1993 Ford Taurus GL review from North America

Transmission started slipping around 65-70k, but never failed. Learned how to drive it so it didn't slip too much.

Head gasket blew at 130k, $600.

Engine stalled occationally when slowing to a stop or making a left turn at very low speed. This always happened with the "check engine" light on, and could be avoided if you gave it a little gas when it tried to stall.

Engine mounts replaced twice, not cheap, but pretty much expected on Pittsburgh roads.

Passenger's door handle half broke, but still worked.

Ground cable for the starter motor failed twice, stranding me only once because I knew what was wrong the second time.

A/C quit working around 90k, didn't bother getting it fixed since I expected the transmission to let go... but it never did.

One of the hoses in the cooling system had an intermittent leak.

Paint became very dull, but it was parked outside in the driveway its whole life.

Rear brake calipers seized twice after about 125k miles, replaced both times. This made rear pads last about 5000 miles. Problem was a corroded proportioning valve, replaced at 135k miles.

Both front springs broke (not at the same time), after the spring shield recall. The first one broke around 100k if I remember correctly. Replaced with junkyard parts, about $200 each time including labor at a local shop. Right front spring broke twice, probably due to using junkyard parts.

Rear sway bar link broke once, but that was due to a heavy shot into a curb to avoid an accident. Not too expensive at NAPA, fixed myself.

ABS system died at 144k.

Spark plugs are a pain to change, but can be done at home.

That's about it. Not bad for a car that was in a serious accident in 1995 (very large rock fell right in front of car off an embankment, hit at 45 mph) The accident probably caused some things to wear strangely, but it never stranded me and was a reliable car overall.

I liked the car a lot for its large, comfortable interior, good looks (before all of its parking lot dents), powerful 3.8 liter engine, and the big trunk. In spite of the problems I listed above, it was MUCH more reliable than the 1979 BMW 528i it replaced, which didn't even make it to 95k and has serious problems long before that.

The Taurus doesn't drive like a sports car, nor was it intended to. It handled very competently until very close to the end of its life, and performed admirably under most circumstances.

Yes, it did have its strange problems, but none that I couldn't learn to either fix or change my driving to minimize. The transmission could easily be finessed into acting completely normal.

I would still have the car if it did not need new shocks and struts along with another spring to pass inspection (about $800) because I cannot justify putting that much into it at this point.

The Taurus was replaced with another Ford.