Ford Taurus, Mercury Sable Recalled for Sticky Throttles

Jason Siu
by Jason Siu

Ford issued a recall today for nearly 468,000 Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable vehicles from the 2000 through 2003 model years.

Last fall, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a probe on those vehicles after receiving 100 complaints about the throttles on the Taurus and Sable vehicles equipped with a 3.0-liter, Duratec V6 engine. According to the American automaker, the throttle cables can be damaged or disconnected during maintenance. Five crashes have been reported related to the issue, though none sustained injuries.

As a result of the recall, NHTSA will close its investigation and Ford will inspect the cables and add reinforcement to tabs that hold the cables in place for free. If the tabs are missing, the whole cable will be replaced. The automaker will begin contacting affected owners through mail starting on June 24 and dealers were also told to repair vehicles even if the owners don’t receive the letters.

Discuss this story at Ford-Taurus.org

Jason Siu
Jason Siu

Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.

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  • David O. David O. on Nov 11, 2013

    i received the recall letter saying cable needs to be replaced. Dealer said it was for cruise control clip. refused to fix throttle cable??

  • Deb dd Deb dd on Mar 28, 2014

    Took my Taurus to the dealership & they put something on the cable to keep it from sticking. The cable had previously stuck 2 times, once on full throttle & once on no throttle. Thank you Ford for the free fix.

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