Faults:

The head gasket blew as well as a push rod. My brother is a mechanic, so we rebuilt the entire bottom half of the engine about a year ago. Have had no trouble since then.

Recently, the "service engine soon" light came on, so I bought a scan tool, and got a PO443 code, which is the "evaporative emission system purge control circuit malfunction", which has yet to be fixed, but looking for tips or possible remedies, other than total replacement.

As of yesterday, I have been leaking antifreeze at a pretty rapid pace, about a litre a day if I drive it normally (approx 30-40km/daily). I have done a visual inspection of all visible hoses, as well as removed the reservoir, thinking it had a hole in it, but it doesn't. My question is, are there any coolant hoses running through the frame rail/fender well? The drip I can see is thru a hole (knockout) in a section of frame under the coolant reservoir. Please help!!

General Comments:

Other than what I have just mentioned, the car runs great.

I see many people commenting about bad heat; I have the opposite problem, when I turn it on, it's too hot.

Faults:

Fuel filter, tune up, plugs, plug wires.

Also replaced the transmission filter & fluid.

General Comments:

1997 Ford Taurus GL DOHC car. Still doesn't run great.

Did a tune up; plugs/plug wires & transmission filter/& fluid. The car still acts the same as it did before the tune up, but after about 2000 miles the check engine light came on..

After you drive the car about 45 miles, the car acts like it's losing power, then it starts jerking till you come to a stop, then you shut the car off & restart. It's OK for about a block or two, then starts again till you let it cool off for an hour or so, then it's fine.

The transmission light starts blinking & transmission slips car has 280.000 miles on it.

Faults:

Overall I have always been very pleased with Ford Taurus reliability. This is my fourth Taurus, and also my favorite. However, it's still a mechanical entity and things occasionally go awry...

Rack and pinion steering went bad at around 100k, had it completely replaced for about $500.

Engine coolant reservoir exploded one day under the hood. Antifreeze everywhere... replaced reservoir.

Catalytic converter went out at around 120k, caused check engine light to come on. Replaced for the cost of parts. $120.

Four-wheel disc brake models love to eat brakes.

...and that's about it.

General Comments:

Overall I am pleased with this car. I have owned a 1986 Mercury Sable, a 1992 Taurus GL sedan and a 1994 GL Wagon. This Taurus is much more spacious and improved over generations 1 & 2.

I love that this design was ahead of its time in 1996, as a result, even though my car is pushing 13 years old, it doesn't look very out of place on the road today. The materials used are also of higher quality than on previous models. One of my biggest gripes with the first two generations was the large number of exposed screws in the cabin. This generation and every one thereafter nixed this problem. Seating fabrics and plastics used are better than those of 1986-95.

The 3.0 V6 is the most reliable of the Taurus engines. Although the 3.8 Essex (not available after 1995) was more fun and had better torque. This engine has power but sometimes the car feels to heavy for it. Automatic transmission performance is good, about as good as can be expected from a Taurus. A little clunky and unsure of what it wants to do at times, but a decent performer. I have never had transmission problems with any of my Tauruses, and hopefully never will (knock on wood).

After driving my Galant, I'd rather have a Taurus over any other mid-size sedan. More attractive to a broader crowd than say a Buick LeSabre, but cheaper to insure and maintain than an import equivalent, I don't really believe one can go wrong with a Taurus when car shopping.