I own a 2003 Mercury Sable, in 2007, I noticed the paint on the passenger rear wheel-well was starting to bubble rust, my husband and I made numerous complaints to the dealership, at the time, they were undergoing a buyout and we had a difficult time getting any answers from anyone, once the buyout happened, we were then told all the computer files were being updated, they did not have any record of the issues we reported to the previous owners, so we started over...in July of 2008, finally got the manufacturer to share in the expense of the repairs as this had now passed the warranty timeframe, however, when the original problem was reported, we were quoted a repair estimate of $250, by the time we received approval from Ford to go ahead with the repairs and they stated the repair estimate had increased to $ $550 because the rust area had worsen. It is now 8 months later, and the bubbling and rust is starting to appear again. I have read several articles about Ford having issues with the paint used on their vehicles during the 200 - 2005 period.. apparently - not too many complaints have been filed to warrant a recall, this is the basis for my compliant now. My car is taken care of, garaged, etc.... I have never had a rusting problem with an vehicle I have owned, and this does not seem fair that this car should be rusting, and for a second time within 8 months after the repairs.

- Colchester, CT, USA

I own a 2003 Mercury Sable platinum edition. I have experienced four flat tires in the last year with this vehicle (2/2005 to 2/2006). The first three I had repaired at a local tire store, as I was not aware that the problem was with the vehicle's aluminum wheels. In each case the wheels corroded around the sealing bead, or the valve stem causing an air leak. The corrosion occurs on the interior of the wheel, hidden from sight. The only clue is when the tires begin to lose pressure. The first flat tire occurred in February of 2005. The second and third happened in March and April of 2005 respectively. Finally the three wheels that had been repaired and the fourth began leaking, and in September 2005 I had all four of the wheels repaired at a local Ford dealer. In December of 2005 I began to experience tire inflation problems again, but the dealer refused to admit that there was a problem. Currently I am forced to check my tire pressure daily, and fill the tires each two to three days. The last flat tire occurred on February 23, 2006, but I was able to get the tire filled before it totally deflated. Please note this vehicle (platinum edition) comes equipped with special wheels not available on the normal ls edition. I feel that this condition is horribly unsafe, and at this point I am beginning to fear that the vehicle will become undrivable.

- Aurora, OH, USA