1997 Ford Taurus G review from North America
"A good buy considering all things I put it through"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
When I first got the car, it was used and the dealer gave me a 3 month warranty with it. Thank goodness he did.
About a week after I got it, I noticed the car was running hotter than I thought it should, so I added more coolant. That night I had a puddle on my driveway. I went on doing this for about a week thinking I spilled the water or something. FINALLY I took it to the dealership and they told me the coolant tank had a leak and they replaced it. No problems with it since.
The seal around the passenger window is pinched into the window track at the top, causing it to leak in heavy rain. The only way to fix this is to replace the seal (275.00) or put the window down just a hair, pull the seal out, and put the window back up while holding the seal out... pinches your fingers, but it saves $275.00.
When driving the car, its as smooth as can be. But I have had 3 alignments done for the front end, and it ALWAYS pulls heavily back to the right.
When turning corners, the power steering whines... its very loud at times and it even whines when sitting at a red light with the wheels straight.
The cupholders are very nicely placed... but don't sit anything in them that is small... it will flip forward and spill everywhere.
When starting the car in cold weather (and sometimes if its not cold at all) it idles very oddly and the car shakes like its trying to die. Hit the gas for about 10 seconds, and it stops.
Car didn't come with the CD changer, and the Ford dealerships down here told me that it would cost about 500$ for a new one. I have a portable CD player in there with a cassette adapter, and the cassette player keeps kicking out the tape giving me a "TDE1" message, saying my tape is messed up. I have tried 7 different brand new cassette adapters, and it keeps saying that.
You have to slam the trunk down very hard 2 or 3 times to close it... seems like the latch is sticking.
General comments?
Seats are VERY comfortable, and it's a very roomy car. Plenty of room to seat up to 6 comfortably. I also like how the center console flips out from the center front seat... saves space if you want to seat 6 people.
MUCH better than my 1998 dodge neon... head gasket blew out on that and is costing right under 600$... YUCK!
Recommended reviews
| Taurus - Reliable and Affordable |
|
| Fun to drive a stock "sleeper", but expensive to maintain |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Don't Know |
| Year of manufacture | 1997 |
| First year of ownership | 2001 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2003 |
| Engine and transmission | V6 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 9 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 10 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 10 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 5 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 7 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 39000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 68000 miles |
| Previous car | Dodge Neon |
| Date of Entry | 19th January, 2003 |