Faults:

Defective door switches causing door ajar light and dome light to stay on, and replacement happen a lot.

Motor mounts was replaced at 23,000 miles.

Struts had to be replaced at 12,000 and 23,000 miles.

Rack and pinon had to be replaced at 15,000 and 23,000 miles.

Stable liz links had to be replaced at 23,000 miles.

Starter had to be replaced at 41,000 miles.

Had problems with inner and outer tire wear.

Over all we had serious problems with this Taurus in 1999. It was in such a bad condition that we was given a free warranty for five years. We recently got rid of the Taurus. No serious problems after 1999.

General Comments:

I liked the space it had in the trunk.

I really enjoyed the comfort of the seats and the space.

It was a beautiful car.

Faults:

Cooling system flow problems caused several engine core plugs to corrode. This lead to coolant loss and engine overheating.

Cam position sensor had to be replaced twice.

Subframe assembly bushing disintegrated.

Door ajar light constantly lit due to defective door switch.

Interior door handle panel on all doors broken.

Climate control system blend door actuator stuck, can only get cold air.

Gas mileage 19 MPG combined vs. manufacturer's claim of 25/28.

General Comments:

I liked this car when I first bought it. It felt solid and delivered acceptable performance. The ride was smooth, acceleration was a bit weak for a 3.0L V6 (but certainly an improvement over the last car I owned), handling was predictable. Having owned other Fords in the past I expected good quality and reliability.

In the past year, however, the repair costs have exceeded the blue book value of this car. Some of the problems the car had can be traced back to design flaws that Ford addressed with recalls, but as the second owner of the car I wasn't notified and thus had to pay for the repairs myself.

Faults:

Front brakes gone at 90000 km. Rear brakes at 95000 km. front hubs and bearings at 123000km.

General Comments:

This car is not what they say it is, very disappointing.

Faults:

The first thing to breakdown on the car was the transmission at 36,900K miles. This was replaced by the dealer, but at a cost to me of about $500, after I had to convince them it was a design flaw in the pin inside the transmission.

Six months after the transmission failed, the freeze-out plugs rusted and had to be replaced.

Barely 18 months later, we are replacing yet another transmission. I was also told that "after" my transmission was replaced, that the VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor) needed to be replaced. When calling about my car for pickup, they had to admit that my transmission had not yet been put in the car, even though the Dealer has had it for four days!

General Comments:

This car has been a nightmare.

Ford had a great design in comfort and style for this car, but the mechanical problems far outweigh that.

Faults:

My Taurus is now sitting in the garage waiting for me to find several hundred dollars to replace the THIRD head gasket. We also replaced the water pump not long ago. The AC is no long working and the repairman tells me it needs to be completely replaced. We have had a nasty heatwave this summer and it was akin to driving a coffin in the desert before it's last breakdown. Needless to say my college age daughter is not pleased that I have to keep borrowing back my old Dodge Neon that "takes a licking and keeps on ticking"!

General Comments:

The good points of this car? Well I think it looks beautiful, it's comfortable and the body feels sturdy which makes me feel safe when driving home at night from work on the highway. I love the power of the 6 cylinder engine also.