1993 Ford Taurus LX 3.0 from North America

Summary:

Junk!

Faults:

A very costly to maintain vehicle. I had a Mercury Sable some years ago and swore I would never look at another Ford car again, but made a mistake to buy a Ford Taurus just because it had a natural gas system. I can't find out the reason why it only starts from time to time, but never showed any codes when checked with a scanner.

Brakes go out all the time due to sticking calipers. Electrical problems and replacemnt of alternators, fuel pumps and so on. Stalling problems, front end wears out quickly - rack'n'pignion, rod ends, bearings...

In a word a car you would never want to buy again!

Ford means cheap, but costly cars!

General Comments:

Don't buy a Ford!

Go with GM, Chrysler-Benz!

Don't make the same mistake like me to buy a second Ford after the nightmare you've had with your first Ford!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 12th August, 2002

28th Sep 2002, 12:28

I'm sorry your vehicle was not better to you. My 1993 GL model with 173,xxx miles on her has had a transmission rebuild @ 120,xxx, water pump at 102,xxx and a radiator directly after the pump because of minimal flow. However, the car has racked up over 110,000 miles while in my possession. It has never broken down on me, left me stranded, or failed to start. With routene maintenence she will probably live to see another 100,000 miles, so tough is this car. It is still reliable and an excellent vehicle. My previous car was a 1991 Corsica.

21st Oct 2002, 18:54

Well I have a large, but good all around Taurus.

It breaks all the time, and it drives very slow and it stalls, but I have a manual, so I can start it when I'm moving.

It has 4 spare tires on it, which makes it peel out very nicely.

It takes off quick until about 120mph, then it stalls and I have to pop the clutch to restart it.

It has a Geo Tracker manual transmission; it was hard to put in, but after some fabricating, I managed to make it work in 4 gears; the 5th gear doesn't work.

I also made it a convertible. The roof rusted through, so I had to do something to make look nice again.

It is also rear wheel drive, and has no suspension; it is welded to the struts and has homemade stabilizer bars, and I built the front end out of a Chrysler LeBaron, and welded the the heck out of it. It does not go straight.

Other than that, I am very proud of my Taurus.

7th Dec 2005, 20:38

Sorry GM owners, but I have a Ford Crown Vic 1992 with 227,000 on it. Put a transmission at 100,000. Put new brakes at 120,000. The car is very reliable and wouldn't give it up for a GM for nothing.

1993 Ford Taurus LX 3.8 Litre from North America

Summary:

Decent car, but read this for more info. A FEW POINTERS IF YOU'RE BUYING A TAURUS OR SABLE

Faults:

The transmission went bad approximately one month after I got the car. At first, I feared it was the dreaded defects in the AX series transmissions. It turns out the person who sold me the car apparently had it repaired by a mechanic who did not know what he was doing.

It costed $2000 to replace parts that normally should last the life of the car, plus replacement of aluminum forward accumulator piston with a steel one, enlargement of the bore hole for better planetary lubrication, and a replacement range sensor.

General Comments:

My car has the infamous 3.8 litre engine. I like that it has relatively high low end torque, but I don't like the fact that this engine has head gasket troubles. So far, no problems (knock on wood).

Since the rebuild of the transmission, I have put over 6000 miles without any problems. I hope that this reliability trend remains in effect for as long as I own this car.

If you are wanting to get a Ford Taurus or a Mercury Sable, here are a few pointers.

Make sure the transmission updates are applied, which includes updated steel forward accumulator piston, enlarged lube bore hole, and updated lube tubes.

For added protection to the transmission, invest in an auxiliary transmission fluid cooler and have it installed. Believe me, the investment in this part is more than worth it for any car, but particularly for the Ford AX series transmissions as they run unusually hot in normal conditions! Remember, every 20*F decrease of the fluid temperature will almost double the life of your transmission.

Another idea is to have a transmission shop install a shift-kit to reduce wear on the clutches. The shifts will feel harder, but that's a good thing. This means that the clutches are not slipping as badly as they would before the shift kit application. Less slipping equals less wear. This means the transmission will last longer.

Transmission mechanics do make a killing on the AX transmissions. They are decent when their design problems are addressed, but it seems Ford was careless when they engineered them.

For the engine, get a Sable or Taurus with the 3.0. It doesn't have as much low end torque as the 3.8, but who cares about acceleration if the gasket decides to leak coolant in the oil? The 3.0, on the other hand, is a reliable workhorse. Besides, the AXOD-E, AX4N, and AX4S are not really able to deal with the additional torque from the 3.8.

If you want the 3.8, check the coolant and oil before buying the car. If the coolant level seems low, if the coolant has oil, and/or if the engine oil has the appearance of chocolate milk, DO NOT buy the car.

If you are still unsure, forget Ford. In fact, forget American cars in general. Regardless to what anyone may tell you, there is still a quality deficit between the American big three and the Japanese. Buy a Honda Accord or a Toyota Camry. In addition to being more reliable, they also have fantastic resale value. They are just a bit more expensive to buy, though.

Cautious discretion still applies if you are buying any used automobile since there are crooks out there who will try to sell you a bad car.

A car, regardless of who made it, is only as good as the person who originally owned it. Certain exceptions do apply, though. The original owner may not have been able to help the fact that the car he owned might have been a lemon.

Also, consider what may have happened to the car to allow its sale to the used car buyer. This reinforces the value of checking in on a potential car's title history with "CarFax" or another reputable reporting firm.

Hope this helps. - Reinhart.

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

Review Date: 23rd July, 2002