1996 Mercury Sable: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 391 complaints
391
Total Complaints
95,000mi
Median Mileage
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Top Issue
25
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

67,000 25th Percentile
95,000 Median Mileage
137,500 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
54
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
21
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
14
STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
13
STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR
12
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
11
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
11
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM
11
VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM:HEATER CORE
11
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
10

Severity Assessment

25
Crashes
13
Fires
124
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"SAFETY DEFECT WITH THE WINDSHIELD CAN NOT SEE OUT OF WINDSHIELD. TT"
"PURCHASED CAR NEW THERE IS A BAD RAW GAS SMELL LIKE THERE IS A GAS LEAK TOOK TO DEALER CAN'T FIND PROBLEM. PLEASE DESCRIBE . *AK"
"WHEN TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL, THE STEERING WHEEL GETS STIFF AND MAKES IT DIFFACULT TO STEER. PLEASE DESCRIBE. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28