IllustrationWHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY,TOOK AN EXIT, APPLIED BRAKES AND BRAKES DIDN'T HOLD.*AK
1998 Mercury Sable
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1998 Mercury Sable do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 201.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Sable years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 45 of 190 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 32 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 28 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 25 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
28 crash reports3 fire reports15 injury reports
Service Brakes, Hydraulic complaints
28 reportsBRAKE PEDAL AND GAS PEDAL ARE DESIGNED TOO CLOSE TOGETHER. DRIVER CAN UNINTENTIONALLY APPLY BOTH AT THE SAME TIME OR GAS PEDAL WHEN INTENDING TO APPLY THE BRAKE PEDAL. *AK CONSUMER HAS ALMOST HAD THREE ACCIDENTS BECAUSE OF THE LOCATION OF THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE GAS PEDAL. *JG
WHILE TRAVELING ON HIGHWAY AND WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING VEHICLE WILL SHAKE WHILE APPLYING BRAKES. ALSO, MOTOR MOUNTS WERE DEFECTIVE. *AK
I HIT SAND THAT IS ON THE ROAD TO HELP YOU FROM SLIDING ON BLACK ICE,BUT IN MY CASE IT MADE MY CAR GO SLIDING AND I HIT CURB ON RIGHT SIDE OF ME,WHICH KNOCKED MY HANDS OFF STEERING WHEEL.BY THE TIME I HAD MY HANDS BACK ON THE WHEEL AND BRAKING I WAS ON LEFT SIDE OF ROAD.AT THIS POINT I WAS OFF THE ROAD AND ON THE MUD, WHICH MY B…
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I HIT SAND THAT IS ON THE ROAD TO HELP YOU FROM SLIDING ON BLACK ICE,BUT IN MY CASE IT MADE MY CAR GO SLIDING AND I HIT CURB ON RIGHT SIDE OF ME,WHICH KNOCKED MY HANDS OFF STEERING WHEEL.BY THE TIME I HAD MY HANDS BACK ON THE WHEEL AND BRAKING I WAS ON LEFT SIDE OF ROAD.AT THIS POINT I WAS OFF THE ROAD AND ON THE MUD, WHICH MY BRAKES DIDN'T DO ME ANY GOOD I JUST KEEP GOING UP AND OVER INTO THE CANYON WHERE I WENT DOWN ABOUT 15-20 WHERE I HIT AN OAK TREE HEAD ON.THE BACK OF MY CAR WENT UP IN THE AIR AND WENT SIDE WAYS SLAMMED DOWN ON THE DRIVERS SIDE OF CAR.DURING ALL THIS NEITHER OF THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED.I RECEIVED 31 STITCHES IN FACE AND SEPARATED RIBS AND BRUISED WREST AND BUMPS AND BRUISES. *AK
SPRING CLIP FOR REAR BRAKE PADS HAS SNAPPED AND DISCONNECTED DURING OPERATION OF VEHICLE TWICE. THIS PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED WITH 17,000 AND 19,000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE. DEALERSHIP HAS BEEN UNABLE TO EFFECTIVELY REMEDY THE PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION / DOCUMENTATION.*AK
THE PROBLEM WAS IDENTICAL IN BOTH INSTANCES, THE REAR CALIPERS ON THOSE TWO OCCASIONS FAILED TO FULLY RELEASE RESULTING IN RAPID AND PREMATURE PAD WEAR. ON BOTH OCCASSIONS THE PROBLEM WAS NOT NOTICABLE UNTIL THERE WAS METAL TO METAL CONTACT. AT THAT POINT THE FAILURE CAUSED EXTREME HEAT TO BE GENERATED TO THE POINT OF SCORCHING…
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THE PROBLEM WAS IDENTICAL IN BOTH INSTANCES, THE REAR CALIPERS ON THOSE TWO OCCASIONS FAILED TO FULLY RELEASE RESULTING IN RAPID AND PREMATURE PAD WEAR. ON BOTH OCCASSIONS THE PROBLEM WAS NOT NOTICABLE UNTIL THERE WAS METAL TO METAL CONTACT. AT THAT POINT THE FAILURE CAUSED EXTREME HEAT TO BE GENERATED TO THE POINT OF SCORCHING THE WHEEL . THE SHOP THAT DID THE LAST REPAIR , THEY ARE VERY GOOD AT WHAT THEY DO, CHECKED THE FRONT BRAKES AND THE ONLY WORK DONE WAS TO MACHINE THE THE ROTORS TO ELIMINATE A SLIGHT SHIMMY. I AM VERY EASY ON MY CAR AND THAT I DID NOT NEED FRONT PADS AT 75000 MI SEEMS TO INDICATE SO.*AK
WHILE CONSUMER'S WIFE WAS TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 5 TO 10 MPH AND SLOWING DOWN TO MAKE A TURN, BRAKES WOULD NOT COMPLETELY ENGAGE TO STOP VEHICLE. ENGINE ACCELERATED WHILE BRAKES WERE BEING APPLIED. DEALERSHIP COULD NOT DETERMINE THAT THERE WAS A DEFECT IN VEHICLE. THEN, ON MAY 14TH, 2001 CONSUMER'S WIFE WENT TO STOP…
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WHILE CONSUMER'S WIFE WAS TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 5 TO 10 MPH AND SLOWING DOWN TO MAKE A TURN, BRAKES WOULD NOT COMPLETELY ENGAGE TO STOP VEHICLE. ENGINE ACCELERATED WHILE BRAKES WERE BEING APPLIED. DEALERSHIP COULD NOT DETERMINE THAT THERE WAS A DEFECT IN VEHICLE. THEN, ON MAY 14TH, 2001 CONSUMER'S WIFE WENT TO STOP VEHICLE WHILE APPROACHING A RED LIGHT AND BRAKES DID NOT WORK/ WOULD NOT BRING VEHICLE TO A COMPLETE STOP. ENGINE ACTED AS THOUGH IT WANTED TO ACCELERATE. *AK THE BRAKE HAD FAILED TWICE. *YH
BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO FLOOR,UNABLE TO STOP IN 150-200 FEET DISTANCE...CRASHED. *AK
CONSUMER'S VEHICLE REARENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE DUE TO BRAKE FAILURE. PEDAL WENTDOWN TO THE FLOOR, AND VEHICLE FAILED TO STOP. WAS TRAVELING 40MPH. AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. *AK BLOWN 5 AMP FUSE (RADIO,RCC,IPC CIRCUTE) WERE FOUND AFTER THE ACCIDENT. *YH
BRAKES HAVE BEEN REPLACED 3 TIMES DUE TO PREMATURE FAILURE. BRAKES USUALLY ONLY LAST ABOUT 4-5MONTHS. *AK THE SAME CONDITIONS AND NOISE REOCCURED. *YH
Official recalls
298V198000 · Seat Belts:front:anchorage
Aug 25, 1998
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH MANUAL SEAT TRACKS. THE FRONT SEAT BELT BUCKLE ATTACHING STUD MAY HAVE BEEN IMPROPERLY HEAT TREATED. THIS HEAT TREATMENT MAY HAVE RESULTED IN CRACKS DEVELOPING IN THE STUD.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: IF THE STUD IS CRACKED, IN THE EVENT OF A VEHICLE CRASH, THE OCCUPANT MAY NOT BE PROPERLY RESTRAINED, INCREASING THE RISK OF PERSONAL INJURY.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE SEAT BELT BUCKLE MOUNTING BRACKET AND STUD ASSEMBLY.
98V028000 · Exterior Lighting:headlights
Feb 10, 1998
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE TEXT AND/OR GRAPHICS FOR THE VEHICLE HEADLAMP AIMING INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED IN THE OWNER GUIDES ARE NOT SUFFICIENTLY CLEAR. THIS DOES NOT MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF FMVSS NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: IF THE HEADLAMP ASSEMBLIES ARE REPLACED, CUSTOMERS MAY BE CONFUSED BY THE AIMING INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED IN THE OWNER GUIDES CAUSING THE HEADLAMPS TO BE IMPROPERLY AIMED.
Remedy: OWNER GUIDES CONTAINING REVISED AIMING INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE MAILED TO OWNERS OF THESE VEHICLES.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.