21st Dec 2006, 07:41
I do not believe this guy's review. If all these things went wrong you figure he would have bought a different car by now. Plus I doubt this many problems would happen on a car. If these problems really did happen, you might want to change mechanics. He might be ripping you off. By the way my Grandma has a 99 with 100,000+ miles on it. The only thing she replaced is a speed sensor.
26th Dec 2006, 21:22
I own a 1996 Ford Taurus LX with a 24 valve V6 with 117,000 miles. I purchased it in 1999. It has had no major problems until about two years ago.
1. Fuel pump (Which cost $1500 because ford conveniently produced this vehicle with the fuel filter INSIDE the tank.)
2.Junkyard Transmission $2700 (because new one would cost more than book value of car) (at 100,000 miles. exactly. Coincidence?)
3.O2 sensors in side each muffler $150
4.Spark Plug Wire #5 Misfiring $200 Ford Garage
5.burns 1 quart of oil every 500 miles.
6.Service Engine Soon Light on 24/7 because transmission slips every once in a while when accelerating.
The only good things about this car is the body and the audio system.
FYI: I also own a 1987 Chevrolet Beauville Van with a 350ci V8. It has 270,000. The only things that I have replaced on it are the brakes and tires and one headlamp. Buy a Chevy.
7th Feb 2007, 18:15
I have a 99 ford taurus and about a month ago I was noticing that my warning lights weren't working except for the Service Engine Light... So a couple weeks ago I'm driving and I look down and the Service Engine light had gone off thought it was a joke, but I think my dashboard has died... however my dashboard lights work, my turn signals work, but nothing else.. I am also smelling a burning rubber smell when I shut off the car its coming from under the hood??? any ideas what I should do???
26th Nov 2007, 08:38
I also own a 1999 Taurus that I bought new and have had now for almost 8 years. The car has over 115,000 miles and is still going. The only thing that has gone wrong with the car since I have owned it is the heater core going out, and when that happend the car was still under warranty and I wasn't out any money. This has been the best car I have ever owned and I am thinking about buying a new 2008 model because of the luck I have had with mine.
14th Oct 2008, 15:58
I bought a 99 Ford Taurus used, I knew the original owner. I had bought the car on account that she was selling it cheap because it needed a new transmission.
After getting the transmission, my car was fine until about a week ago (a year or so after I bought it). It started spewing rust colored coolant from the coolant tank, and even after replacing the thermostat, it was still overheating. It broke down on a trip and I found out that I had a blown head gasket. Obviously there needs to be a recall on this since it seems to be an common complaint.
Another thing is that while during the last winter; my heat worked fine, but now it seems to have been turned off. I no longer have heat, but my air conditioning is always on (even when I try to turn on the heat!)
16th Nov 2008, 22:10
Hi The original post in this series re 99 Taurus is totally unbelievable. After 40 years of driving and many cars that I have typically kept for at ten years and 200000 miles, I cannot believe that one vehicle actually had that many problems. I would have to agree with one of the other commenter that some mechanic has been ripping the original poster off.
I have 3 Tauruses. 97, 99, 2001. My experience is:
A. Do not try to pull a trailer with these cars or the transmission fails.
B. After 100,000 miles, the 99 appears to be starting to suffer a head gasket failure.
The 97 has 130000 miles and only problem has been that the air intake gets carboned up, preventing the air flow valve from closing completely, leading to an overly fast idle. This is corrected with some q-tips and solvent.
The 2001, other than replacing the transmission when we tried towing a big uhaul across the mountains, is running fine. Having said all this, I do agree that head gaskets and transmissions should not fail in the first 100000 miles, but Ford is not alone...have had head gasket failures in both Volvos and VW's.
21st Dec 2006, 00:47
I own a 1999 Ford Taurus 3.0 flexible fuel. With 72K miles, it's maintained religiously.
Last winter I started noticing insufficient heat and a increased of noises, valves actuation and alikes when operating the temp control switches. After checking the obvious; hoses, thermostat coolant level, which has always being rust color. Even after flushing and additives.
I did some research and WALLAH! I, called the Ford dealer I worked at in 1999 (as a salesman) My friend and service MGR. said Ford had a large number of problems with this and had under warranty replaced bad water pumps. The impellers had corroded away due to the acids in the system, and would under certain conditions not pump enough pressure to properly maintain the heater core from clogging up with the RUST, and corrosion from some kind of a steel sleeve used, somewhere in this engine (the cylinder sleves perhaps), which leads to a plug up heater core. Although the engine temperature appears, at least in mine at this point, to be OK.
She said it was not a formal recall that she knew of now, and the labor (Mid-Atlantic) cost for a heater core replasment is about $550 or so. Give or take a hundred nation wide, 6 hours. If experience and done by a good technician, plus the water pump, plus if needed hoses, radiator flush and thermostat, may as well put a serpentine belt as well (every 75K miles, or risk a very costly repairs). So as you can see, it can add to a very costly repair.
But now to what I read somewhere in the Internet. You may want to research for it yourself.
Drain and flush the system yourself, or have it done at your local discount service center. It may just work for you. Mine has been done by myself every 2 years or 30K miles, and last year preassure back flush two times.
Run the car to normal operating temp. and carefully reach and touch the heater core hoses. If they only feel warm you most likely have a plugged up heater core. Disconnect the heater core, in and out hoses "off", the higher up the easier, and with care and funnel add "Gel, Liquid Drano", it will eventually work it's magic (30 min. for me). Then with your garden hose pressure nozzle do the rest until clear, rust and junk free water is all you see. This, fresh A/F, and a thermostat did the trick for me.
Ford Taurus's, may not be on par with other imports or modern domestic autos, but I have driven and have own MB, BMW, VW, Honda's, Toyota, Chrysler's and Chevy's and a few British (They are so so Regal looking, even when broken) and for it's day, mid-size, level of comfort and safety margin, has being the most economical car per driven mile I've ever operated at about $0.30 cents per driven mile, that I have ever owned.
My old Mercedes 300D went 375K before I passed her on. This I have yet to see, but it may be worth it to keep it until the wheels fall off, after all they are only transportation, no matter what else you may think. Well, maybe not that Ferrari 350 GT. Good luck.