1999 Ford Taurus SE from North America - Comments

I was driving my 99 Taurus on the thruway. and all of a sudden out of no where my rpm shoots up and my car has no power. fluid and everything is good any one know what this could be? it starts up I just can't move anywhere?

I have a 1999 Taurus SE with the 24VDOHC engine. It was bought new in 1999. So far we've had the battery go bad (after about 1yr), the brake booster when out, and the worst problem so far has been the power steering system. The seals on the rack and pinion went out and they ARE NOT serviceable. Thus, you have to replace the entire unit, cost is around $800-$900. The car only has 61,000 miles and has never been driven hard. Many other people have had the same problem. Ford needs to recall this car.

Have a 99 Ford Taurus it has a strange problem. Runs good when it is cold after warm up it will shift down hard into low gear on a stop. When you pull away from stop it bucks severely, screaches the front tires, shifts out of 1st and runs perfect till the next stop. If you take off slow through the first shift everything is fine. It is not the transmission. I have a motor mount that is starting to act up can this be the cause of the abnormal shift in and out of 1st gear? If so which mount is the common one to be bad there are three and all cost in excess of $100. I have been told to clean the throttle body, but this did not help. I would welcome any and all suggestions.

1999 Ford Taurus SE.

I purchased this car used, with 42,721 miles on it in August 2003. I purchased this car because it was in my price range $7000 and I knew it would reliable... for awhile. The transmissions in these cars are notorious for dying around 120k.

I have performed basic maintenance, ie oil changes, tire rotations, alignments, filter changes, and fluid fills. The only major thing I have had to replace is an oxygen sensor (~150). A couple of weeks ago I started noticing a metallic rattling coming from underneath the car, as well as a sort of groaning when I turned left. The diagnosis for the groaning: Front left outer tie rod end going bad, $130 to fix, front left wheel bearing going bad, $300 to fix. The diagnosis for the rattling? A piece of catalyst in the catalytic converter broke off and the cat needs to be replaced, to the tune of $900. I haven't gotten these repairs yet mainly because the tires are wearing evenly, so the tie rod and bearing aren't that bad, just noisy and I haven't replaced the catalytic converter because it's just noisy, not harming the vehicle.

Overall, I would recommend this car since they are fairly inexpensive to purchase and you get a lot of options for the money. If you're looking at one with over 100k, be wary, the tranny will probably drop out. And if it has been rebuilt, the lifetime of the transmission is still finite, so be careful.

I brought a 99 Taurus SE about 2 1/2 yrs ago. IN the beginning a had no problems it was a perfect car compared to the previous ones I own. Good condition, just beautiful until one year later besides your normal wear on the brakes and rotors, so far I had to replace to replace the engine 1600.00 because the head gaskets blow out, because of a leaking overflow resevoir 30.00, the tube for brake fluid my brakes went out on the freeway, 80.00, the bearings front driver 200.00, now my heater core, radiator and water pump, and now my car has a hard time switching out of first gear and when it does my tires screech and my car jerks very hard. I must say I didn't have this much trouble with the hoopties I was driving. I am fed up not gonna purchase anymore ford cars to costly to maintain.

I've had a 1999 Ford Taurus SE 24DOCV sedan for about 4 years. Closing in on 66,000 miles now. It's had its share of problems, including leaving me stranded in the middle of a bridge when the alternator failed, but overall its been a reasonable value with a number of annoying, but not too expensive repairs. Speedometer linkage broke, EGR system failure, power steering connection leak, but now I'm experiencing significant steering noise and lost power. Rack & pinions probably failing since fluid is O.K. but has air in it. Sounds common. I will call the Ford Customer Service numbers posted.

Wow. The power steering on my 1999 Taurus SE just started making noises a couple of days ago, at 78,000 miles. I added about 4 oz of fluid. Today, it is making even more noise, and there are air bubbles in the fluid. Fluid Pump, Rack and Pinion?!?! $800.00-$1,300.00?!?! Oh my goodness.

Faithful Ford Motor Company, what have you done to me?

Thanks for the numbers to call.

P.S. Yes, my inside door ajar light stays on, the key in the ignition chime keeps going so I cannot listen to the radio when parked, and I had to remove the bulb from the overhead light because it will not always shut off.

"Wow. The power steering on my 1999 Taurus SE just started making noises a couple of days ago, at 78,000 miles. I added about 4 oz of fluid. Today, it is making even more noise, and there are air bubbles in the fluid. Fluid Pump, Rack and Pinion?!?! $800.00-$1,300.00?!?! Oh my goodness.

Faithful Ford Motor Company, what have you done to me?

Thanks for the numbers to call.

P.S. Yes, my inside door ajar light stays on, the key in the ignition chime keeps going so I cannot listen to the radio when parked, and I had to remove the bulb from the overhead light because it will not always shut off."

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Bubbles in the power steering pump has nothing to do with your rack and pinion steering. Seems like I've heard this scam before, with people saying that the dealer had to replace the rack and pinion. Guys, that's like taking apart the entire friggin' front suspension and steering system! Ridiculous.

So first, what kind of fluid did you add to the power steering pump? If you added power steering fluid, you probably have ruined your pump. Ford uses Mercon Automatic Transmission Fluid in their power steering pumps.

Also, did you check the fluid level correctly? After the engine has been off for an hour or so, check the dipstick on the "full cold" side. Or while running at hot idle, on the "full hot" side. Don't overfill, or you'll blow the pump seals. At worst, you might need a new power steering pump, which you could find at an auto salvage (i.e. junkyard) for 50 bucks. Don't fall for this "$1,300 for new rack and pinion" stuff. Your other option is to use a turkey baster to draw out the fluid in the pump, and then add the correct Mercon ATF to the correct level and see if that helps.

Regarding the dome light, get a can of WD-40 and spray down the door latches, and the plunger that activates the door ajar signal. Lubricate it and make sure it moves freely.

Wow! Are you guys taking care of you car wrong, or what? I'm the proud owner of a '99 Taurus with the 3.0L 24v six cylinder. It was given to me as a gift by a family friend. I've driven it hard, and it's been a good car to me. Two weeks ago, it saw the mechanic for the first time, and that was only for new brake pads and rotors. There's never been any time where the car's given me trouble or any weird noise. Who knows, maybe my car's a fluke, but it's been the best car I've owned.

Oh, yeah! It's got over 160 thousand miles!!!

Thank You Taurus Gods!

I have driven my 1999 Taurus SES for over seven years with relatively little trouble. Brake job several years ago and extensive AC repair.

Leaving the beltway last Sunday the brakes failed completely and the car crashed over a curb totaling the car. There was ample brake fluid in the well. Other than suspecting the ABS, I have no idea what caused the problem. The car has only 56000 miles on it. Would welcome any ideas on the problem.

marnat4@yahoo.com

"22nd Jul 2008, 19:21

I have driven my 1999 Taurus SES for over seven years with relatively little trouble. Brake job several years ago and extensive AC repair.

Leaving the beltway last Sunday the brakes failed completely and the car crashed over a curb totaling the car. There was ample brake fluid in the well. Other than suspecting the ABS, I have no idea what caused the problem. The car has only 56000 miles on it. Would welcome any ideas on the problem.

Marnat4@yahoo.com"

When one of my brake lines rusted out and burst while stopping it threw the car hard to the right while very slowly stopping. Pedal became real soft too.

Similar situation to you?

I guess I wouldn't say the brakes failed completely but they were bad enough that it was scary driving it to the repair shop. I kept it in first the whole time and had a long line of cars behind me as I drove 15 mph down the road. If you can still see the car check the brake lines for heavy rust. As brake fluid breaks down it becomes hydro-scopic? (waterlike) and will rust the SS brake lines which lose their stainless properties cause of heat. I also have a 99 Taurus 132K. Cost $170 to replace brake lines.

I received my 99' Ford Taurus from my parents about 4 yrs ago. When I got the car it had 75,000 miles on it. It was very well taken care of by routine maintenance. It has been a great car until the past year. I would be driving down the freeway and the car would jerk to a stop and turn off. It was so hard to get it to the dealer I had to pay a tow truck to come and pick it up. After the gas tank was removed and cleaned and replaced, it finally started to run good. Now I have no power steering and it turns out the company that makes the part that I need is no longer around. How do you get a part that isn't made any longer? With a car that is only 10yrs old you would think that I wouldn't have this much trouble finding this part? Even with the very expensive problems I have had to pay for, over all a car that lasts 10yrs is a decent car in my book.

I mean the car I had before this Taurus had to have the transmission replaced 3 times in three years!!! That was expensive!