1990 Ford Tempo GL 2.3L

Summary:

Avoid this car like the plague!

Faults:

I had so many problems with this car that I could not possibly list them all, but here are the major ones. We got the car with 32,000 miles. At 41,000, the transmission went out. The dealer said it was out of warranty and the price to rebuild this transmission would be $1,700. I was told the reason for the high cost was because only 3% of Tempos had this type of transmission and all of the parts had to be special ordered through the factory. The valve cover gasket had to be replaced and I also replaced all the engine mounts twice. I spent a bunch of money on this car just to keep it running. I was always having trouble with the electronic fuel injection so I bought a computer code reader from a parts store. I kept it in the car at all times along with a box tools and a cell phone. I finally traded the car and it took a while to get used to a dependable vehicle.

General Comments:

Avoid this car like the plague!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 14th July, 2004

15th Jul 2004, 09:20

$1700 for a transmission rebuild? That's a damn ripoff. You could have bought a good one out of a junkyard for way less than that. That's 3 percent thing is bullshi*. Where do they get their numbers? All tempos had the same transmission.

1990 Ford Tempo L 2.3 Gasoline

Summary:

Awesome deal. Great reliability and performance

Faults:

Signal light fuse shorted out causing smoke to come from the steering column.

Alternator went twice.

Two engine mounts broke on the same occasion.

General Comments:

I got this car for $10,000 brand new, which was a very fair price, and also see now that people are giving them away for $600!!! Which makes them a steal of a deal. If you are looking to put your money somewhere else besides a car, like a house, then get this one.

Not only is the tempo cheap to get it is cheap to insure, good on gas, and cheap to fix (and they do not need repair much at all).

This car is awesome! After driving one for a few months anyone would fall in love with it. The Tempo is really fun to drive and handles superbly.

The one problem I had with this car at first was that I found it had very poor acceleration, but after putting in 15W 50 synthetic motor oil and type F transmission fluid I found the car accelerated phenomenally.

The car's engine is invincible and bags to be driven. After replacing the fluids and being hard on the pedal I actually found that this car just got faster and faster, and before long I found my self beating Civics and Acuras as well as others.

I say buy this car, give it a chance, you won't be disappointed.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th June, 2004

1990 Ford Tempo LX 2.3

Summary:

Recommend this car to anybody

Faults:

Emergency brakes seized up, but that's expected when there never used.

The horn needed to be fixed, there was a little spring loaded part that seized up and prevented the circuit from being completed.

Blow a lot of fuses for some reason? but that could be my fault for add a lot of extra electronics.

The drivers seat is broken and makes me sit slanted back to the left.

General Comments:

For the price I pay for gas and insurance I don't mind any problems this car could possibly have.

Its very reliable easy to park and drive for the wife.

Parts are cheap, I can do a full break job for under 100 bucks.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 2nd May, 2004

1990 Ford Tempo Not sure 2.4

Summary:

Not bad for the price

Faults:

The O2 sensor needs to be replaced. But considering the age of the car, not really surprising.

Needs to be aligned.

Heater/AC does not work. Who ever had this car before me, bypassed the heater core. We aren't sure why they did this.

Interior is pretty nice.

General Comments:

We bought this car for $500.

My husband said he would never have a Ford in his driveway. We needed a car quickly after my Grand Am died.

Any motor-heads out there who knows about the heating/AC system on this type car, please comment.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 23rd October, 2003

26th Oct 2003, 17:43

www.tempotopaz.com is a good site to visit in regard to your heater.