1998 Ford Taurus SE 3.0 Duratec V6 from North America

Summary:

Great performance, but ford should have spent the money and tweaked it a bit better

Faults:

Power steering, power steering, power steering.

I have had the power steering pump replaced 5 times in the 2.5 years I've owned the car. I bought the car from a carmax. The warranties they offer are a Godsend. I have complete faith in them that they did fix it right the first time. I believe that it is a Ford issue. The car was like new when I bought it. When carmax says quality, they mean it. But no matter, it was still a used car. The brakes are OK, but they require repair to often. The performance is great. I have not had the electrical problems (interior lights staying on, Etc.), but I did have to have the alternator replaced. The CD changer had to be replaced. The hose for the wiper fluid had to be replaced. The housings for both tailights needed to be replaced.

General Comments:

The car runs fine, and looks great, but if ford had just put a little more time in dealing with quality issues, and used better materials, and had better fit and finish, the taurus nameplate would not have had to be retired for the 2007 model year. Lets all just hope the newly refreshed Five Hundred, and Fusion sedans make all the right moves to replenish peoples faith in Ford.

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

Review Date: 5th March, 2007

1998 Ford Taurus SE 3.0 from North America

Summary:

Wonderfully dependable with great gas mileage!

Faults:

Lets see most of things that have gone wrong have been quick and easy fixes I have done myself. Tensioner Pulley came loose and busted about 3 months ago, which in turn chewed up the belt, it needed a new one anyway, pulley was cheap an easy to replace, belt was expensive and a bit of a pain!

A wire that runs from the power distribution box to the alternator somehow fried causing the alternator to not charge, easy fix ran new wire from box to alternator problem solved.

Heater core just recently replaced come to find out it didn't even need replaced it was just clogged oh well preventive maintenance!

Drivers side window if you roll it down all the way sometimes doesn't like to come back up unless you tear the door apart and hit the window motor on the head!

Rear Window just recently quit working, this seems to be a Taurus defect as long as I can remember, I have had 3 Taurus's an they all do that!

Dome light doesn't come on when door opens, only comes on if you switch it to the "on" position.

General Comments:

Overall though this car has been excellent, It has never left me stranded and even with 161,000 miles I would take it anywhere!

Great power, step on the gas pedal an car gets up and goes!

I'm sorry to see the other reviews of people here who have had bad experiences with their Taurus's I am by no means a Ford man, but I gotta give credit with the Taurus, it's an excellent car with great gas mileage and get up and go!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 4th February, 2007

21st Aug 2007, 23:11

Succint and pertinent review. I'm having all the same problems. Has given me a great idea on what to expect. I'm at 98000, with heater coil said to be gone ($500). Is there a way to clear this?

1998 Ford Taurus from North America

Summary:

I hate ford Taurus!

Faults:

I bought my 1998 Ford Taurus in June of 2006 for a friend of my mom's and we drove it around for a while and nothing seemed to be wrong with it. when I got it home and started to drive around town the transmission started to act up. it wouldn't go into gear, it was slipping out of gear, and it was kicking very badly. we brought it to a shop and they told us that we would have to buy a new transmission ($1500). well I took it home and my husband put some kind of liquid in the transmission and it stopped for a while. 2 months later it started again and the heater went out. it blows hot air for a second and then blows cold. we brought it to a shop and they told us they didn't know what was wrong with it. they checked all the fluids and they were fine. so, I would not recommend to anyone to buy a ford Taurus. it doesn't matter what year, don't buy it. with all the money you would have to put into it to fix, you could just buy another car!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 1st December, 2006

2nd Dec 2006, 06:22

Actually that is not true. Just because you had a bad experience with YOUR Ford Taurus doesn't mean they're all garbage. I've owned 3 Ford Tauruses with the 3.0 Litre V6 engine and they have been the most solid, reliable cars I've owned. No problems except routine maintenance. I owned a '92, a '96, and a '99 model, all with the 3.0 motor. This powertrain is much slower and less responsive performance-wise, but much more reliable. The 3.8 is notorious for blowing headgaskets and transmissions. I haven't had those problems at all with my 3.0 Tauruses and one of them (the '92) actually saved my life in a major accident since it was so well-built. Matter of fact, it still ran and drove just fine despite being totalled and I drove it home from the wreck. So don't knock 'em all just because yours sucked.