Reading the stories before mine, is like finding my own words written by other people. Same problems, different day. My Taurus, 59000 miles well maintained and after two consecutive trips to the dealer, $700 to know that I need anew transmission that will cost me $3500. it is a shame.
I had a Taurus 1999 Station Wagon. I bought it new. I am very happy with the vehicle. These cars need to be serviced on time. Expect to replace the oxygen sensor, some electrical problem came. Replace the fuel filter every 30,000 miles. The cooling system is great (rare for Ford). For the transmission, that's true that's a problem. In fact, this car hates city ride. If you live in City, do not buy a Taurus. If you live in country side, buy it, that's a bargain. Also, change the exhaust system every 50,000 miles. Strange or not, the transmission is hurt by a classical loss of power.. Less you are agressive on the pedal, more you will have a happy transmission.
1999 Ford Taurus 65,000 miles, transmission problems. OK, I am convinced that others are in the same boat as I am... transmission problem with Taurus. I just had my Taurus towed to the Ford dealership and diagnosed. Transmission pump broke ($72 part) which caused body valve of transmission ($1,088 part) to be damaged. With labor, $1843.69 to fix transmission. I too am thankful that my family was not reared ended from behind when car suddenly died in a local Wal-mart parking lot. No warning at all. I just thank the good Lord for not being on the highway when it happened. Question is... do I fix it or spend $$$ on a new Ford? Think I better fix it since I have $6,000 left on note. Maybe this 1yr warranty will be worth it. Next car I buy though will be a Honda or Toyota!!!
Well, as they say: Misery loves company?? I have a 99 Taurus SE and I have had many problems as well. First of all, I have to change my brakes anually, they do not last any longer than that. I am currently having transmissions problems as well. When the car switches gears it bangs into place and slips frequently as well. Currently my car is having the head gasket replaced and will cost me about $ 1,200.00 to do so.. this happened with no warning at all. I was traveling on the highway at 65mph when I lost all power and the motor got rough and the rest is history. I also had trouble with all the automatic door locks which after several repairs do not function at all and to top it all, the key entry takes 5 minutes or more before the door opens. The heat never works for long and has cost me over $1,000.00 in repairs with no solution in sight...Signed..another disgusted Taurus owner.
I have a 99 Taurus. Transmission was replaced at 50000 miles. I have replaced different O2 sensors multiple times. coolant tank just replaced because it had cracks in it. tie rod issue recently fixed. bad battery terminals. check engine light horrors. in all probably spent 1000 in the last year fixing this car. I had an 86 Taurus before this one, never had any major problems, at least none that were not expected from a 17 year old car.
Verdict: Don't buy any any American made cars, don't even buy Toyotas that were made here in the states. The Toyotas assembled in Japan are bulletproof and are extremely reliable.
Wow I don't even know where to begin. Well actually I'll start off by saying that my 99 ford taurus is the biggest piece of junk in the world. Seriously a couple years ago my car was in a traffic jam, with stop and go traffic. Every time that I accelerated the RPM's would jump from 1500 to 2500 if I just touched the gas pedal. When on the highway, if I take my foot off of the gas, the RPM's and speed shoot down with a mild jerk. Anyways during the traffic jam, the car got so bad, that it started to jerk violently and eventually just shut down completely. Thanks Ford. Then two months after I got it out of the shop, it did it again, with the exact same symptoms and result. Today I was feeling the same type of transmission problems and am ready to trash the car and buy myself a bike, not like a ducati, but more like a red line. What a piece. No more Fords, I think I'll just stick with walking, considering that's what that car made me do eventually.
Bought my wife a 99 Ford Taurus at auction. Like others the Transmission sensor gave out. A temporary quick fix is to open the hood, and simply pull off the sensor connector plug on top of the transmission. The transmission will now operate properly in both OD and drive. You will notice your rpm's are steady as your speed goes up - loss of fuel economy due to the failed sensor ( to technical to explain here...). Two things to do: Change out the old transmission fluid immediately - its gonna require synthetic fluid at a higher price, but is worth it as it shifts far better now. And change out the coolant. In fact, I suggest changing out ALL of the fluids and start clean. Until you get the sensor replaced your fuel economy will suck for a while, but its better than not having wheels at all and it IS safe to drive.
My Taurus is having the same issue. It won't shift into gears and shoots up to 5000 rpms no matter how lightly I play with the gas. So if you unhook the cable going to the sensor it will drive fine for the time being?
My son in college has a '99 Taurus with only 70k miles on it and he is having power steering issues that we have not been able to fix. My daughter has a 2001 Taurus and we have spent a fortune on the front end.
I think the only thing to do with a Ford is never to buy one, but if you have a Ford lemon write it off when it starts causing problems. Don't bother spending a dollar on it because you will never get your money back.
I have a 1999 ford taures also. it was a great car until today. the fuel sensor went out on it, the front end started rocking, the alternator went out and the transmission started slipping. all in one day. thanks a lot ford.
I bought my '99 Ford Taurus 2 1/2 years ago. It had 86,000 miles on it. Not even 6 months after I bought it, I started having problems with it, all the same ones mentioned above, and more. First came the speed sensors. Then the transmission started to give me problems (slipping, trouble shifting, etc). Then the heat went, followed shortly after by the A/C. Then the alternator started to go. The car had so many problems I couldn't keep up with them, time-wise or financially. The car was in the shop, literally, about every 4 to 5 months. Finally, two weeks ago, while in New Hampshire, on vacation, at 9:30 at night, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by woods, while I was alone, my transmission died. Nice, huh? Needless to say, I would never purchase another Ford Taurus, nor advocate the purchase of one by anyone else. It was the most unreliable, troublesome car I have ever owned, and from what I'm seeing here, I guess that's not really anything out of the ordinary for this car.
My 1999 Ford Taurus is the best car I have ever owned. It has 153,000 miles on it and is still going strong! Thanks Ford for building quality dependable cars. If you properly maintain it will work for you. Most people don't properly maintain so they have issues and think its the maker, but buy what ever makes you happy and maintain it.
I recently got rid of my ailing 99 Taurus and I will never buy another Ford again.
First off - two days after buying the car, the O2 sensor goes (bought an extended warranty, but still had to pay $100 bucks) Then the alternator died about a year later - another $500 bucks. The brakes were horrible, couldn't keep the thing aligned, and the rear door locks were intermittent at best.
And before anyone says you have to maintain a car by servicing it - I did. The transmission was about to go after 180,000 miles - and I had the fluid flushed every 25K which is more often than recommended. In fact the mechanic thought I misspoke when I told him how many miles were on it.
Long story short - traded it in and now have a Nissan in the driveway... Never again will I buy a Ford.
What, you took this thing all the way to 180000 miles without a major repair and you see nothing good in it?