2002 Mercury Sable - Won't crank

I am having problems with the car cranking. It will crank and run fine, then it will not crank for hours. There is no recall on this. However this needs to be looked into. This car only has
88,000 miles on it.

Of course there is NO RECALL. You have a twenty year old car. A plethora of possible problems.

Yes , pay for the diagnosis, that is the most economical way to get it repaired correctly.

Or, since you drive less than 100 miles per week, consider a plug-in electric vehicle.

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Then take it a shop and pay them to look at it.

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No crank could mean battery, battery cable ends, bad starter, or a bad neutral safety switch. Try shifting into neutral next time and see if it will start. If it does that likely means the neutral switch.

A Recall on a 20 year old car on a problem that would never be related to a Recall anyway? This mindset of a car being covered free of charge forever needs to go away…and never going to happen.

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By not cranking you mean you’re not hearing the “rr rr rr” sound with the key in start I presume. Ask your shop to measure the voltage on the crank signal at the starter motor. If it measures 10.5 volts or more with the key in “start”, the problem is probably the starter motor itself. If below 10.5, ask the shop to find out why. Common reason for the latter is failing neutral safety switch. If automatic, try cranking in N rather than P. Or jiggle the selector while attempting cranking. Could provide clue.