2009 Mercury Sable problems & reliability
20 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2009 Mercury Sable. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
2 complaints report injuries (3 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2009 Mercury Sable vehicles were involved in 3 fatal crashes with 0 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | 5 | 25% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 5 | 25% |
| Power Train | 3 | 15% |
| Suspension | 3 | 15% |
| Seats | 2 | 10% |
| Service Brakes | 1 | 5% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 1 | 5% |
| Steering | 1 | 5% |
| Structure | 1 | 5% |
| Traction Control System | 1 | 5% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 12 reported components →Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I bought this car about four months ago. I use the heated driver seat regularly. Sometime back I started to notice that it seemed to get hotter on the left side of the seat and on the right, and the last few weeks it intensified, with the left side getting too hot very quickly so I would simply turn the seat off. Then…”
Seats · filed Feb 17, 2021
“I now have 75,000 miles on the vehicle, but at around the 15,000 mile point the driver's side front strut went out followed by the passenger front strut 4,000 miles later. In total both front struts have been replaced three times (the original and two replacement sets) and the driver's side front strut is again making…”
Suspension · filed May 30, 2017
“While cruising on interstate highways, on three occasions, the engine has quit running. The first incident occurred october 12, 2012 with about 18,000 miles on odometer.the second incident occurred during may, 2014 with about 34,000 miles on odometer. The third incident occurred on april 20, 2016 with 40,665 miles on…”
Engine · filed May 10, 2016
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
7 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2009 Mercury Sable.
Some 2009-2017 Expedition/Navigator, 2009-2014 F-150/Mustang, 2008-2009 Sable, 2008-2019 Taurus/Flex/MKT, 2013-2019 Police Interceptor Sedan/Utility, and 2011-2019 Explorer vehicles may exhibit inoperative or…
SSM 48070 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 2, 2019
Some 2009-2017 Expedition/Navigator, 2009-2014 F-150/Mustang, 2008-2009 Sable, 2008-2019 Taurus/Flex/MKT, 2013-2019 Police Interceptor Sedan/Utility, and 2011-2019 Explorer vehicles may exhibit inoperative or…
SSM 47797 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 7, 2019
Some 2009-2017 Expedition/Navigator, 2009-2014 F-150/Mustang, 2008-2009 Sable, 2008-2019 Taurus/Flex/MKT, 2013-2019 Police Interceptor Sedan/Utility, and 2011-2019 Explorer vehicles may exhibit inoperative or…
SSM 47797 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 7, 2019
The Accessory (Wireless) Keyless Entry Keypad can only be used with vehicles that are factory built with Remote Keyless Entry (RKE). The master code for the Accessory (Wireless) Keyless Entry Keypad can be retrieved…
SSM 47009 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 10, 2018
The Accessory (Wireless) Keyless Entry Keypad can only be used with vehicles that are factory built with Remote Keyless Entry (RKE). The master code for the Accessory (Wireless) Keyless Entry Keypad can be retrieved…
SSM 47009 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 10, 2018
The Powertrain Control/Emissions Diagnosis (PC/ED) manual has been revised for diagnosing electronic throttle bodies (ETBs). The ETC_ACT and ETC_DSD PIDs should not used to diagnose possible ETB concerns. The IDS has a…
SSM 46085 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 21, 2016
Ford: there may be a rough idle or misses while the malfunction light is on. There are mutliple possible trouble codes stored. *rm
TSB-10-16-1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 9, 2010
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
No NHTSA recall campaigns name the 2009 Mercury Sable in our current data. Recalls may apply only to certain VIN ranges — always confirm with a VIN check.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2009 Mercury Sable?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.