2002 MERCURY SABLE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 434 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: SUSPENSION (231 complaints · 53.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 32
  • Fires 4
  • Injuries 21
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 2001 →
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 SUSPENSION appears in 231 of 434 owner complaints (53.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. SUSPENSION: 231 complaints, 53.2% of reports SUSPENSION 231 · 53.2% · 2 crash reports 1 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 47 complaints, 10.8% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 47 · 10.8% · 6 crash reports VISIBILITY: 23 complaints, 5.3% of reports VISIBILITY 23 · 5.3% AIR BAGS: 22 complaints, 5.1% of reports AIR BAGS 22 · 5.1% · 19 crash reports ENGINE: 20 complaints, 4.6% of reports ENGINE 20 · 4.6% · 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 20 complaints, 4.6% of reports POWER TRAIN 20 · 4.6% · 1 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 15 complaints, 3.5% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 15 · 3.5% · 3 crash reports STRUCTURE: 11 complaints, 2.5% of reports STRUCTURE 11 · 2.5% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 10 complaints, 2.3% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 10 · 2.3% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 291 complaints, 67.1% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 291 · 67.1% · 19 crash reports 3 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)
SUSPENSION 231 53.2% 2 crashes · 1 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 47 10.8% 6 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 23 5.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 22 5.1% 19 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 20 4.6% 0 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 20 4.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 15 3.5% 3 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 11 2.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 10 2.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 291 67.1% 19 crashes · 3 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 Apr 2002. 2002-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2002-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2002-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2003-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2003-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2003-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2004-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2004-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2004-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2005-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2005-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2005-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2006-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2006-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2006-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2006-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2007-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2007-Q2: 15 owner reports 15 2007-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2007-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2008-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2008-Q2: 16 owner reports 16 2008-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2008-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 2009-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2009-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2009-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2009-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2010-Q1: 20 owner reports 20 2010-Q2: 15 owner reports 15 2010-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2010-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2011-Q1: 15 owner reports 15 2011-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2011-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2012-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2012-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2012-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2013-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2013-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2013-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2014-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2014-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2015-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2015-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2016-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Apr 2002 Oct 2022 Investigation RQ03008 ● Investigation RQ03008 Investigation RP03001 ● Investigation RP03001 Investigation EA08018 ● Investigation EA08018 Investigation PE12033 ● Investigation PE12033
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2002-Q2 Owner reports 4
2002-Q3 Owner reports 8
2002-Q4 Owner reports 9
2003-Q1 Owner reports 3
2003-Q2 Owner reports 5
2003-Q3 Owner reports 8
2003-Q4 Owner reports 3
2004-Q1 Owner reports 7
2004-Q2 Owner reports 7
2004-Q3 Owner reports 8
2004-Q4 Owner reports 11
2005-Q1 Owner reports 5
2005-Q2 Owner reports 4
2005-Q3 Owner reports 9
2005-Q4 Owner reports 9
2006-Q1 Owner reports 6
2006-Q2 Owner reports 13
2006-Q3 Owner reports 4
2006-Q4 Owner reports 4
2007-Q1 Owner reports 17
2007-Q2 Owner reports 15
2007-Q3 Owner reports 7
2007-Q4 Owner reports 7
2008-Q1 Owner reports 17
2008-Q2 Owner reports 16
2008-Q3 Owner reports 12
2008-Q4 Owner reports 13
2009-Q1 Owner reports 17
2009-Q2 Owner reports 10
2009-Q3 Owner reports 5
2009-Q4 Owner reports 5
2010-Q1 Owner reports 20
2010-Q2 Owner reports 15
2010-Q3 Owner reports 9
2010-Q4 Owner reports 5
2011-Q1 Owner reports 15
2011-Q2 Owner reports 13
2011-Q3 Owner reports 2
2011-Q4 Owner reports 3
2012-Q1 Owner reports 7
2012-Q2 Owner reports 6
2012-Q3 Owner reports 5
2012-Q4 Owner reports 10
2013-Q1 Owner reports 5
2013-Q2 Owner reports 7
2013-Q3 Owner reports 4
2014-Q1 Owner reports 5
2014-Q2 Owner reports 3
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 3
2015-Q1 Owner reports 1
2015-Q3 Owner reports 3
2015-Q4 Owner reports 3
2016-Q1 Owner reports 1
2016-Q2 Owner reports 5
2016-Q3 Owner reports 3
2016-Q4 Owner reports 2
2017-Q1 Owner reports 2
2017-Q2 Owner reports 2
2018-Q2 Owner reports 2
2020-Q3 Owner reports 1
2021-Q4 Owner reports 1
2022-Q3 Owner reports 1
2022-Q4 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 RQ03008
Defect investigation 1 RP03001
Defect investigation 1 EA08018
Defect investigation 1 PE12033
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 434 complaints · page 1 of 18

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