Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Sedans Pre-2008

danielj6 · February 2002

Thanks very much for the excellent info!
I will do what you recommend.

upsetter1 · February 2002

Thank you for info about Ford preowned. I'm looking for 2000 Sable Premium and living in SF area. I have a couple of questions. What kind of warrantly you really get. And did you pay for extended waranty and how much. Another question was the price fixed or they asked more or you was able to lower the price. Thank you.

I currently have 94 Taurus that I bought used and like it as a commuter and family car. Cruising is a pleasure. I just don't like transmission reliability and I had to rebuild it. But I like how car looks very much even over newer vehicles. New Taurus is still anonimous in front side, so I like Sable more. Also dashboard in new Taurus is too bland, so I like Sable upperscale interior more.

teo · February 2002

I went to Seattle this week and rented a 2002 Ford Taurus SE sedan with 12.5K miles from Enterprise. Nice car and decent commuter. The interior is very nice so does the cloth seats. I wasn't impressed with the rubbery, overboosted and disconnected feeling steering, the mushy brakes, the underpowered 3.0L Vulcan engine that needs to be pushed hard during passing or hill climbing and the often clueless automatic tranny.

The car otherwise seems to be well built and the interior is nice, but the front seats (This one was a bench with the stow away center console option) and I found them to be a bit uncomfortable on long drives.

I think the GM W-body sedans have much better powertrains, transmissions and brakes than the Taurus/Sable models. But the Taurus/Sable interiors are better indeed.

The Taurus is a nice car and far much more appealing and comfy than a comparable Honda Accord. Too bad Ford hasn't done enough to keep this car ahead of the family sedan pack.

One more thing: In the NHTSA crash tests, the Taurus earned 5 stars front and 3 star side ratings. The Impala earned 5 stars front and 4 stars side rating, without the side airbags.

I own a 2001 Checy Impala LS and I would say that both the Taurus and Impala are very similar cars in terms of room, size, safety and equipment. The Taurus has the better interior, but the Impala beats it in the performance department with the stronger motor, smoother and more precise tranny and the beefier, more powerful brakes and the better more firm and communicative steering.

Both cars should keep their owners pretty happy and are great family haulers at an affordable price.

iusecad · February 2002

rented one with a Duratec. It wouldn't have helped in the braking or steering departments, but at least you would've had more fun in the performance department...

teo · February 2002

Sure I would like to try it as well.

regfootball · February 2002

if you like you can borrow my 99 SHO this weekend and maybe you can let me have a spin in your Impala.......

teo · February 2002

Ahh the SHO! Why the heck Ford let go of one of the best reasons to buy a Ford Taurus???

upsetter1 · February 2002

teo I think that the reason that Impala performs better is that Taurus is a 1996 platform. Tausurs has a good handling and comfortable ride, but it is not sport sedan, is just family car. Vulcan is just anemic old engine and should be dropped. Toyotas i-4 feels more v-6 than Vulcan. I have all four disk brakes with ABS on my '94 Taurus. When I first drove Taurus I found brakes to be too soft, but now it is okay I just got used to it.

Toyota and Accord just feel too small (and bland). I don't like small cars for everyday long commute. Taurus story shows that good styling in American cars is important. Also transmission issues hurted Ford much. I feel uncomfortable when think about my Taurus transmission. I would buy GM car if they had better interiors, more refined design (means like Oldsmobile) and build quality for the same price as Taurus.

teo · February 2002

After spending sometime with the '02 Taurus SE, I came away thinking it wasn't a bad family sedan at all. I am not comfortable with Ford's track record with the Taurus and possibly the worst resale value of any domestic midsized sedan.

I still don't understand why the car mags gush all over the Camry and Accord when the *American* counterparts offer more room, safety, style and features for the money.

I have owned 6 Accords. Been there and done that,

upsetter1 · February 2002

And thats why I like buying 1-2 year old used Sable. It is a great deal! Prices for certified used Toyotas are ridiculous. I would better buy a new car than 2-3 year old for almost the same price. I think people are buying Hondas and Toyotas to have a peace in mind. I don't have right now a peace in mind with my Taurus, but like style and comfort more. Americans are lazy compared to Europeans, they are ready to sacrifice style just not to maintain the car (and get a sludge LOL).

danielj6 · February 2002

Let me put my 2 cents in. I own a 2000 Sable wagon purchased new. I haven't had, so far, problems with it except for a misaligned lift gate which the dealer repaired.

The Duratec engine is really the most salient feature. It's roomy for cargo. Three adults fit well in the back seat with good head and leg room.
In front, 3 people dont't fit comfortably nor is it designed for that. The middle seat is for a shotgun passenger, mainly a child. I have the rearmost or third seat in the back which I never needed to use.

The tranny feels fine to me and so do the ABS brakes. The steering, to use another reader's words, feels rubbery and disconnected from the road. I miss head rests on second seats.

Ford made a good product and should improve upon it to compete better with Accord and Camry.

ehenness · February 2002

Sorry this reply is late. Been out and about away from a PC...

Have you visited the site? They have a lot of the answers there. At any rate, maybe I can help. When I bought our car, you got (and the website explicitly said so) any balance of the Ford factory warrantee (3 years, 36,000 miles), with added coverage so that you got at least 12 months/12,000 miles warrantee. Since our car was 25 months old and had 11,000 miles on it, we got 11 months and 25,000 miles on the factory warrantee, and Ford added a month.

I see now that they offer a 6 year/75K warrantee on the powertrain and other major components. The only thing not clear to me is whether the Ford factory warrantee still applies, though I wouldn't think it would be legal to drop that if the car is still within the 3/36 when the purchase is made.

The price listed is what you pay. No more, no less, no haggling. It's usually a very good price, in our case, $1400 under the Edmunds 'certified pre-owned' price for a car with that mileage and options. Some of the other models may be closer to the Edmunds price, but they still seem to be a good and fair deal. The dealer acts as an agent for Ford, who apparently must pay them something for the sale. Our dealer had (in August, 2000, when we got the car) done dozens of the pre-owned sales (in the Boston area) and was very familiar with the process. If you noticed in the dealer list, not all dealers in your area will participate, and I suspect that is because some refuse to deal with this process for whatever reason.

We bought an extended warrantee because we drive around 20,000 miles annually. I'd have to look up the exact cost, but we felt (due to the loaded nature--power items, etc.--of the car) that the Ford plan we got from the dealer (low pressure, too) was a good deal. The car is covered for 4 years and/or up to 100,000 miles for darn near everything in the car but wear items, upholstery, and glass. I think the price was somewhere around $1400. In our case, we got such a good deal on the car itself, it was worth putting that (which is about the price differential between our price and a 'typical' price) into the warrantee. They asked and we accepted (having thought about it beforehand). But it was a low-pressure question we were asked.

The only items you deal directly with the dealer on are the financing (though Ford will often have interest rate deals on the pre-owned cars for those interested) and any of the extended warrantees and other 'business office' items (car alarms, etc.). Our dealer was terrific, and of course, that could vary. If you want only the car, you pay the dealer the cost on the website plus state-required things like registration, taxes, etc.

Hope that was some help. It really was a painless experience. Feel free to ask any other questions, and I'll try to answer.

By the way, on the other thread--my car has a Vulcan engine and the AX4N transaxle, with 36,000 miles now. Absolutely no transmission hiccups, odd behavior, etc. It shifts crisply and firmly when I stick my foot in it and when I drive sedately. Just keep the fluid and filter changed at required intervals (30,000 miles for my '98) and you should be fine. Chrysler products had problems with their transmissions, and a lot of the trouble was due to neglected fluid changes. The Taurus/Sable is apparently the same way.

upsetter1 · February 2002

Thanks Ed for detailed answer. I'm keeping an eye on website to get a right color, options and price. Website is well done esp comparing with Toyota and GM. Is like visiting dealer and seeing vehicle.

At least there is no sludge problem with Vulcan.

ehenness · February 2002

I just remembered that there's now another way to see certified pre-owned Ford products. It's at www.fordcpo.com. That site has lists of cars available at dealerships (in those dealers' own inventories) that have been certified by the dealer on the criteria Ford has put out for being 'certified.' That's available to anyone with a Ford/Lincoln/Mercury dealer near them.

The original website I mentioned (www.fordpreowned.com) is an older program. The cars are held by Ford in central locations in those 5 metro areas, and are listed and sold by Ford through participating dealers. There was no 'certified preowned' program when we bought our car, but now that there is, Ford synched their fordpreowned.com with the certification program the individual dealers use (that must have been when the warrantee term change I mentioned in my post above happened). The main difference here is that the certified cars are for sale by dealers at prices set by the dealers, and the usual dealmaking applies. The Ford Preowned cars have set no-haggle prices and are sold only through the 'net by Ford Motor Company with a dealer as the delivery and sales agent.

These are my impressions of the two programs, and I am not associated at all with Ford, so I might not be totally correct. But I should be somewhere close... :-)

kczmudzin · February 2002

It seems that my MPV has Ford's 3L Duratec engine. Can anybody give me the model of that engine? Is there only one 3L Duratec? Any thoughts in general about this engine?

myersed · February 2002

I am not familar with the Duaratec but it is my understanding that it has a timing "belt" unlike it's sister the 3.0L Vulcan- which has a timing "chain".

ezaircon4jc · February 2002

Is a 24-valve, Dual-Over-Head-Cam (DOHC), 200 horsepower, 200 ft lbs torque engine. The only thing it shares with the Vulcan is the use of regular gas. IIRC, even though they are both listed as 3 liters, the Vulcan is 181 cubic inches and the Duratec, 183. The engines are vastly different.

sxr2 · February 2002

Hi, We have a taurus 4 door sedan with 10,000 miles on i,t last week it started making a clunking noise over any little bump, also when driving about 5 miles an hour and then move the steering wheel back and forth real fast will also cause it to make the same type of noise as it does when hitting small bumps in the road, the noise is very annoying. Any help on this problem would be great. Thanks

bolivar · February 2002

Drive it to a Ford dealership.

Ask them to fix the noise under warranty.

ehenness · February 2002

Both the Duratech and the Vulcan use timing chains. Neither uses a timing belt. I looked into this when I was considering a Taurus (and I now have the service manual, which verified this).

One other nitpicky point--the Duratech is a SINGLE overhead cam (SOHC) engine, since the single vs double usually refers to the number of overhead camshafts per head/bank in the engine. Because the Duratech is a V engine, there are 2 overhead cams, one over each bank of cylinders. But there are some V6 and V8 cars with two (or double--DOHC) overhead camshafts, and they have 4 total cams, two per head, typically with one working the intake valves and one working the exhaust valves.

On the other hand, the Vulcan is an overhead valve engine, which has the camshaft inside the engine block and not 'over the head' with the valves 'over the head' rather than the camshaft...

ezaircon4jc · February 2002

Is a DUAL overhead cam engine. Two cams per head for a total of 4. Remove the oil filler cap and look inside. You will see a cam above and one below the filler. I have this engine in 2 cars. Even my 1996 Sable brochure labels it as a DOHC, 24V motor. My Lincoln LS is the same, albeit with a different valve actuator design. The 4.6L motor is a SOHC, as well as the 5.4L IIRC.

ehenness · February 2002

Uh, oops. Yeah, 24 valves, almost always means DOHC. Sorry for the confusion. I stand corrected. Thanks for setting me straight...

Must have been lack of coffee. I'll go crawl back under my rock! :-)

cq1954 · February 2002

When I start my 2001 Sable (Duratec engine, LS Premium), it makes a growling noise immediately after it first starts. It only makes the noise if it has sat for several hours and is more noticeable in cold weather. I sounds like the noise is coming from the left side (driver's side). Has anyone else had this problem? If so, what is making the noise? The dealer had no idea and they had it for four days.

nomoreford2 · March 2002

I have a 95 taurus GL w/3.0 V6. It could use more power. Do the performance chips by diablo sport or superchip make a noticeable difference in power and torque gain or are they a waste of money?

eng6ine · March 2002

I have asked this question before: does anyone know if there is a aftermarket cat-back(dual exhaust)system for a 2001 Taurus 24V DOHC? I am looking to change the look of the back end of my Taurus, it just looks unbalanced with the one muffler. I am NOT looking for a performace increase, although I would not mind, and I do not want to void my warranty.

Also, I plan to tow a light fishing boat some day in the future: do I need to or am I able to install a larger transmision cooler?

I have close to 5000 miles on my Taurus, runs great, no problems to report. I have installed some 3/4" tweeter speakers($90.00) on the foward most part of the armrests beyound the power window switches. I did want to drill holes in the door panels, so I had the wire snuck through the first gap in the armrest, and the speaker sits in that little triangular area with some windshield rubber adhesive to secure it. They are surface mounted so they sit just a little higher than the power window switches, but are black so they just look like more switches. They add just enough, I can now hear the "highs" just perfect at low volume levels. And it cancels out some of that wind noise that comes from the side mirrors. My SEL was not equipt with the Mach stereo, and this was a cheap upgrade.

Wow sorry to go on like that.

usaf52 · March 2002

Looking at the maintenance guide on Edmunds home page, I notice that 2002 Taurus/Sable have recommended inspection of ball joints every 3000 miles. Anyone know the reason for this? Problems?

danos · March 2002

I have a 2000 Taurus. I have been very satisfied with it so far (27k). The only problem I have now is that after it is fully warmed up, it pings on accelleration or under a load such as a hill. Anybody have this problem? And, why the heck can't I view previous board postings, can't go to the beginning or go up 20?

pat · March 2002

danielj6 · March 2002

I have a 2000 Mercury Sable station wagon. Due to the lack of activity in the Taurus/Sable sw's thread I need to pose my question here. Perhaps it would be appropriate for Edmund's to mix both wagons and sedans together in 1 thread.

My car starts fine in the morning but later in the day after sitting some 7-8 hours the engine turns and is difficult to start. Finally it starts but after it turned several times. In the morning it starts right away.

Has this occurred to other owners? What may be the possible causes for this problem? It will leave me stranded sometime.

Thank you all?

mdr6404 · March 2002

2001 SEL Great car, 24 DOHC Vulcan, 20-25 around town, 30ish highway, the tires suck 20,000 rebalanced twice, time for new ones. Does any one know of aftermarket stuff, Borla I am sure has an exhaust, who else. Any one using Synthetic Oil.

mdr6404 · March 2002

Usually the Service Plans can be negotiated on the price. Brother in law only paid 750 for the 100.000 on a f-150, different dealer I paid 1000 for it.

ezaircon4jc · March 2002

Just to correct your engine description. The Vulcan is the base 3.0L. The Duratec is the DOHC, 24V, 200hp that you described. If you get 30ish mpg on the highway, I would venture a guess that you have the base 12V, 170(?)hp, Vulcan. My '96 Sable with the Duratec has never achieved over 27 mpg on the highway, usually in the 25-26 range. And around town, I've never seen the other side of 20. Usually 16-18 mpg. Those extra intake valves sure suck in the fuel! At least the power makes it worth it!

rdl40 · March 2002

Sad, I just sold my wife's '93 sho with a 171,000 miles on the odometer, what a great engine. The thing never
even hiccuped once.

I had a '91 SHO, best and most fun car I ever had. That car had 175,000 miles when it sold a couple years ago. My friend "Vadim" at the SHO SHOP did his magic. The car dynoed 265hp at the crank and I was smokin' ever thing out their except some vettes.
A real wolf in sheeps clothing!!!

demichi · March 2002

I have problem with my turn signals. Suddenly both signals shut off. And after while(3-4parking hours)came back. This problem repeated on weekly basis,last 4-5 weeks.
I'm wondering,if somebody experienced same type of
problem.How did you fix it?
BTW,I've been at dealer,he replaced me switch on the steering column. But this problem still exist?

06mike · March 2002

98 Sable with 22K miles on 3.0 Vulcan. Pings under load after warnup. Also I have a feeling there is no engine braking when you let up on the accelerator. The car will coast forever. Must be rough on the brakes. I went to my local mechanic who checked for Ford service bulletins and found one. Bulletin said two potential diagnostic trouble codes from malfunction indicator lamp might lead to powertrain control module (PCM) recalibration. Local mechanic said he did not have capability to recalibrate, only the dealer could do such. I went to the Mercury dealer, explained the problem, showed him the service bulletin and marveled at his attempt to ask me what language I was speaking. Surprise, surprise he never heard of this service bulletin.
Has anyone else had pinging or lack of engine braking? Will the pinging hurt the engine? Supposed dealer adjustment had no affect on either problem.

pilotowner · March 2002

Daniel, if you can replicate the problem, why not just take it to the dealer and have them fix it. If you can't replicate it, I'd still take it to the dealer...they can plug it into the computer and see if any trouble codes come up. What grade of gasoline are you using in it?

regfootball · March 2002

those SHO motors are indestructible aren't they?

rdl40 · March 2002

I totally agree, mine sounded so sweet in full
song! That car had"soul"

Also, its a shame that Ford doesn't offer a
4-door hot rod anymore. I've been shopping for a car for months and decided on a BMW 3 series(5-speeed, rear drive etc).
My bmw is due in next week, I never in a million years would of thought I'd be driving one. These are the same cars I used to eat for lunch. Go figure.

sableowner2 · March 2002

I have a '98 Sable LS sedan with about 40K on it. This has been a pretty good car for me, but I have been encountering some strange electrical problems recently. It all started a couple of months ago. When I pressed the lock button on my key fob twice the horn beeped twice (indicating that all four doors were not closed securely). This has happened several times, and I also saw the door ajar warning indicator light on while driving once--but none of the doors seemed to have been open. I put the car in park at the next red light, slammed all four doors, but the indicator stayed illuminated. When I put the car in drive and started moving the light went away. What is really concerning me, however, is that recently my SRS warning indicator has been staying illuminated for about 10-15 seconds after all other warning lights dim. According to the owners manual this means the airbags may not deploy in an accident, so I will be bringing it into the dealership this afternoon. I think there may be two possible causes of the problem. First, a few days ago someone tapped my rear bumper, and the next day I began noticing the warning indicator. Are there airbag sensors in the rear bumper? If so, could such a small collision (5 mph or less) cause the warning light to illuminate? Also, the weather had been unseasonably mild in New England for several weeks, and this week the temperatures dropped dramatically. Could this be the cause? I am asking because I have not had good experiences with my local dealer, and I don't really trust their solutions. Has anyone else experienced problems with either of these warning lights? Any response would be greatly appreciated.

danielj6 · March 2002

Pilot: I use 87 Octane gasoline, and never used anything higher because the owner's manual says 87
is fine.

I think the problem has been lessened if not resolved. I used to turn the key to the on position and leave it for 3-4 seconds. I read
that this practice was beneficial for the fuel injections or something similar. I don't leave the key in on position anymore except for the mornings.

g1994sts · March 2002

I have ignored what the manual says regarding 87 octane recommended gas, It's erroneous information. Manuals are only guides and are not be trusted.

These are high compression rev happy engines, 87 octane cannot support Ford's v6 engines. One day, after owning the car for few weeks, my new 99 Taurus engine knocked so bad on 87 octane, I had to top it off with about $8 of super, problem solved.

87 octane is hit or miss for quality, your taurus may run ok on one brand, or It may engine knock and rattle right to the junk yard on another.

I have been using Mid-grade ever since and is ping/engine knock free. It's just amazing how you explain a simple valid concern like engine knock to the Dealer, and they look at you as if you have two heads or offer any good suggestions.

snowman · March 2002

You might have some stations that sell bad gas in your area rather than....
I have used/been using 87 octane for all my cars (accords, Civics, Corollas...), including my 00 SES. Never experienced ping or knock.

fdthird · March 2002

No problem with regular grade in our 2001 Taurus SEL...besides you read so much lately that if you use a grade of gasoline other than what the car is looking for, you really hurt the vehicle rather than help it.

teo · March 2002

That's a myth. Higher octane gasoline generally works better. My Impala has the 3800 "Series II" V6 engine and it calls for 87 Octane. I never really trusted or liked the varying quality of regular fuels in my location. I have always used 89 midgrade and Zero problems. Engine runs like a champ, plus fuel economy is simply amazing...around 22MPG in the city and 32MPG in the highway.

Why go cheap with a $20K+ auto?

ehenness · March 2002

Not really a myth in a lot of cases. Higher octane actually means the gas burns slower (and therefore prevents or reduces knocking, which is caused when the gas burns prematurely due to the compression of the fuel mixture.

Two things happen when you use higher octane than you need: One, the engine can get carboned up much more easily. The compounds used to raise octane often have the effect of causing carbon in cars that don't need the higher octane. And two, cars calling for regular gas (those that don't have knock sensors or other means for the computer to adjust for octane or older cars without computers) will often produce less power on higher octane gas because of the slower burn of higher octane gas.

Granted, these effects may be smaller on some cars than others, but they are often measureable. If the car has no means of compensating for octane, and it doesn't require more octane by design or because of pinging, why waste money on gas your car can't effectively use (and may be damaging in the long run from carbon)?

Even if the carbon part is untrue, the power part is true. So why use gas that costs more and doesn't do squat, and will degrade performance? The Vulcan at least has no way of compensating for octane (other than a base adjustment calibration that is not touched except for altitude calibration). So higher grades of fuel won't help you at all unless you really have a bad pinging problem (it's normal to ping lightly under a load like accelerating uphill).

Usually it doesn't affect gas mileage, just power output. If you're sensitive to subtle changes in your car, you probably will be able to notice.

You can always find a station with regular unleaded that your car 'likes' (I had one car that would ping slightly on Texaco, but not on Mobil. My '98 Taurus runs great on regular unleaded but especially likes Shell...). Sticking to a name brand 87 octane gas should be fine.

upsetter1 · March 2002

First look for codes flashing on your engine check indicator. There are engine running codes and memory codes (memory codes are from memory, they are accumulated, so even if problem isn't there anymore engine controller still keeps them for diagnostic purposes and it can affects the calibration, so after fixing the problem codes must be cleared from memory).

Both codes must be 111. If it is different from 111 look to manual for the decoding and then you can talk with dealer to fix the problem or fix it yourself.

Pinging can be caused by malfunctioning of air flow sensor. You can also make the experiment - clear computer codes and see what will happen.

eng6ine · March 2002

I use 87 in my 2001 SEL, I have had no knock or pinging. I just went for my 6000 mile service, I follow the extreme schedule because I do a lot of my driving during the week which is stop and go. I had to get the rotos turned, I had a slight wobble in steering wheel when braking at highway speeds, ie tolls, exit ramps, sudden braking. Every thing is fine now.

dtownfb · March 2002

You are simply wasting your money by putting higher octane gasoline in your Taurus or Impala. Not only does every car expert say this but so does Ford and Chevy. I remember reading an article (I wish I cna remember where I read it) that all of Fords engines are designed to run on 86 octane (minus the high performance engines). This is done because they sell these cars to countries that don't have the stringent gasoline standards as we do (Mexico, South America, etc.). Finding 87 octane gas can be difficult.

If you are experiencing pinging in your car with very little miles on it, something is probably wrong with it ad needs to be checked out.

g1994sts: I'm sure Bill Ford will be happy to know that you the consumer knows more about the Ford Taurus the the Ford engineers that designed it.

g1994sts · March 2002

There seems to be some controversy from what it says in the car manuals. My Ford manual says your Ford is engineered to run on 87 octane, but do not exceed 89 octane containing gasolines. But absolutely do not use any gasolines labeled PREMIUM, as this can cause irreversible engine damage.

My GM manual says to use only Premium, but no less than 91 octane containing Gasoline. In general GM manuals will recommend Premium, then end it by saying, but it's ok to use 87 octane in your vehicle.

What's going on here? Its funny that when gas was really expensive like close to $2 bucks I experimented by mixing about 1/3 premium to 2/3 Regular and many times almost on all Regular, my 32v Northstar ran just the same as on Premium, and no engine knock.

Like enhenness says, if the engine is electronically capable of compensating for octane differences, why spend more money for Premium. Plus It is known now that serious carbon build up problems is attributed to 93 octane gasolines.

fdthird · March 2002

Are you making wholesale statements about all Ford and GM manuals based on limited information? Every maker has cars tuned for different grades of fuel (I'm sure the manual for a SVT Cobra does not recommend the same grade as my 3.8 V/6 Mustang's manual)and I'm sure that if you read a manual for a Grand Am 4 cyl you'd find they specify 87 too!

Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Sedans Pre-2008

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