1999 Ford Taurus SE 3.6 from North America

Summary:

Lemon

Faults:

Dome light drives me crazy.

Dome light stays on all night. I have removed the fuse and until today after using the WD40. I hope it works.

Wipers have a mind of their own.

Wipers start in the middle of traffic for no reason. This started right after we purchased this car.

Alternator failed.

Alternator failed with no warning and from what I read this will soon happen again. $500 Canadian.

Daytime running lights failed.

I have to manually turn on lights. Tried replacing fuse and not the problem. I am sure its electrical.

Speed Sensor Replaced.

Speed sensor replaced soon after we purchased this car.

Radio won't turn on.

When it is hot outside it sometimes takes a few tries to turn on the radio.

Door Ajar ed.

I thought we were the only people with this problem now I know we are one of thousands. Bad Ford.

General Comments:

This car is a lemon.

I will not buy another Ford product.

Toyota here I come.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 15th August, 2004

22nd Jan 2005, 14:21

Fords are junk, I agree. But, Toyota is not infallible. They were just about bullet proof up into the '90's until they have recently become complacent, and are now having their share of problems. You might in all seriousness want to consider a GM. After admitting to mistakes in the past, GM has now made tremendous strides in quality control, and in my opinion, put out a top quality product. They just have an image problem now, because of their problems in the past, which were admittedly inexcusable.

1999 Ford Taurus SE 3.0 DOHC V6 from North America

Summary:

If the first owner treated it well, the car may be good, but..

Faults:

A seal gave out on the power steering rack. The entire rack needed to be replaced and my car uses the SHO rack which cost $775 to have replaced.

Transmission has metal shavings on the magnet, but hasn't given out in the year since it was brought to our attention.

Windshield wipers turn themselves on whenever they want. Sometimes when changing lanes, but often without touching the turn signal wand or steering wheel at all.

Overdrive shuts off when car is hot. The vehicle does not accelerate well and shifts really hard without the overdrive.

Ignition sometimes locks up like the steering wheel locked in the wrong place.

General Comments:

The 24 valve V-6 has too much power for the rest of the drive train.

It runs like mad, but has left us stranded once when the transmission acted up. Transmission shops cannot find a problem with the transmission and believe the problem could be electronic, which would also explain the windshield wipers.

Even with the lumbar adjustments, it is not very comfortable to drive for more than an hour. I wouldn't want to ride in the rear seats for long. The headroom is good inside, but you may hit your head getting in.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 5th August, 2004

5th Mar 2005, 20:04

We have had our 99 Taurus for 10 months and got it with only 41,000 miles. Now at 52,000 the transmission slams through the gears after I stop and barely press on the gas or am driving through a parking lot. The dealer said it didn't do it to the mechanic so there was no charge. Now 250 miles later, while in park and driving there is a whining sound and as I accelerate it goes into a high pitch. The dealer said it might be the cam sensor, after replacing it, the transmission still sounded like it did when I brought it in. They took the part off and didn't charge me. But they looked in the transmission while replacing the recalled springs for the struts they found metal shavings and said it was the clutch that was wearing... possibly costing me 1700.00 for a used transmission or 2400.00 for a new one! I'm not happy!

9th Mar 2005, 10:34

Hi there, you might want to have your Power steering pump looked at. That loud whining sound is common on Fords. Its mostly a cosmetic thing, but you should still have it looked at.