NHTSA Complaint #716809 — 1993 MERCURY SABLE

THE CAR HAS VERY LOW MILEAGE AND HAS BEEN MAINTAINED PROPERLY. I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY SEVERAL LOCAL MECHANICS THAT THIS HAS BEEN A COMMON OCCURRENCE FOR THIS CAR MAKE AND YEAR AND ENGINE SIZE REGARDLESS OF MILEAGE, AND CUSTOMERS HAVE BEEN REFERRED TO CONTACT FORD MOTOR COMPANY AS IT APPEARS TO BE A MECHANICAL DEFECT. I CERTAINLY ALSO FEEL THIS IS A MECHANICAL DEFECT AS THE CAR HAS RELATIVELY LOW MILEAGE. THE CAR FAINTLY SMELLED OF ANTI-FREEZE FOR A WEEK BUT DID NOT EXHIBIT ANY LEAKS OR OVERHEATING UNTIL 1/01/00 WHEN IT OVERHEATED WHILE EXITING A LOCAL HIGHWAY. IT WAS LEFT TO COOL FOR A FEW HOURS ,ASSUMING IT WAS A THERMOSTAT. IT WAS APPARENT IT WAS MORE THAN A THERMOSTAT WHEN BLUE-WHITE SMOKE APPEARED FROM THE TAILPIPE. I WOULD HOPE THAT IF THIS HAS BEEN A CHRONIC PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR THAT SOMETHING COULD BE DONE BY FORD MOTOR COMPANY TO COMPENSATE FOR THE EXPENSE TO REPAIR AS IT IS A COSTLY JOB TO HAVE DONE, COULD NOT HAVE BEEN AVOIDED, AND SHOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED WITH A CAR THAT IS DRIVEN JUST UNDER 6,000 MILES PER YEAR. YOUR RESPONSE IS GREATLY APPRECIATED. I DO PLAN TO CONTACT FORD MOTOR COMPANY IN THE MEANTIME. SINCERELY, TINA M. FASANO. *AK