2002 Ford Taurus SE review from North America

Electrical gremlins.

Interior light stays on for a few seconds after closing the door sometimes, other times it does not.

Driver's side seatbelt is starting to retract improperly or not at all.

The transmission started acting skippy and irregular at around 80k.

Squeaks under the hood when idling.

Some rattles around the climate control / console area, usually initiated upon acceleration.

The automatic driver and passenger side windows make an abrasive grinding noise when they reach the top from being rolled up. This happened on our other Taurus, too.

Driver side automatic window squeaks when being let up or down.

Black area appeared on the bumper above the muffler at around 40k. Does not wash off.

One day, the car would not crank. A mechanic came out and furnished no explanation, but a few days later, it would crank again. This has not happened again.

Since this car was new, a strange plasticy, almost fishy odor comes from the vents when the heater is engaged. This has not really gone away over time.

Thusfar, the car has produced a few minor annoyances, but nothing really serious other than the transmission at this point. It has been well-maintained and driven cautiously, so it is mildly surprising that the transmission has started giving us problems before the 80k mark. It is generally noted that Fords don't produce the world's greatest transmissions by any stretch. While I feel that the car is reliable, I wouldn't want to hang onto it after 100k miles, nor do I plan to. I think of the Taurus as a sort of "disposable" car...they're great to buy with low miles and drive for a year or two, but when the miles get high, I wouldn't want to be stuck with it.

Generally, the car is pretty quick and gets me from point A to point B without any fuss. The interior is nothing special, very basic, and the seats prove to be rather uncomfortable on long rides. The front seats have a lot of legroom, but the passengers in the back have significantly less. The trunk is very roomy and the cloth seats resist stains fairly well.

The interior lighting is pretty gloomy.