owner reports 6
1995-Q3 Owner reports 3
1995-Q4 Owner reports 5
1996-Q1 Owner reports 6
1996-Q2 Owner reports 7
1996-Q3 Owner reports 9
1996-Q4 Owner reports 14
1997-Q1 Owner reports 9
1997-Q2 Owner reports 7
1997-Q3 Owner reports 2
1997-Q4 Owner reports 7
1998-Q1 Owner reports 2
1998-Q2 Owner reports 4
1998-Q3 Owner reports 4
1998-Q4 Owner reports 12
1999-Q1 Owner reports 9
1999-Q2 Owner reports 4
1999-Q3 Owner reports 6
1999-Q4 Owner reports 4
2000-Q1 Owner reports 3
2000-Q2 Owner reports 4
2000-Q3 Owner reports 5
2000-Q4 Owner reports 1
2001-Q1 Owner reports 3
2001-Q2 Owner reports 2
2001-Q3 Owner reports 3
2001-Q4 Owner reports 1
2002-Q1 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 2
2003-Q2 Owner reports 1
2004-Q3 Owner reports 1
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2006-Q4 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q3 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 EA90045
Defect investigation 1 PE91108
Defect investigation 1 EA91042
Defect investigation 1 PE92014
Defect investigation 1 PE92044
Defect investigation 1 EA92040
Defect investigation 1 PE93058
Defect investigation 1 PE93065
Defect investigation 1 PE93100
Defect investigation 1 EA94008
Defect investigation 1 DP95004
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 165 complaints · page 1 of 7

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources