2001 Ford Taurus SE 3.0 Regular from North America

Summary:

Super Value and never broke down yet

Faults:

Coolant tank overflow formed a leak at 72,000-miles. The bottom cracked. The Ford place said lots of them are doing this. $66 (tank) +55 for labor.

Check Engine light came on at 30,000-miles. It was a sensor. Fixed at no cost.

Driver's express down function on power window does not work. No big deal, I can still roll the window up and down.

Sometimes the only lights that light up on the doors are the driver's PW and PDL switches along with the PDL switch on the passenger door. In other words sometimes the passenger front and rear doors will not light up. Hit a bump and they will light up.

Car sounds like it has a slight exhaust leak. Has done this since new. I hear Mustangs and other Taurus' make this same sound. In parking lots.

Dealer said this is a normal sound for this engine.

Hard to get out of Park sometimes. But always comes out of park.

Once put in park and at idle, sometimes the engine transmits a slight grinding or rubbing feel through the car. Had all the mounts checked out and ford said they are all good, but the rubber is aging and getting hard.

Sometimes if the car is kind of cold, up on starting it, it will make a slight squeaking sound for the first few minutes. I think it is in the alternator.

At 60,000-miles the Taurus started to get a slight oil leak on the far passanger side of the bottom of the engine. it will leak about 1/4 of a quart every 3,000-miles. Other than this leak the engine and transmission still look brand new under the car.

General Comments:

The car is very fast and has great pick up for the regular engine.

Tons of room. The car has 9-more inches of room from the rear tip of the dash to the top of the back seat." That is compared to our 1995 Crown Victoria.

The Taurus has very little front leg room for the driver's left foot and the front passenger's right foot, but most FWD cars have even less than the Taurus.

The trunk is huge.

I can't see the hood as I drive the car. I feel a lot safer in a car with a long hood that I can see as I drive the car. "Crown Victoria"

The Taurus has perfect foul weather traction. The Crown Does not.

Going out our ruff driveway, lots of bumps and rocks-1/4 mile long- the taurus' body pops and flexes a bit and the rubber seals between the doors emit a rubbing sound as the body bends a bit. The Crown Victoria does not make one sound. It is 1000X more solid than the Taurus. But the Taurus does not have a frame. I guess that all other non-frame cars would make the same sound.

The Taurus gets 31mpg on road trips at 70mph+. The crown gets 28mpg.

The Taurus has great seats and only a small blind spot. So does the Crown.

The Taurus always starts and has never broken down. 74K. The Crown has 205,000- and has never broken down.

The Taurus might actually be able to keep up with the crown as far as racing on the road from like 0-80mph. Then the crown would leave the Taurus in the dust-even with 205,000-miles with no repairs, but lost compression.

Sometimes the Taurus will jerk as the transmission down shifts as low speeds in parking lots.

The Taurus is an excellent value. You can't go wrong with a Taurus.

We got this car for $15,000 new (SE with all options including folding rear seat and 6-passanger seating)

You can't beat the Value on the Taurus.

The Taurus is a lower value car and looses value faster than other cars such as the Accord, so the Insurance cost are about $2000 less over the course of 4-years.

I don't know how well the Taurus would hold up for the long run-200,000-miles++, but I suspect that it would have many problems. The Crown has 205K and still runs much the same as it did at new with no repairs at all other than two power windows. The crown does burn about 4-quarts of oil.

We plan to buy another New Taurus as soon as this one is 5-years old. You know taxes. Home health business.

The Taurus is a far better value than most other cars.

Remember the Time Value of Money.

Taurus Mid level

$15000.

Accord Mid Level

$19500.

Invest the difference and over 5-years that difference would grow to over $6713 at only 8%.

Not to mention the $2000 that you would save in insurance.

So in the end the Taurus would only cost.

15000

-2213-interest income

-2000 insurance savings

_________________

$10787

- 5500 SV Sell car for $5,500 cash after 5-years with 100,000-miles.

Actual cost only $5287 or $1057 per year.

Accord

New

$19500

-no savings

_____________

$19500 is total cost

-8500 cash sell Accord after 5-years with 100,000-miles on it

______________

Total cost $11,000 over 5-years of paying high insurance and high personal property taxes due to higher residual value.$2200 a year and expect to pay an average of $60 more a year in property taxes than the Taurus.

The Taurus offers very good value as long as repair cost stay low.

Taurus has super low theft rate. Camry and Accord have super high along with super high risk and death rates=super high insurance premiums.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th August, 2004

20th Jan 2008, 17:45

I only get 20-24 mpg... the other guy needs to recheck his math.

10th Apr 2009, 13:07

Totally agree with original poster.

I have a 2002 Taurus 205,000 miles and still going strong.

No major issues, except radiator developed a crack at the overflow (inlet, outlet). No big deal, got a radiator for $60 bucks and put it in myself.

Carl E.

Albany, NY.

1st Mar 2010, 22:12

I have a 2001 Taurus, and can agree with the good and bad comments. I have 125K, and need to replace the front struts. Already replaced the coolant tank and average 26.6 mpg city/hwy. I paid $1200.00 for this car, and I'm loving it.

10th May 2010, 20:11

120k 2001 2 valve. I also agree 24 mpg ave.

Replaced rear struts due to broken coil springs.

Now an oil leak; can't tell rear seal, front seal or oil pan. Also seems to leak anti freeze once in a while, maybe plastic tank.

11th May 2010, 16:06

May not be the front or rear main seals. Or the oil pan. The fact that you're also saying you're losing coolant leads me to believe you have a blown head gasket.

16th Jun 2010, 06:55

I have an 01 Taurus that I bought new in December 2000 and had no problems at all with it until today.

The rear springs broke, and I contacted Ford and they said "Too bad". They recalled the front springs, but not the rear. Funny they are the same part number.

As far as mileage, I have no problem at all in getting 33-34 mpg at interstate speeds. We don't drive a lot, in fact the car only has 46,000 miles on it.

But in the NADA book it sure isn't worth much.

13th Jul 2010, 17:49

I have a 2001 Ford Taurus and have gotten 21-25 MPG since I got it until recently. I noticed I was getting lousy gas mileage and have clocked it at 13 MPG. Do you know what is going on?

2001 Ford Taurus LX 3.0 Liter V6 from North America

Summary:

Reliable, but iffy

Faults:

Brake pads began to rub and make squealing noises.

Belt minder system is disabled.

Very rare, but sometimes the dashboard light has to be tapped to illuminate.

Air condition only works on the highest speed setting.

Car shakes at speeds over 65 MPH.

General Comments:

The car, for the most part, is reliable. It is spacious and the folding back seat is great. If this were a early model car (before 1996) it would have way more problems that one ones described above.

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

Review Date: 4th August, 2004