Vehicle report
1986 MERCURY SABLE
This model year
What the record shows
The 1986 Mercury Sable is a midsize car, and the 6th model year of a nameplate NHTSA records from 1981 to 2009.
The EPA rated two configurations: engines from 2.5-litre four-cylinder to 3-litre six-cylinder, front-wheel drive only, two transmissions and running on regular gasoline.
Combined fuel economy is 20 mpg.
The federal record holds 46 owner complaints and 40 service bulletins for it.
Counts are reports, not rates. A complaint is something an owner chose to file; it is unverified and unadjusted for how many of these cars were sold, so the useful comparison is against other model years of the same car. Recalls and investigations carry more weight because a manufacturer or regulator acted on them.
Reading this report
Complaint counts are reports filed with NHTSA, not failure rates. A common model collects more of them than a rare one that breaks more often.