Ford Taurus Problems

mralan

I'm considering purchasing a 2001 Ford Taurus SES. Are there any owners out there with advice on potential mechanical problems I should look out for?

Mr Alan

mrdetailer

Ford transmissionsa are not the strongest. However, regular changes of the transmission fluid helps a lot. I would recommend changing at 15k and replacing with synthetic. If you do a complete change with syn then it can be changed out every 30,000 miles. Lubegard also helps reduce acids and tranny oil temps and is recommended. This is according to my Mazda mechanic. Remember that for years Mazdas have used Ford Transmissions.

Change brake, power steering fluid every 30K. I add Lubegard power steering additive also.

vidtech

if you buy this vehicle,get the extended warranty.you will need it.in addition to tranny problems,air conditioning and front suspension problems are common.they happen often enough to drive anyone to drink.

riswami

you read the post in the Taurus/Sable thread in Sedans and the same post in Maintenance and Repair.

I have a 97 with 65k. Car has been very reliable. Some posters are either complainers or/not vey knowledgeable.

The Taurus isn't perfect, but what is? If you're getting a good deal and like the car then go for it.

Kirstie_H

I'm changing the title of this topic to make it of more general interest to Taurus owners, or to those who know about Tauruses (Tauri?)

kirstie_h
Roving Host
Edmunds.com

mralan

Is it true that later model (post 2000) model Taurus are much improved in terms of reliablity?

carlson123

My mother has a 99 Taurus with about 30k
miles on it. The engine will turn over but
won't start, then all of a sudden for no apparent
reason it will start up. She had one mechanic look at
it, scratched his head for a couple of hours
then it just started up all of a sudden. The next
time it happened she brought it to the dealer
and it started up for them and they couldn't
find anything wrong.

I haven't been able to determine under what
conditions it happens, but I think each time
the engine was cold (Minnesota cold not just
room temp).

Any ideas would be appreciated.

willis3

I had my oil changed this past weekend, and noticed that my coolant was nearly depleted. So I refilled the coolant, ran the engine and checked again. I found the coolant had turned to a brownish color.

After doing a bit of research, I found that there was a general recall issued to install a cooling system by-pass installation kit. Being the second owner of this car, I was never notified. I'm going to flush the radiator, but I'm starting to worry that there might be a head gasket problem.

Have any other of you Taurus/Sable owners experienced this problem? Did you get the recall work performed?

I learned that this is a problem only on 96 & 97 Taurus/Sables. They probably changed the design beginning in 98.

Any help/experiences would be appreciated.

mrdetailer

consolidate it into Taurus repair and maintenence.

sable1996pa

I have a 1996 Sable (same car) I had the coolant go brown you should not be consernd about the head gasket my car has been fine. I even had them replace the coolant overflow with a new one. I have had not one problem in the 6 years I have owned this car it has been great. I would flush the cooling sys. and keep an eye on it. I bought the first one my dealer got too. My car came off the line in 1995! I was a little scared about beeing one of the first ones but no problems...Good luck

willis3

Sable1996PA -

I hope your are correct. I'm going to have the radiator flushed tomorrow. And hopefully the coolant will remain the normal greenish color. At what mileage did you notice that your coolant changed to brown?

However, I've read that the brown coolant recall was required because there was a design error in the routing of the cooling system hoses into and out of the engine exhaust manifold. The result of this was it caused the coolant to trun into brown mud from excessive rusting of the engine block. The rust in the coolant will ensue in further engine problems, like a galvanic reaction with the freeze plugs in the engine block.

The car only has 62k miles, maybe I should get it fixed and sell it?

teo

Hope this helps:

Ford Taurus issues:

http://www.lemonaidcars.com/

e_sable

carlson 123
I have a 2000 Mercury Sable with the 24 valve
engine that does the same thing that your mothers
car is doing. I have taken it to the dealer to see if they could find the problem. But, when they have the car it will always start right up.
I even left the car over night hoping it would do
it. The car started with no problem. The only
recommendation they could give me was when it did
it again to bring it straight to the dealer and
possibly it would be in the computer. To date it
hasn,t done it again. I have posted this message
before, but received no response. If you get an
answer please let me know.
Thanks

johnwng

My '97 Taurus has developed a strange problem. Normally, when you open a door, the dome light comes on, and when you shut all doors, the dome light goes off. However, with my Taurus, after I shut the driver side door (only has problem with the driver side door), the dome light will stay on for a few minutes and then goes off by itself. It does not happen all the time, but enough to be annoying particularly during nighttime driving. I wonder if this has ever happened to other Taurus owners? I am relunctent to go to my dealer. Last time I when there for a "service engine soon" light, it costs me $2000.

alcan

The switch is in the outer door handle. Try spraying WD40 or other lubricant into the area to free it up.

riswami

I had the same problem with my 97 Taurus GL two years ago. It is a door switch. I hear this is quite common.

I had it fixed at the dealer, $160.

You can probably find a local mechanic and get it done for 1/2 the price. Think the switch was $15.

tzeldy

My dome light stayed on last month and they said the problem was either the door switch or a senor. They replaced the door switch, which requires removal of the door panels, and a switch which costs around $20. I don't think you need to take it to the dealer. I also had the heater core go bad recently and they suggested more frequent flushing of the radiator fluid.

drummer55

I would like to know how to get Ford to solve the engine stalling problem as reported in the NHTSA web site under "Problems and Issues". Owners are reporting sudden engine quitting while in traffic with no restart until they pull off the road or in some cases, towed back to the dealer. No deaths have been reported so far, but I won't let my wife get an Escape because of a potential stall on the freeway in front a semi. I'm not alone, but the others with this feeling are already Escape, Taurus or Tribute owners. There were numerous problems on this with the 2001's and already 29 reports on the 2002's (Escapes only). How do we as the general public and potential customers get help?

tgf1954

I really like everything else about this car but find that even with tire pressures correct and after a 4 wheel alignment, the vehicle wanders enough on all roads at all speeds to be annoying and feels like it has a "dead spot" on the dead center steering wheel position. I recently test drove a used '97 GL model with 78K miles for comparison and I did not experience the same "slop" at steering wheel dead center. However, I then test drove a '97 SHO on the same Ford dealer lot and it felt like it had the same slop in the steering linkage as mine does. While travelling at any speed, I can move the steering wheel about one inch back and forth without causing the direction of travel to change at all. Is this typical of Tauruses with the 24 valve V-6 or the SHO V-8? Are there different types of rack and pinion steering gear systems present on Tauruses, i.e., do some higher trim levels models of Taurus have variable ratio power steering while maybe entry level models do not? I sure would appreciate any feedback from anyone who has any insight or experience with this issue. I certainly hope there is a solution to tighten up the steering feel on my vehicle. Thanks in advance for all responses. --- TGF1954

tango22

I took the car through an automatic car was (underbody wash also) and after that I noticed that the cruise control stopped working (it worked fine before that), after I stopped the car and shut it off, took it out of gear it would not go back into gear, seemed like something to do with the safety feature that forces you to have your foot on the brake before the car will go into gear.

Any help would be very much appreciated, I am fairly mechanically inclined, but couldn't find anything obvious, I sprayed WD40 on some of the connections thinking that might dry up something that was wet, but there are just to many, I am not familiar enough with this car.

Thanks in advance and you can email me directly at rocky@unitech-ia.com if you have any info for me

ezaircon4jc

I have a '96 Sable with the Duratc that tracks as straight as any FWD I've had. It doesn't wander and I can go straight with minimal input. On some of our grooved freeways I get some tramlining, but that's it. Sounds like a bad rack and pinion to me.

hombregrande10

My 2001 Taurus emits an odor like melting plastic garbage bags from underneath. At first, I looked for a bag that may have stuck to the muffler, tail pipe, or catalytic converter, but I cannot see one. Anyone else notice this, and if so, have you solved it?

pluto5

I drove a Hertz Taurus around for about 10 miles with the parking brake on and that's what it smelled like.

93viking

I bought an 87 Taurus 3.0 with 66K about 2 months ago. When I drove the car before I got it I never noticed any noise. (Of course) Lately once the car is warmed up I notice a knocking noise. I don't notice it during cold starts or while I'm driving. Also If I rev the car up the noise goes away. I thought a heat shield came lose on the cat, or I had an exhaust leak. I took it to the garage this morning and they said the exhaust was fine. They thought the noise was coming from around the oil pan. He said I had a lose engine? His exact words were "Ford's 3.0 are notorious for this." He asked what oil I was using, and I use Mobil 1 5W30. He suggested I use regular oil 10W40. Any help or ideas would be apriciated!

super3056

My 1999 Taurus SE, 24V engine has 50,000 miles. Recently, strange things have happened with the dome light and power windows working sporatically. Yesterday my wife was stranded as the car wouldn't start. We had the car jump-started and took it home. While idiling, it died. Each time we tried to start it again, the wipers and other electrical components turn on and off. The trunk lid button, when pushed, seemed to turn the dome light on and off.

The car has been a pain in the "*!#@". In addition to this problem, the rotors have warped several times and a grinding noise occurs immediately after start-up when the temp is below freezing. The dealer was no help in fixing this starter problem. We've just accepted it.

I'm terrifed how much the electric is going to cost. Has anyone had similar electrical issues?

johnwng

My '97 Taurus GL had the check engine light on 4 months ago. Took to Monahan Ford dealer in Queens spent close to $2000 to fix it. Well 4 months and 6K miles later, the light is on again. The same dealer wanted another $450 even though the first repair indicates 1year/12K warranty. I am not trusting Monahan any more. Does anyone experience similar problem? How do you fix it?

gabe288

problem and heard "click and clack" from Car Talk mention it once. Apparently, it can be caused by filling the gas tank up to the top. I just live with mine - it's just a little annoying!

jaygriffin

Has anyone heard of a chronic problem with the head gaskets on the 3.8 L engine. I have 93 with 57,000 and no problems (yet).

heng

Yea, this seems to have been kicked around quite a bit in the minivan/windstar topic.

jaygriffin

Someone told me they heard on the news that Ford was extending warranty on mid-90's vehicles to 7 yrs /100,000 miles. Anyone hear anything about that?

kw_carman

My grandmother has a 97 Taurus LX, and it is starting to fall apart. First let me state that it was bought at two years old with low miles by a +70 year old grandmother, who is a light driver (to church, bank and grocery store, and that's it). The front cup holder came apart within the first two months. Also, the power windows on both sides in the back have stopped working, and the ones in the front make awful noises. Most recently, the wiring the in driver's door got screwed up, causing the factory alarm to continuously go off at all hours. (Grandma got two calls from others in her retirement center before she could run and disarm it at 2:30 AM). Is this normal for a Ford?

alcan

Re the rear power windows, check for damaged wiring at the master switch. If the switch is in the driver's door, check for a broken wire inside the conduit between the door and the cowl.

thammel

I'm replacing the front axles (halfshafts) on my 1990 Taurus and have a few questions! Chiltons manual says you need a few special tools; in particular a heacy duty hub puller, a slide hammer (I have this) and then even a tool to drive the left axle through the transaxle to remove it. Why not simply use the slide hammer or pry bar on the left side? The manual says you also MUST replace the circlips on the end of the axles along with the bolts/nuts holding the ball joint to the steering swivel. The biggest dealership in my city (Baltimore) did not have a stock of these circlips, so I doubt that these are typically replaced. Any comments on tools required or the need to replace all these parts?

Thanks immensely!

playrock21

There is a recall out for the headgaskets on the 3.8L engines. My thunderbird's headgasket went 3 months ago and that is when I found out about it. You should have your VIN # checked with a dealer to see if it is recalled and have them do it before it is too late. The recall is only good up to 100,000 miles.

rockymt

I had the same problem with my 93 Taurus (171K miles). The vehicle needed a new brake light switch, and of course, the operator should continue to step on the brake pedal when shifting out of Park. The switch installs very easily down near the lever that holds the brake pedal. Dealer wanted approx $22 for part. I bought from NAPA for half that, P/N SL220, although your part number may be different.

jaygriffin

Does anyone know how to disconnect the speedometer cable on a Ford Tauras (93). I got the dash loose. I can (barely) get my hand on the cable, BUT I can't figure out that connector!

Thanks!

sroc

I am experiencing steering wheel vibrations in my 2000 Taurus especially at high speeds (above 55/60) or when I brake. There is also a slight thumping noise from the front wheels - I suspect the two are the result of the same problem!

My mechanic tels me the wheels require replacement. I am wondering whether a simple balancing/alignment will solve this. Any suggestions?

snowman

Are you still using stock tires? I used to have those problems but when i replaced the tires with Yokohoma and got them balanced at the dealer vibration disapeared. Did you hit your wheels? It is very slim chance that you have defective wheels.
Don't go to 3rd party shops to get your balancing done. They use smaller lead weight to cut corners and they are not as precise as dealers. Small weight are contributing the problem and one more thing if you have alloy wheels, wash them with kitchen detergant before you take it to balancing. If the wheel surface is dirty, weight never gets stuck and soon will just drop.

grape49

I have a 1998 Ford Taurus SE; worst piece of garbage i have ever owned. Had to replace a/c at 53k miles($1000) and then my entire transmission was thrashed at 63k($2400). what a piece of crap and embarassment. Never again will I ever buy detroit.also have had other things which in deference to the length of posting i kept off. anyone looking for sedan...think Toyota, Honda, not these clowns from ford

riswami

I'm just curious, did you change your tranny fluid at 3ok and 60k?

snowman

Toyota just admitted that their engines have sludge problems.
Honda's V6 transmissions are different story of course.

Mr_Shiftright

Let's fold this topic into our ongoing and more popular "Taurus repair and maintenance" discussion" which appears just above this one on the topic list. Please join us in that topic.

I'll leave this one up as "read only" so it can point people to the other Taurus topic.

MrShiftright
Host