31st Aug 2002, 15:25

I own a 1993 ford taurus GL... the worst car ever produced. The whole design of the car is just downright stupid... I have replaced almost everything on this sorry vehicle. Ford KNEW about the problems with the transmissions and 3.8L head gaskets and did absolutly nothing!!! I had to have my transmission replaced at 60,000 miles and the head-gaskets just blew up... there was white smoke all over the place!!! 3.8L engines and FORD in general are just plain terrible!

3rd Sep 2002, 23:19

I have a 1994 Ford Taurus GL Sedan (3.0 liter engine).

I had my drivers side door lock switch replaced ($50) and emergency break feedback sensor repaired ($140) at 50,000 miles.

My condenser was replaced ($400) at 95,000 miles. (I had to make three trips to the mechanic at Penske because the initial repair failed.)

My idle bypass had to be replaced ($150) at 103,000 miles.

I replaced the A/C compressor ($1,000; at a Ford dealer) at 107,000 miles.

I had to replace my radiator and water pump ($800) at 116,000 miles.

I am currently at 123,000 miles.

27th Aug 2003, 15:04

For many years, I have desired to own a Ford Taurus Wagon. Behold, in July of 2001 I purchased a '94 Taurus GL in wagon form. As I write this some two years later... I have my regrets. I like the overall design and appearance of the vehicle. That's where it ends. Unless potential Taurus owner has deep pockets... I would not recommend my Taurus to anybody. In 38,000 miles of ownership since July '01: the transmission, radiator, tires, thermostat, water pump, battery, windshield, rack & pinion steering, front brakes all needed to be replaced. Those are the major items. I won't include the minor items. The Taurus was my 3rd Ford in 30 years. It will be my last Ford. My next car I expect to be a Buick because they have a pretty good track record. My Dad owned a few Buicks over the years and were happy with them. Thanks for your time.

9th Dec 2003, 20:45

I have a Ford Taurus (1994) with 139000 miles on it. It was bought new in 1994 by my mom. It was then handed down to me in 2001. I have had nearly NONE of the problems many of you have been referring to. The transmission did go out at 110,000 miles, but other than that only scheduled maintenance has been performed on this vehicle. Tune ups, oil changes, etc. have been done when due. This vehicle has been very reliable.

The first post contained one error I would like to point out. It is a Toyota Corolla not a Toyota Corona.

20th Feb 2004, 18:12

We've never had any of those problems with our 1994. The back struts were replaced in ours and we've had problems with the sway bar link kits. All the power options work fine.

We had head gasket problems before and it's loosing antifreeze again now too. The transmission was rebuilt. Brakes and exhaust work is expensive.

They're a nice car to drive, but the seats aren't comfortable on very long drives.

12th Apr 2004, 19:19

I am the proud owner of a Mercury Sable 1994 3.8L. I have driven it 10k so far with no problems.. And it's at 92 000 now. I used to own a 3.0L Taurus and the difference in torque is HUGE. I can peel out on dry pavement no problem with the 3.8 (215 f pounds at 4000RPM) however the 3.0 would just bog out.

As for the transmission I am very nervous. My old Taurus's transmission died at 240k, which is amazing considering when everyone else's transmissions died. I just have a bad feeling that due to the amount of torque and my crazy peel out style driving my transmission won't last long!

I believe this is some good news for me, the previous owner had a head gasket failure (the 3.8L's were prone to this in the mustang, and Taurus/sable) which was covered by warranty and fixed. I was also told that they did a transmission rebuild at the same time because of the high failure rate of the transmissions, and because of the warranty coverage.

I honestly can't complain about the sable. Sure it has a problem plagued tranny. However for the price you can purchase them for, and the overall good reliability of the car, you really can't go wrong. And for you racers out there with a tiny budget (me :) ) it can kick some Honda ass lemme tell ya :P (make sure you have the 3.8, if you will be eating blue exhaust from those civic hatchbacks :P)

Anyways...for a first car or something to just get around it's a steal, I would go for it. This is my second Taurus/sable for a reason.

P.s if your transmission starts slipping or getting rough, take it in immediately for servicing!

10th Sep 2004, 07:37

I have a 1994 Ford taurus It is the best car in the world. I have had no problems. I bought it new I now have 134,500 miles on it. I love the car.

Cory.

19th Jul 2005, 21:19

I found myself shaking my head as I read the above posts. Why gripe about a car that is made to be economical? The for-mentioned Taurus's were nearly 15-20 years old, give me a break! For students and others simply working for a better life they do the job. My father is constantly working on my 1993 Ford Tempo, that is what you do with an old car! You check, change and maintain parts, come on! My car has been from California to Kansas and then from Kansas to Washington State 3 times, and it still gets the job done. It has been passed down 3 generations of family and is headed on to 4 at the end of the month. Why am I here? My next car (already purchased) is a 1994 Ford Taurus, oh yes, I'm moving up on the Ford scale! Where is it now? BEING WORKED ON, accept it and move on. If you endlessly whine about having to maintain your car it is my belief you are not suited to own a USED car- go out and pay $600 payments a month, and DEAL WITH IT!

30th Aug 2005, 21:45

My brother has a 1994 Ford Taurus GL. He used to take his car in for an oil change on the east side of town. Every time he brought the car home, it started having problems. He took it back to them and they fixed that problem at 800.00 or more and it started having other problems.

I started going over the car myself and I found out that spark plug cables were on plugged or vacuum tubes were disconnected. These were minor things, that seemed big.

I learned everything that I could about the 1994 Ford Taurus and did the oil changes myself. from that point on we have had no problems with his car.

His car is 11 years old and has 233,475 miles on the original motor and transmission. The only major things that have gone wrong with his car was that the starter went last year and his alternator went a few months ago. We are going to do the first oil change in three years. The motor doesn't burn oil. it gets hot inside about a minute after starting the engine, even on the coldest Milwaukee days. The air conditioning works super. It gets freezing in the car within a minute even on the hottest Milwaukee days.

I call the 1994 the 57 Chevy of the 90's. I know a lot of people who have 1994 ford Taurus's, and they never have had problems with their cars.

Our Taurus was built FORD TOUGH. It has been in a t-bone accident. Our right side doors have been crushed in. The windows weren't touched or damaged. He still uses the front right door as if nothing happened to it. He's afraid to try the back right door. He thinks it won't close again. The car that hit his car, was totaled out. Their car's engine ended in the front seat. Several yellow school buses tried to make right turns from the left lane and hit his car's left front fender. Their buses were all messed up and my brother's car only got some yellow paint scrapped on his left front fender.

His car only goes through about a quart of oil a year. We never had to add automatic transmission fluid or power steering fluid. Every couple of years we need to buy new tires from Walmart's and have them put them on.

He uses Douglas tires for the front and Goodrich tires for the rear. He has never rotated any of his tires.

He still never used his small extra tire that came with the car in 1994.

His car takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

His 1994 Ford Taurus a great car.