1997 Mercury Sable Seat belts Problems

“I should have learned that Sable was a bad car after the engine of my mother's '87 Sable exploded, caught fire and busted through the floor of the car beside the gas pedal and brake (1993). Luckily she was not in the car. The engine had been off and sitting in park for five minutes when this happened. I bought my 97 Sable in 2001. I have never had a car with so many constant problems. I spend about $1200 a year fixing it continually. I'm currently having electrical problems with the radio going out while in reverse or when I press the brake. …”

“On my 1997 Mercury Sable the passenger seat belt constantly jams and takes forever to disengage. I am guessing the jam is somewhere between the interior and exterior of the plastic of the car. Where the seat belt locks the belt in place near the door. Any questions please call me.”

“The seat belt always locks up on the passenger side front. It's a safety issue because the belt always jams and Mercury dealership won't do a thing since its no longer under warranty unless you got $200.00. I heard ford had similar problems on their other ford/Mercury products, which my car isn't under recall. On the engine light matter. If you forget to put on the gas cap or raditior cap on or something very minor. The engine light will come on. I noticed this will happen also with my dad's taurus also. I have heard this happens to all 1995 or newer cars. …”

“Driver's seat belt comes undone, even after manually tugging on same to see if secured. I am mostly alone in the car and don't know if the other belts do the same. This has occurred since I bought the car. The belt can come undone when I tug on it, or later. It can come undone while parked or moving at no particular speed. I would say in retrospect, I usually notice it not too far from my house and I live in the city, so perhaps it happens at 0 to low speeds. I notice on those occassions that the seatbelt does not click when fastened. Sometimes you cannot force it to click shut.”

“The contact owns a 1997 Mercury Sable. While the contact's son was driving at an unknown speed, the driver's side seat belt loosened without warning. The manufacturer will be notified. The current and failure mileages were 55,000.”