VehicleVerdict

1988 Mercury Sable engine problems

The 1988 Mercury Sable has 34 engine complaints filed with NHTSA — 18% of the year's total, and up sharply from the prior model year.

34

Engine complaints

18%

Share of year

0

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Engine complaints by year

Sable engine complaints by model year427 complaints1984: 1 complaints1986: 7 complaints1987: 11 complaints1988: 34 complaints1989: 56 complaints1990: 30 complaints1991: 66 complaints1992: 183 complaints1993: 427 complaints1994: 162 complaints1995: 155 complaints1996: 69 complaints1997: 46 complaints1998: 20 complaints1999: 23 complaints2000: 31 complaints2001: 27 complaints2002: 24 complaints2003: 27 complaints2004: 5 complaints2005: 8 complaints2008: 6 complaints2009: 5 complaints
Sable engine complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

“WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED THE VEHICLE WAS VIBRATING, AND THERE WAS KNOCKING NOISE COMING FROM THE MOTOR MOUNTS. ALSO, TRANSMISSION WENT OUT. IN ADDITION, WHEN CONSUMER TRIED START VEHICLE UP, VEHICLE DIED OUT WITHOUT ANY PRIOR WARNING AND CAUGHT ON FIRE. *AK”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Engine · June 1, 1998 · fire

Common questions

How many engine complaints does the 1988 Mercury Sable have?

NHTSA has 34 complaints about the 1988 Mercury Sable engine — 18% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.