2005 Ford Taurus from North America

Summary:

Faulty transmission... Brakes???

Faults:

Have had all required maintenance. Bought from Hertz rent a car at 20000. Certified vehicle...

48000, air conditioning went out.

55000, check engine light comes on once in a while, even after a tune up.

58000, transmission went out. Extended warranty covered a rebuilt one, but it's up and the transmission is starting to slip.

65000, master cylinder went out.

67000, brake booster went out, and it wasn't covered because warranty is up.

Oil leaking. Dealership is trying to tell me I have a blown head gasket.

Paint on rear bumper is oxidized. Live in AZ, but it's a little early for it to do that.

Interior plastic around the front windshield kept falling down. Clip broke, had to buy some insulation foam for it to stick back up there.

No acceleration. My 89 Nissan hard body truck with a 4 cylinder, with 8 spark plugs, automatic transmission, fuel injected/carburetor, that was brand new 11 miles when purchased for 7,900, blew the 25000 6 cylinder Ford Taurus away...

Feel sorry for all the people who purchased the Taurus with no extended warranty.

General Comments:

Nice roomy car. Looks nice. That's about it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 13th April, 2010

14th Apr 2010, 12:27

Sorry for your experience, but one main reasons why you probably had so many is because it was a rental vehicle; usually people beat the crap out of rental vehicles.

My mom has had her 05 Taurus for 5 years, and it almost has 100,000 miles and she hasn't had any problems, only general maintenance.

This is their third Taurus, and they haven't had any major problems.

Sorry you got a lemon.

14th Apr 2010, 13:13

My 2005 also has the "Check engine" light come on occasionally. I found on Internet that ffv Vulcan's tend to do that. If it is an ffv, use 91 octane. Mine runs much better on 91 octane.

14th Apr 2010, 18:06

I would be reluctant to buy any ex-rental car, and especially one with automatic transmission (they are hired to people who struggle to tell the pedals apart).

Also, in my experience, rental companies are the worst for clocking their vehicles.

2005 Ford Taurus SEL 24v Duratec V6 from North America

Summary:

Superb 4-door family car

Faults:

A/C condenser leak at 114,000 km.

General Comments:

Excellent paint - Gold Ash Metallic.

Excellent tan leather interior.

Very easy to see out around the entire car.

The 200HP Duratec V6 is superb.

This is my second long term Taurus. My first was a 2001 model purchased brand new. I sold it at 100,000km. This car had the brakes done at 70,000km - except for oil changes, that's it for maintenance. I drove the car fairly hard over 4 years without a day of trouble.

I had no problem buying my 2005 Taurus SEL with a few km on it. This car is wonderful. It's quiet, smooth, powerful, safe. It's loaded and everything works - although I had to replace the A/C condenser due to a slow refrigerant leak.

I've put over a million km on many cars in my life, and I can say that driving this '05 Taurus is a real pleasure. Cheers!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 25th March, 2010

2005 Ford Taurus SE 3.0 flex fuel from North America

Summary:

The Taurus is decent, but not the quality expected for the price

Faults:

The car developed a bad smell within a few months of driving, water comes in the driver's side floor boards, so the floor is always wet and has developed mold.

The gas gauge has never registered right, and then stopped working all together after the second year.

We have had several times where it just stopped running, get it towed.. mechanic goes to check it out and it starts right up. Nothing ever registers on the computer to say why it died.

We have also gone through a lot of tires on this car. Granted it was used for a long commute, but they always wore out in odd ways according to our mechanic. Down to metal in spots, full thread in others, despite frequent alignments, rotation, and checks on other related parts.

Cruise control stopped working at some point.. I don't remember when. Now the tranny died with no warning.. would have liked a little warning :)

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

Review Date: 16th December, 2009