My complaint is for a 2004 Mercury Sable sl prem wagon with a 4F50N transmission. It has approx 18500 miles. While driving close to home, the dash 'transmission' light came on, but almost instantly went off. I called the dealer, who I use for maintenance and repair. They advised it might have been a fluke or nothing, to see what happened next time. The next day I backed the car out of my driveway, no light came on. I started to drive, the hill, the light came on and immediately the car stopped moving forward. We had it towed to the dealer and have been told the transmission is bad, that it must be replaced at a cost to us of over $3,000. This transmission failed without expectation and suddenly. If this had happened in traffic, I could have had a serious accident. Vehicle is at the dealer. This seems to fit in with the problems indicated in NHTSA action no. EA09016.

- Framingham, MA, USA

While driving home at 11pm on September 2, 2006 my car stopped moving as I was making a left-hand turn. The engine was running, the electrical system was in order; the car simply would not move. Luckily, I was able to coast across the road and stop the car in a safe location. As I live in a rural area, the road was empty or I could have been seriously injured. I walked to a nearby bar where I called aaa to come and tow the car. I had the car towed to my home, then after my husband determined it was a serious problem, we had the car towed to the dealership where we purchased it the previous March. The mechanic determined that the transmission was shot and needed to be completely replaced! I was shocked as I had serviced the transmission as recommended at 35,000 and the vehicle only had 52,000 on it.

- Arcade, NY, USA

While the consumer was parking the vehicle, it inadvertently went into reverse and subsequently the consumer vrashed into the garage.

- Chicago, IL, USA

Vehicle jumps forward about 3 feet when it is started. Occasionally, the same problem occurs when idling.

- Swainsboro, GA, USA