Mercury - Sable :: 2001 - Suddenly Lost A Lot Of Power And Won't Go Fast At All - Bad Converter
Mar 10, 2012
I have a 2001 Mercury Sable with 114k miles. Just bought it and it ran fine for the most part until one day while coming home from work. It was still running but lost a lot of power and wouldn't go fast at all. I took it to my mechanic and he told me that this car has 3 converters on the exhaust system. First of all, I think having 3 is overkill and secondly, I am wondering why these things are so expensive. The one up front that mounts to my manifold is $350 just for the part. The one in the back can be bypassed (legally) but why did they make this system so complex and what are my options at this point? If I found a Sable that was being parted out, could I use the converters from that? Would it have to be the same year?
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Some guy I know was driving his 99 Mercury Sable Le about 30 mph when the speedometer suddenly died. Why did the speedometer suddenly die? The car continued to run albeit a bit sluggishly. He then stopped and turned off the ignition. He had been driving the car for only 5 minutes and the heat gauge was at the normal midpoint where it remained for almost an hour before declining. Why did the heat gauge take so long to decline? There also is a precedent to this puzzle. A couple weeks ago, he was driving the car 55 mph when the speedometer fluctuated wildly from 0 to 55. He stopped and after 10 minutes resumed driving without a hitch. Now he's had the 30 mph speedometer problem. In neither instance did the engine repair light appear. What's going on with the speedometer and the heat gauge? Where are those Magliozzi brothers when you need them?
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Description of Problem: 1999 mercury cougar 2.5L V6 automatic trans: I was driving down the road and suddenly lost power. The engine was still running but sounded a little rough so i turned it off. then it wouldn't start. After having it parked for a couple months i started looking ant it and notice that the starter is spinning the flexplate but the harmonic balance isn't turning. It does turn by hand with a socket. After talking to a mechanic i was told a used motor would run. He said i broke the crank or timing chain? I thought if it was the timing chain the harmonic balancer would still turn, he didn't agree. and i thought it was unlikely that the crank would just break driving down the road. What it could be? or how i can narrow it down. If the flexplate or bolts broke off would that cause my problem?
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i have a 2001 mercury sable what im getting is its will not start but starts on occasion like today it started fine this morning did errands before work drove it turned it off short period and then started just fine and then drove to work after work it did not want to start tried every thing check engine light is not on and has not come on im am getting stumped i had to leave it in the parking lot at my work so my question is what could make it do this where it starts on occasion and then when sitting for a period of time will not start it cranks but just does not start
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2001 Mercury Sable? I recently have gotten to use a 2001 Sable that is a perfectly great car. Low mileage, (43,000) fully loaded etc. However, it was obviously not driven very much, once a week back and forth to the beauty shop, but it was not garaged... mostly parked under a carport or a tree. What keeps happening is the Low coolant light comes on after it has been driven a while. The car has been checked out, and the coolant levels are fine... that's easy to see... no leaks were found. Recommended repairs were Trans Flush, Belt, and Fuel Injection service. I have noticed that after the light comes on the AC stops working as well on the Max setting and I lose fan speed adjustment ability. The way I know that is because when I turn the AC to AUTO and the fan on high, it blows harder. I have also noticed that after driving it with the light on, when I stop the car I can smell radiator fluid - but I haven't spotted any leaks - but I haven't looked very hard because mostly I just stop driving it. What may be causing the light to come on? Is it actually related to the AC, or is that a separate problem, OR is it a computer problem? Has there been a recall on this? Is it something that I need to worry about?
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I changed the starter and the ignition connector and the battery is charged car won't turn over, need to solve problem...
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i was driving the other day and the car just had a small sputter and shut off now when i turn it over it turns real fast like there is no compression if i press the gas pedal it sounds like it almost wants to start but wont and i can hear a small backfire through the air intake . I tried spraying starting fluid in the intake to see if maybe it were a fuel problem but it did no fire same result .
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I have a 2001 Chrysler (Mitsubishi) Sebring Lxi Coupe with the 3.0-liter V6 engine and (in)famous Chrysler A-604 4-speed automatic transmission. Mileage is approx. 115,000. Several days ago, I was on the highway doing 60 mph when the car suddenly, and without making any noise, lost power, as if the engine had quit. When I gave it more gas, the rpm on the tach shot up quickly to 3500, but the car was still losing speed. The Check Engine Light never comes on. Long story short, I pulled over to the side of the road and got the car flat-bedded home. The engine starts and run normally, but the car will not move in any forward gears (drive, first or second) nor in reverse.
The OBD II module is not throwing any codes that are related to a transmission problem. The transmission fluid is not discolored and does not smell or look "burnt". The fluid level is at the full mark on the dip stick. Up to this point, the transmission has performed and shifted flawlessly. I have serviced the transmission regularly every 30,000 miles since buying the car with 60,000 miles on it. I have been reading that this transmission was one of the first to be designed with electronically activated shifting, and has been installed in many models of Chrysler cars, vans, and pickups starting in 1989. Any way to check whether this may be an electrical/electronic problem first before getting a tow to a transmission shop for diagnosis of an internal mechanical failure requiring overhaul or a new trans?
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I have a 2002 Mercury sable and have a problem with power windows. When you hit the driver's door window up button, you hear a relay constantly clicking under the dash, fealing the relays up there it seems to be one of the top 2 in the bank of 4 at the top of the fuse box feeling for vibration as it clicks. Any of the other buttons results in a single click then nothing and if the door's open as it was when I worked on it,the door chime stops and no window buttons make clicks or anything until I hit the driver's door up button again. Now if I pull one of the relays I mentioned, hitting the window up and down buttons from the driver's door does make the relay click once when pressed, once when released.
Am I correct in thinking this is a power window relay under the hood, voltage seems alright where I checked it but not having a wiring diagram or anything I have no clue what's what I only checked as well as I could from the fuse box. Another interesting issue which we've had off and on for a while now is when you put the car in gear, it will ding for about 3 minutes, seems more like an hour. No lights or anything, is this all related and I'm all wet on the window relay, or do I have something else going on here?
I need the windows to open, I got sick of replacing AC compressors so pulled it out so we have no AC, it gets hot in there fast. I couldn't care less about the dinging if that's unrelated, the windows worked last I knew which was only a few weeks ago, that dinging was something it did in the fall when someone ever so nicely broke in to the car making the driver's door no longer lock with the electric locks, another problem I can't find but that wasn't a huge concern, that door's obviously been apart many times in the past so I'm not the first to have problems with it.
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This first started happening about a year ago. started the car and it seemed fine to put it in gear to drive stepped on the gas and there was no power. the car moved forward slowly and felt like the engine was skipping and catching and then it would die. took it to the shop and it started right up first try for them. they drove it and it was fine. ever since then, it happens at random times on and off. I'm not sure if its bad fuel or something it just doesn't make sense to me.
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My wife's 2004 Mercury Sable broke down on the highway last night. We had it towed to the nearest Ford Dealership and are awaiting the official diagnosis. I am 99% sure it is transmission, as the engine didn't die, but zero of engines power is reaching tires in any gear.
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I recently acquired a 2003 Mercury Sable from a friend and there is a problem with the air conditioning. The car has digital controls. I select the Max AC button, turn the temperature all the way down (60) an the fan all the way up, but it only blows warm air. I can hear and see the AC compressor cycling fairly quickly. The clutch (I think) engages for about one second and it will reengage after about 5 seconds, but again, it only says engaged for about one second.
What could be the problem? I've read the AC system might not have enough pressure and needs to be recharged. Or... the orifice tube is clogged, bad AC pressure switch, or the actuator that closes the heater door might be disconnected.
How quickly should a properly functions AC compressor cycle? The car was not driven much over the past year or two as it was my friend's grandfathers. I may end up taking it to a shop but I don't want to get ripped off. How should I approach this?
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06 Camry SE I4
I had to replace my catalytic converter because of the code I was getting. It wasn't difficult to do, but took me a while because I had to transfer the thread rods to the new CAT. Once the new CAT was installed, I went to test her out, but noticed that the car all of a sudden, has no electrical power. Nothing at all. I checked all fuses and nothing is blown. The only electrical I messed with on the car was the O2 sensor.
Car has a brand new battery from yesterday. The only thing I didn't do is install a support bracket on one side, because it was missing a bolt and one thread rod was stuck in the old CAT, i couldn't remove it.
A friend suggested that the missing bracket may be causing a ground issue. Is this true?
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Got a 2002 mercury Sable.. Always stalls out at lights.. Won't idle will stall if you don't give it gas... Also gas pedal cable broke and a spring is broke too.. What might be wrong with engine.
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I have a '99 Mercury Sable with the 3.0 24 Valve DOHC V6. The car occasionally will not start. It only happens after the car has been driven and warmed up, shut off, and then an attempted restart. This problem has occurred in all sorts of temps. Sometimes it will start within 30 minutes, sometimes it takes overnight. But it will start. I have already replaced the fuel pump relay. Is the fuel pump needing to be replaced (b/c it is failing slowly), or is this problem located somewhere else?
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Bought this car, drove it home, when I went to restart it nothing happened. Put in a new battery and still nothing. The starter will arc with a screwdriver but not engage. All the lights and and electrical work so I am thinking its either the neutral safety or the ignition. Is there a way to figure out which one it is with out buying both of them?
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92 mercury sable 3.8so the car just started this on the 4th. it not able to turn off, switch the key to off pull it out car keeps running, been pulling the battery cable, but was told I'd hurt my alternator if kept doing it that way. just trying to fix it, so I tired switching out the ignition cylinder. that didn't fix it and also checked all my fuses they were all fine. My next idea is to change out the whole ignition switch instead of just the cylinder.
Now the second problem that i was trying to nail down before the other started was a issue with the car stalling at idle. it only happens if the car is up to temperature and it's a hot day. plus 75 Fahrenheit. just trying to go with cheapest parts and work my way up i change the air and fuel filters. then this other issue started and took priority.
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A month ago I was pulling onto Hwy 5 and the car stalled. I pulled over and restarted the car - no prob. But, the check engine light came on. I took it to the shop and they said that the check engine light code said there was a problem with the fuel pump. Unfortunately they couldn't find anything wrong with the pump. They reset the check engine light and it didn't come back on and the car ran fine...until Sunday.
On Sunday, I tried to start the car. It would start but only ran for a second or two and then shut down. I took it back to the shop thinking it was the fuel pump failing but they say the fuel pump seems ok, they've replaced the fuel filter but it still won't start. They seem to flummoxed. What might be going on?
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I recently purchased a 2004 Mercury Sable with about 112K miles on it. I am having some troubles with my car and I'm not sure where to start first in repairing it. I recently took my car to a mechanic because accelerating on the highway or going up hills made my car sound engine run very hard and loud, my RPMs went up to 3K and my speed dropped to 15 mph (which is a disaster when you're on the highway and hit a steep grade). My car absolutely cannot do any sort of hill so the mechanic suggested that either he or I replace one of the catalytic converters. He showed me which one he thought was throwing the error code. I replaced that catalytic converter and I thought my problems were solved because I could accelerate without difficulty.
However, a day later I tried to drive it up a hill and got the exact same response as before. RPMS jump up and the speed drops down to 15 mph and I've just about got the pedal to the floor. I have friends who repair cars as a hobby and they disagree with each other where I should go from here. One friend says replace the muffler and resonator (possible blockage that cannot bear any stress under a load...like going up a hill). Another friend says replace the third catalytic converter (one was replaced when we bought the car by the dealership, and I just replaced another one). He says when one catalytic converter goes the others are not far behind.
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One of the possible locations for the CD changer for my 2004 Mercury Sable in the Owner's Manual said right side cargo area storage compartment. Is that the back of the wagon?
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My girlfriends son and friend were driving my girlfriends 05 mountaineer when all of a sudden they lost power to windows, gas gauge, radio and map lights. After doing some research, fuse # 17 is blown and keeps blowing when trying to change. I believe it has to do with Battery Saver Relay. All other fuses are fine. Multiple websites says to start disconnection everything running on that fuse.
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