2002 Mercury Sable: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 3 recall campaigns for the 2002 Mercury Sable. The newest campaign is 04V106000. NHTSA received the report on 2 Mar 2004. The NHTSA record gives the component Exterior Lighting / Brake Lights / Switch. NHTSA has 317 complaints on file for this model year. 4 NHTSA investigations name this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 04V106000, in the NHTSA record

Dealers will remove the stop lamp switch and associated wiring assembly and install a newly designed stop lamp switch and wire assembly. Owner notification is expected to begin on april 5, 2004. Owners should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.

NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on 1 Oct 2026. Complaint file through 29 Mar 2018. Recall file through 29 Sep 2026.

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

3 campaigns, newest first. 1,376,297 units in total.

04V106000Received 2 Mar 2004. 938,789 units.
Exterior Lighting / Brake Lights / Switch
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Certain passenger vehicles are being recalled to correct a problem with a malfunctioning stop lamp switch and/or associated wiring. This malfunctioning could render the stop lamps inoperable or cause them to stay on all the time. This could cause confusion to a following driver, which could lead to a crash.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
In addition, if the switch and/or associated wiring fail in the open position, the brake lights will not actuate and the driver will not be able to shift the vehicle out of "park" if they fail in the closed position, the brake lights will remain on, which will not allow the speed control to be activated. This could also cause the battery to discharge.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will remove the stop lamp switch and associated wiring assembly and install a newly designed stop lamp switch and wire assembly. Owner notification is expected to begin on april 5, 2004. Owners should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number 04S12. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 5 Apr 2004.
03V087000Received 10 Mar 2003. 67,894 units.
Visibility / Windshield
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Certain passenger vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 212, "windshield mounting." the windshields may potentially exhibit increased wind noise, water leakage, and squeaks and rattles.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Potential loss of windshield retention may also reduce occupant protection in the event of a crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will replace these windshields. Owner notification began on march 31, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford/mercury at 1-800-392-3673.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number 03C03. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 31 Mar 2003.
02V266000Received 2 Oct 2002. 369,614 units.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Pedals and Linkages
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Certain passenger vehicles equipped with adjustable padels are being recalled in order to adjust the brake and accelerator pedals to a minimum of 50 mm of lateral separation. Simultaneous application of both the brake and accelerator pedals could result in an increase in engine RPM.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
This could result in a customer experiencing an "unintended vehicle speed increase" or a perceived "unable to stop" condition.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Owners will be instructed as to the proper way to set the position of the pedals and to take their vehicles to a dealer to have the spacing between the brake and accelerator pedals measured. If the spacing is found to be less than 50 mm, the dealer will adjust the pedals to increase the distance between them to greater than 50 mm. Owner notification began october 28, 2002. Owners who do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1-866-436-7332.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number 02S40.

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

317 complaints, 385 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.

2002 Mercury Sable
All 2002 vehicles

2002 Mercury Sable: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	2002 Sable	All 2002 vehicles	Sable, all years	Mentions
Suspension	522.1	85.6	131	201
Visibility	64.9	50.4	44.9	25
Air Bags	64.9	55.1	35	25
Vehicle Speed Control	51.9	39.3	54.2	20
Service Brakes, Hydraulic	49.4	96.7	66.9	19
Engine and Engine Cooling	44.2	130.3	211.7	17
Power Train	44.2	135.9	118.2	17
Structure	33.8	52.7	48.3	13
Electrical System	33.8	88.7	66.9	13
Tires	23.4	31.5	15.8	9

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 21.

Complaints that report a crash: 28
Complaints that report a fire: 4
Injuries in the complaints: 20
Deaths in the complaints: 1
Date of the newest complaint: 14 Oct 2010

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 2002 Mercury Sable, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 2008, with 59 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 2002 Mercury Sable
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
PE12033	Preliminary evaluation	Speed control cable damage	Vehicle Speed Control / Cables	24 Oct 2012	26 Jun 2013
EA08018	Engineering analysis	Front Suspension Coil Spring Fracture	Suspension / Front / Springs / Coil Springs	28 Aug 2008	30 Jun 2011
RP03001	Recall petition	BRAKE/ACCELERATOR PEDAL APPLICATION	Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Pedals and Linkages	31 Oct 2003	23 Mar 2004
RQ03008	Recall query	BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH FAILURE	Exterior Lighting / Brake Lights	23 Oct 2003	5 Mar 2004	04V106000

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

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Official channels

NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
NHTSA page of the 2002 Mercury SableThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 2002 Mercury Sable: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/mercury/sable/2002/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through 29 Sep 2026.

Sources

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence: US government work, public domain
Recall file through: 29 Sep 2026
Complaint file through: 29 Mar 2018
First complaint in the file: 1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file: FORD MOTOR COMPANY

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2002 Mercury Sable?: 1,376,297 units in 3 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Mercury Sable have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 46 recall campaigns for the Mercury Sable, model years 1984 to 2009. 3 of them name the 2002 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 2002 Mercury Sable name most often?: Suspension: 201 of 385 component mentions, or 522.1 per 1,000. For all 2002 vehicles the figure is 85.6 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2002 Mercury Sable open?: No. Each of the 4 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.