Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Sedans Pre-2008

riswami · May 2001

Truckdude1,

Breakdown 3 to 5 times? What are the problems. Every Taurus breaks down 3 to 5 times before 30k. I find that hard to believe!

Trust what company. Go to the Honda or Toyota board. They get repaired too!!!

riswami · May 2001

I just looked onto the Canary Board. You're asking about 4 cylinder Canary's and how they respond to flooring.

Do you have any personal experience with any of these cars? Or do you just like to make irrational comments for whatever reason?

You don't add anything to the board. How can you tout Toyota without having owned one?

riswami · May 2001

Meant Camary. Don't know how the bird got in the post.

Then again, maybe the bird is an appropriate response!!

snowman · May 2001

What is 4 cyc. Canary? Or what is Camary?
Are you guys trying to write CAMRY???

stnel · May 2001

After going on my final test drive, I finally figured out where my blind spot was coming from. I initially thought it was from the sticker price on the car but rolled down the back window this time and that wasn't the problem. Anyway, I don't think I can adjust so will more than likely take the Taurus off my list. I'm running out of cars!!

I went on to the Pontiac place and sat in a Grand Am and had the same problem. The salesman got me to sit in a Sunfire and I didn't have the problem although I didn't test drive it - too tired of car shopping that day. I may just have to go with the smaller car. I am going to look in to the Alero and Malibu this week. If those give me the same problem, I'll just buy the Sunfire if I like the test drive. I wanted something with a little more horsepower but guess that may be the breaks.

fdthird · May 2001

Stnel,

Sorry you found a blind spot in the Taurus...if you don't like blind spots, don't drive my Mustang convertible (of course with the top down this is not a problem at all).

I find my wife's 2001 SEL to be a great driver with no blind spot problems...sorry you do.

stnel · May 2001

I'd have to rely strictly on the mirrors for changing lanes and merging onto the interstate. I'm not sure if the blind spot is caused by the back corner pillar or that the seats are too high. They go a bit above my head. My other car seats hit around the middle of my head.

Anyway, I'll work it out. It's good to find these things out before I buy the car. Guess they're not making cars for short people these days! I'm reminded of the song by Randy Newman.

keithwand · May 2001

First off the car is a co. car but it is the most irritating car I have driven.

1) At highway speeds of 60+ the steering wheel vibrates excessively. I have had the tires balanced many times (even witnessing) and rotated with no success. The problem seems to built into the car and "feels" dangerous to drive as if parts are loose.

2) The FFV engines now pings most of the time and especially with the A/C on.

3) The car is waaay underpowered.

Anyway it will be a happy day when I reach my mileage to get out of this car except... the next car we get will probably be another Taurus.

barjon · May 2001

My 2000 SEL now has 14,000 miles on it and is becoming increasingly difficult to start. Until recently, it would take 2 turns of the key to start maybe once a week. Now it seems to be every day, but only after sitting for a few hours. The first start of the day is fine, and there's no problem after a short stop. Try it after sitting 3 or 4 hours, and it'll crank and crank on the first turn of the key with no desire to start.

A guy I know has the same model, both cars were built in May 2000, and he's having the same problem.

Does anyone else have difficulty starting their Duratec? Should I try a higher octane gasoline? Should I have my dealer's service department run engine diagnostics? Any input will be appreciated.

Other than that, I absolutely love the car!

minnesotaart · May 2001

My 2000 SEL with 18,000 miles was built in March. I have absolutely no starting problems whatsoever. I live in the Minneapolis area where it can range from a "dry" -35 degrees F in winter to an extremely humid 105 degrees F in summer. Through all of that, never a starting problem. In fact, the only problem I have ever had was the air bag light flashing while I was driving (has happened about 1/2 dozen times). That is easily solved by pulling over, shutting the engine off and then restarting it so everything "resets" itself. This has been the most perfect new car I have ever owned (I have had 8 new cars in my lifetime).

marsha7 · May 2001

aka Taurus, can anybody tell me if an optional "cargo net" is available that attaches to the trunk spring hooks...it looks like a great attachment location for a net, but does anybody own one, either Ford equipment or aftermarket???

Bob

larryn2 · May 2001

DONT USE A HIGHER OCTANE GAS WASTE OF MONEY. THE CAR IS UNDER WARRANTY TELL THE DEALER WHAT IS WRONG

AIR BAG IS TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING ARTHUR
MAEBY THE DEALER SHOULD LOOK AT THAT .
NOT TO GOOD TO HAVE IT GO OFF ACEDENTLY OR NOT AT ALL
............. LARRY

marsha7 · May 2001

may be silly, but here goes...I purchased 4 new Bridgestone Potenza RE-950 tires for my 2000 Sable...at first, they rode really rough, and it took three different tire places to finally balance the tires...oddly, each one balanced the tires to "0.00" on the computer balance machine, but every machine was different...anyway, the third balance was the best, but still a steering wheel vibration between 65-80 mph (the average interstate speed in Atlanta is 70-80 mph)...I was really annoyed at the tires, and was going to throw them away (the selling dealer: since they were "properly balanced" there is nothing we can do), but, after about 2000 miles, I think some of the vibration is disspating...is it possible for tires to "break in" like, say, an engine or transmission, or a pair of new blue jeans???...in all my years in the auto trade, I have never had a set of tires that "changed" performance after a few thousand miles, so my question is not a joke...do tires need some break-in time???

Bob

mrl11777 · May 2001

I purchased an aftermarket net for about $15 from Aid Auto here on Long Island, NY. There are two flat hooks welded inside the trunk area -- run your hand along the edge of the trunk opening about six to twelve inches forward of the tail lights and you will find them. I do not use the spring hooks; these other ones enable you to mount the net in the very front of the trunk, so that it is easily accessible for use.

ohio7 · May 2001

I bought my 2000 Taurus SEL in June and have about 5400 miles on it. How do you know when the car was built? I have to agree with a recent past post that this is, so far, the first new car that I've ever had that hasn't gone back to the dealer for any adjustments!! I hope I'm not jinxing myself by stating this, but I'm pretty impressed.

Of course I only drive it 6 miles a day, so maybe my time will come. I recently drove from Virginia to Cincinnati and was so happy with the drive and the comfort that I almost fell asleep!! My family was impressed by all of the options and ride in what is otherwise a middle-of-the-road Ford vehicle. My sister's 2000 Gran Marquis wasn't that much better in any way and she paid more.

As a side note, it would be really nice if everyone would reread their postings and correct spelling AND grammar!! Some postings are unintelligible at best!

larryn2 · May 2001

Well i was in a hurry last night (reread my post wow that bad)kids acting up.

The "BUILD DATE" is on the sticker on the drivers door or pilar.

rdeschene · May 2001

If you are able to position the seat of a car further back and eliminate the blind spots, but then you can't reach the pedals, you might want to consider pedal extenders. There are many kinds. Ask the dealership for what's available, or try looking at:

http://shortdwarf.com/dwarf_products.htm#Adaptivedrivingequipment

The big 3 have mobility programs which I'm sure would know about pedal extenders, even if a great many dealers haven't a clue. (...and they'll still ask "what they can do to get you in a car TODAY?" Clueless, I swear.). There's many other resources listed there too.

Hope this helps,

Rick D.

stnel · May 2001

Thanks for the info. The main problem I have is that the head rests on cars today are higher than they used to be. On some of the GM's, if I recline the seat somewhat, it lowers the headrest and I can see a little better. I prefer to sit straighter but may have to start reclining the seat some.

I sat in a Grand Prix that has potential but I need to drive it in traffic to see for sure.

I asked a salesman why they started making headrests so high and he said it's to meet more rigorous safety requirements. Don't know if he's right or not but it makes sense.

rdeschene · May 2001

Ah yes, the headrests.

My wife (5'3") has a similar problem with our current car's headrests - they're high and wide. Comparatively, the Saturn SL2 and LW's we've tried seem to allow better visibility for her.

stnel · May 2001

I'm 5'4" and I've talked to other women that are approximately that tall and the headrests seem to be a common problem.

If I have to nix the Grand Prix, I'll try the Saturn. I test drove the Grand Prix and it was so-so. The head rest has a whole in it and I can see through that whole. I'm going to test drive it again. That's a rather bizarre way of seeing but hopefully I could get used to it.

stnel · May 2001

I've test driven the Grand Prix a couple of times again today and have decided to buy one. I couldn't really work out a deal that I was happy with at the two dealerships I went to today so will have to keep looking.

It's a little more than I'd planned on spending but...

Incidentally, when I said "whole" in the previous post, I meant to say "hole". Sometimes when I reread my posts, I'm shocked at the mistakes I make. Guess I wrote that before I had enough morning coffee.

rdeschene · May 2001

Well, congratulations and good luck on your purchase. I guess I'll read about it on the Grand Prix thread! Hope you can find a good dealer in the your area. Have you considered asking people in Pontiac threads what dealer they went to in your area?

shank6 · May 2001

purchased the Ford extended warranty. More steering wheel vibration from new rotors installed about 6,000 miles ago.

Brought it in to the dealer Friday afternoon and asked him to machine the rotors, and check out the low grade hum fom the front end.

They call me Saturday morning at 10 and I'm thinking, " Good they're all done ". Surprise chump!. You need new wheel bearings. This will cost you a scant $600.00!! The car has 39,000 mile on it (mostly highway), whats next the transmission ?

In another 4 months I'll be halfway on the loan. Looks like its back to a Camry. You get what you pay for in this business.

stnel · May 2001

Right now, I've been looking up dealer inventories on the internet and going to places that have what I want. I'd like to find a color that I like. There's a dealership in Mobile, AL that I may go to this week. They have 16 SE's on their lot and have the two colors that I'm interested in. I would imagine I could get a good deal there.

carz10 · May 2001

I purchased a 2000 Taurus SEL and it is just over one year old. I find that the brakes on this are a very weak. Have to really step in the brake pedal slow down. It feels like the car is to heavy for the braking system. Has anyone experienced this problem.

stnel · May 2001

Since I've been talking to all of you on this forum, just thought I'd let you know I finally bought a car today and wound up with the Grand Prix SE.

I certainly appreciate all the help and advice from everyone on this forum!

iusecad · May 2001

congratulations! which engine did you get?

stnel · May 2001

I got the V6 3.1L engine. I think it's got about 175 horsepower. The 3.8 would have been preferable but I was stretching my pocketbook as it was.

The price I asked for was based on the $1500 rebate along with a $750 dealer incentive. I got the price I wanted but after the papers were signed I found out the rebate is going up to $2000 tomorrow. I guess I'll never win with a car salesman. All in all, I'm just happy to finally have a new car.

fdthird · May 2001

Good luck with the new car! Hope there are many years of happy miles ahead!

Enjoy the experience!

marsha7 · May 2001

I don't feel that the brakes are weak, but I am irritated that they have not changed over to four wheel disc...these drums on the rear are so 1970s it's disgusting...my Honda Prelude had 4 wheel disc in 1985...my car is a 2000 Sable LS

steves24v · May 2001

Hello Taurus owners. I own a 2000 SES 24V Black.

The Firestone Tires they put on these cars are worthless. I just replaced them with 4 Yokohama Avid Touring tires in 225-60R16, a bit wider than the standard 215's. What a huge difference in ride, handling, noise, comfort, feel, etc..etc! I would highly recommend the switch. Discount tire price was $67.00 a piece. Here is the link to read more about the Yokohama Avid Touring Tires (80,000 mile limited warranty):

http://www.yokohamatire.com/04b4a.html

rdeschene · May 2001

Let's just say I do NOT have an affinity for Affinity.

They are standard equipment on the Saturn S and L series, the Malibu and now (apparently) at least some Taurus models. Everytime I read a review of a car equipped with Affinities, the same notes are made of excessive road noise, a "busy" ride and poor adhesion. And everytime, I've dug around and found several people who have ditched the Affinities and found improvement in these areas.

And as with Steve's example above, you don't have to spend any more money to see a great improvement. How much can the manufacturers possibly be saving? At wholesale prices, $15/tire is probably stretching it.

These manufacturers could greatly improve the image and enjoyment of their vehicles by keeping EXACTLY the suspension design they have, and just ditching the Affinities. Test drives make or break a car sale, and you would certainly notice the higher road noise, poor road feel, busy ride, in even a brief test drive. Incredible.

stnel · May 2001

off the subject, but has anyone seen the new Thunderbird. I haven't seen any Thunderbirds driving around town in Louisiana but am curious about other places. I guess they are available for sale.

Everything is retro these days but can't wait to see what the T-birds look like. All I've seen is pictures on the internet.

ezaircon4jc · May 2001

My '96 Sable has discs all around. Ford went to rear drums in 2000 to save a few bucks per car. From what I've read their logic is that because there is so little (relatively speaking) braking done by the rear wheels that drums were good enough. IIRC the ABS is only "3" way. the front work independently and the rears together. Bummer, huh!?

fdthird · May 2001

You won't see them on the roads for a bit as Ford hasn't started production yet... only some pilot T-Birds are in the hands of Ford execs checking for problems before the main production starts next month. I think the release date is sometime in July.

stnel · May 2001

I'll have to keep an eye out for them later this year. In the pictures that I've seen, they look pretty small. But the specs give a length of about 186"

I heard on the news that the government may give a break to people who buy fuel efficient cars. I wonder what type of gas mileage we'll need to get--if 20 city/29-30 highway would constitute fuel efficiency.

ohio7 · May 2001

Re: Headrests - I agree that one of my little peeves are the ugly, high headrests. I'm only 5' 3" also so I crank that power seat up all the way.

Re: Brakes - I have a 2000 SEL and have felt that the brakes are not a problem at all. I DO drive in the city in Drive, not Overdrive. A past post long ago recommended doing this and it certainly convinced me. The car now is easier to stop and "coasts" to a stop.

Re: Firestone tires - I have the Affinity tires that everyone is complaining about, but I haven't any complaints about them, the ride, handling, etc. I am a fan of white walls and find that these black walls remind me of the striped down cars that my frugal dad used to get. They also came on cop cars and that was always a dead giveaway that it was a cop car. In the past, my other Ford/Mercury cars came with Michelon (sp?) tires and felt cheated by the Firestones which have never been my choice. Hope I have good luck with them.

Re: Rotors - boy, you guys are scaring me with all of this talk about bad rotors and other related areas that I've seen posted. I, too, figured I'd take my chances that Ford was making a good mid-sized car to compete with Accord and Camry and therefore, didn't buy any extra warrenty.

shank6 · May 2001

I stopped in to one of my car dealers today to discuss gas prices (that's what I sell), and we're outside in the lot. He says sounds like you've got an exhaust leak. He had a tech come out to take a listen, and sure enough, a small leak just under the engine. When it rains it pours.

stnel · May 2001

I sat in a number of cars while looking to buy one and most of the headrests seem to cause a blind spot. (I only looked at Ford and GM cars though.) Certainly the auto makers will address this problem because a good number of women are 5'3 to 5'4.

If I can get 10 years out of the car that I bought, I'm hoping there will be a major design change when I'm ready to buy again.

edmund2460 · May 2001

I am not here to bash Ford, I know there are happy Ford customers who will be continue to be loyal. I was one once having bought 4 of their cars in 10 years. My 89 Taurus was only $16K but cost over $2,000 in repairs in the first 89K miles. IT has no A/c again with the compressor failed for the second time and a bad tranny at 156K. My 93 Sable has had over $3500 in repairs with 98K on the odometer. (A/C compressor, head gasket failure and tranny etc ). I saw exactly the same problems in both cars. I stick with my cars, being scrupulous in maintenance. I think you can still buy a Ford if you keep potential costs in perspective. The one thing that bothers me is not the quality alone but the absolute unwillingness of this company to own up to its problems and try to retain customer loyalty. If you have heard about the 3.8L head gasket disaster on their 92-95 cars you know what I'm talking about. Toyota had a similar problem with a head gasket and immediately made sure everyone was covered. I was not surprised by the way they handled the Firestone one bit, because I experienced it first hand. This company is run by accountants. Perhaps they will do better in the years ahead. I was once proud to buy American.

marsha7 · May 2001

my local shop, upon performing a brake job on my 2000 Sable LS, told me that they checked my CV (drive) shafts from the tranny to the wheels...my left shaft has about 1/16 inch of play, which they said was normal...my right shaft had about 1/2 inch of play, which they said was abnormal and would contribute to a high speed vibration between 65-80 mph...they diagnosed it as a bad "carrier" bearing or bushing, and told me to take it to Ford to check...they also said that they have seen this a lot on recent Taurus and Sable...has anyone heard of this, has anyone experienced this, and did a replaced carrier bearing result in a smoother running vehicle at high speed???...PS: my tires, I believe are in balance (and have been trued), and the 4 wheel alignment has been set...

Bob

chariot101 · May 2001

anybody having trouble with their sho. i have a 95 with less than 50k miles on it and need an ignition module which has been on back order for over 5 months. can't drive the car. anybody else having the same problem? ford is unable to tell me when the part will be available..

bolivar · May 2001

5 months? I'd be doing some heavy duty Internet Surfing.

Go to www.google.com, a good search engine and type in SHO and see what you find.

Someone should have this in stock.

Head to junkyards also. I wouldn't wait 5 months without driving it.

minnesotaart · May 2001

Go here for a good listing of parts vendors with an emphasis on Taurus SHO:

http://www.shotimes.com/SHOappA.html

Happy hunting!

taurus2 · May 2001

I don't wanna stir anything up, but is ford just bad in the United States? Or is it bad in other countries too? I have a '95 Ford Econoline and It's had more problems than any other car I've owned.

golden11 · May 2001

A while back someone posted a message about their 2000 SEL becoming increasingly difficult to start. It would take 2 turns of the key to start after sitting for 2-4 hours, although the first start of the day was fine. My 3-month old 2001 Sable has the exact same problem.

Did that person ever find out what was wrong? I have an appointment with the dealer tomorrow and would like to provide some direction to the mechanic.

Jeramie · May 2001

Hey golden11 try this,
Turn the key to run, but not start. Listen for the fuel pump in the tank to stop running (takes .5 to 2 seconds on my 2000 24V SES), then turn the key to start. This trick has been working for 9 months. Basically its the same procedure as starting a diesel but instead of waiting for glow plugs you are waiting for the pump to pressurize.

BTW, I would take my car in, but I can't stand going w/o a car for a day when all it takes is an extra second when I start.

Let me know if this procedure works for your car golden11.

minnesotaart · May 2001

E-mail this guy. He just said Ford released some of these modules (with a new part #) and he has 6. His e-mail is: parts4@mindspring.com I got this info today from another Taurus message board.

golden11 · May 2001

Thanks, Jeramie. I will try your suggestion, and let you know if it works. The dealer's mechanic (of course) couldn't replicate the trouble, and claimed the computer wasn't "throwing codes."

carlile · May 2001

Hi, I have a problem with fast idling on my 2000 Taurus SE. When you start it in the morning, it fairly "shoots" out of the drive. It is supposed to settle down after a few minutes according to the repairman at the dealership, but it doesn't and is very hard to stop (you have to really apply the brakes hard). They have told me this is "normal" for this make and year. I bought this car only a month ago (used with 22,000 miles). I'm very disappointed in the fast idling (at least that's what I call it). Can anyone comment if this is normal or have you had similar problems with yours? Thanks so much. I don't know what to do now. Joyce

Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Sedans Pre-2008

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