VehicleVerdict

1997 Mercury Sable engine problems

The 1997 Mercury Sable has 46 engine complaints filed with NHTSA — 14% of the year's total, and down from the prior model year.

46

Engine complaints

14%

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 NORMAL HIGHWAY SPEED ALL OF A SUDDEN VEHICLE CUT OFF. DRIVER WAS ABLE TO PULL TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD SAFELY, TURNED OFF THE IGNITION, AND GOT OUT OF VEHICLE. THIS WAS WHEN DRIVER AND FAMILY NOTICED VEHICLE WAS ON FIRE. VEHCLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. CV BOOT EXPLODED AND THREW…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Engine · July 23, 2000 · fire

Common questions

How many engine complaints does the 1997 Mercury Sable have?

NHTSA has 46 complaints about the 1997 Mercury Sable engine — 14% 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.