Comments: 1-15, 16-29
Front rotors shot at 38,000 miles.
Engine knock when any grade less than 93 octane is used (dealer could not find problem).
Erratic shifting and loud wining noise from the torque convertor. Dealer stated there was no problem.
Cloth on center console separated at 22,000 miles exposing the foam backing.
Decorative cover where the windshield wipers rest is falling off.
Remote release for the trunk occasionally fails for no apparent reason.
Car stopped running in the middle of a busy street at 21,000 miles for no apparent reason. Dealer could not find any problems.
"Check engine" light, in this case for the emission control system, illuminates periodically for no apparent reason. Dealer stated that it is probably "poor fuel" causing the light to come on.
Car makes a "whistling" noise on the driver's side at speeds over 40mph. No apparent cause.
The overall quality is poor and is a big disappointment.
Handling is sloppy and the car sways when making sudden moves.
The actual gas mileage is no where near the manufacturer's stated mileage.
One plus is the size of the trunk and the back seat. Perfect for long trips.
I have a 2000 Taurus also. I have two of the same problems. The "check engine" light keeps coming on, but changing the fuel octane makes no difference. Also, the car knocks horribly just beforehand. I have had one new mass/air flow controller put in under warranty (about 40,000 miles), which helped initially. I also have the whistling sound for no apparent reason. I am wondering if there is a defect in the mass flow controllers or if there is some underlying problem that causes these to fail -- at least intermittently.
I bought a pre-owned 2000 Sable LS from CARMAX. I have been doing business with them for years, so I know they sell good cars for the most part. The evening I brought the car home, the check engine light came on and remained on during the 1 hour drive home. The next day I returned it (it stayed on the entire time).
The car has many good features, but apparently this is a common problem with Fords, since my '97 Ranger experienced the same thing. I ended up disconnecting the battery twice (for at least 5 minutes) in order to "clear out the computer memory". It has never came back on on the last 2 years.
2000 ford taurus 15,000 miles. Since new has had poor downshift ability, car seems to coast forever. Dealer says normal. Just read Dan Jedlckas comments on 2003 models and he say "Down shifts crisply". Did ford have problem with 2000 and fixed it with 2003 model and forget to recall the 2000?
I purchased off the showroom floor a 2000 se confort sedan. The problems I have, according to Ford, are no problems at all. I have had rotor warpage three times on the original rotors. All turned by ford for free then after warranty was up I had to replace the rotors. Even the aftermarket rotors are warping. This is not an uncommon problem. My brother-in-law is a mechanic and replace these rotors frequently for this year of Taurus. Ford blames everything, but their engeering problems. Second, at 65000 miles my engine light came on also. They blamed it on bad gas, then turned around and said it was the egr valve. It was actually a name longer than I could pronounce. No warranty on this emission control item. It cost $349.00 to replace. The brakes are the biggest problem with this vehicle.
I purchased a new Ford Taurus in 2000 and still have it. It has been an excellent car. I have driven it as the main family car and commute to work in it daily. Also, it has made two trips to Florida and one to Canada. The car rides nice and has been extremely reliable. No problems whatsoever.
FWIW.
I bought a 2000 ford Taurus used. It had 20000 miles on it. Since I bought it it had problems. Drivers window fell and I took it to dealer was fixed under warranty. Engine rattles with bad gas. Brakes warped at 35000 miles I did a brake job that cost me $550 dollars. I am now having problems with the car running rough. I took it to the dealer and four different timers and they have replaced coils and problem is still there. When running between 70-80 miles an hour it vibrates. I am very disappointed with this car I will never buy another ford again.
2000 Taurus SE purchased new. 79,000 miles now.
Moderate pinging is normal according to the owner's manual. I've had to replaced a fuel injector and it fixed the pinging for a while, but it's starting to do it again. I've had the problem with rotors warping too. Other problems: replaced starter, replaced steering column wiring harness due to a short, passenger auto. door lock broken.
All things considered, though it's a pretty good car. I think of it this way: the money I've spent on repairs still doesn't equal the extra money I would have had to spend to buy an Accord or Camry.
Also, gas mileage about 22 city, 28 highway. I'm not sure what Ford advertises.
My wife and I bought a 2000 Ford Taurus SE with the Flex Fuel engine used with about 35000 miles on it. 80K miles now.
We have the same problems. About to change the rotors for the third time. The check engine light seems to always be on, and the rear struts have never been right. Will never, ever, ever, ever buy another Taurus.
I too purchased a 2000 Ford Taurus Flex Fuel Vehicle. It had 25000 miles when I brought it. It now has 55235. This car has been very problematic. The day I left the dealership with it. The fuel pump died. I didn't even make it home. The dealership sent a wrecker to tow the car back. When I picked it up a few days later the rear bumper was scratched severely. It's still there today. Other problems include driver side window motor died. Cost $239 to replace in which the warranty only paid $100 toward. Rear defroster will not defrost window. Dealer says aftermarket radio bracket is to blame and would not troubleshoot it. Car suddenly shut off while on I-70 in Kansas/Missouri, and would not start for approxiametly 20-25 min. Check engine light stayed on for 600+ miles before I could make it to a dealer to have them reset the CPU. Brakes have been a constant problem. Squealing constantly. Changed Brakes, turned rotors and replace brakes in drum. Brakes still squeal. Ford could not solve the problem, but instead handed me a sheet of paper saying that brakes squeal occasionally. Car has a loud pinging sound when idling on cold mornings. Car also has a lack of horsepower. Smaller cars out muscle it easy. Also a wire in the brake light harness worked itself loose some how. It was not covered under warranty and ford wanted to charge me just to look at it. I took it to the local mechanics and they helped me solder it in. Brake light worked ever since. I haven't driven a model Taurus newer than 2000. Hopefully, Ford has made some major improvements. I don't plan on buying another American car no time soon.
I bought a 2001 Ford Taurus Ses V6. Duratec engine at 50K miles on it. 1st problem, cheap ford rotors in the front. I change it out with Drilled holes rotors from JC Whitneys performance magazine. Not a problem since. The check engine light came on, well the dealer told me. " Oh it will run on 87 yeah it sure will no problem." Yeah Right! My wife told bugging me to put cheap grade because of the gas prices. I said nope, but then again I fell for it. Yes it rattles and battles, all the above it. So now I put 93 octane and sometimes octane booster without MMT. It works fine, but it will suck gas. :) No sound from the engine yet, but I did put my own custom made Air intake instead of those paper air filters. Another thing yeah I notice that the car moves for no apparent reason, well I fix that. I bought a lowering kit and lower it well not much, maybe 1 inch. Also I put dule exhaust to balance the car out. It works great, but the handle is very sensitive. I heard about the engine noise it might be the engine mount. You might wanna get that check people if you experience any problems. The car is great, but the makers uses poor quality items for the car. The aftermarket performance will and some what help. (Makes it last longer).
I just bought a 2001 an Taurus SES and 1/2 a mile after I got an emissions test (and passed) my engine light came on. I put in 93 octane and the light went out. A few days later the light came on and I had the codes researched and it was showing EGR excessive and EGR insufficient. I replaced all four O2 sensors and the EGR valve and had the codes reset. The light keeps returning with EGR insufficient. I plan to fill it with 93 and will see if that cures the problems. I also have had the pleasure of visiting the assembly plant for this car in Atlanta, GA where I live and saw that the initial fill is done with 93 octane.
I have a 2001 Taurus GL with just over 50,000 miles on it. I have had to replace the front rotors twice, rear brakes once and the dealer actually broke a brake drum and tried to hide it from me. Another mechanic found it and pointed it out.
I have had it in the dealership three times for transmission problems. Car when it is cold will not shift and going up a slight hill near my home I have to always pull over becasue car appears to go into neutral. Dealer charged me $75.00 per hour and I have paid over $400 to be told there is nothing wrong.
Lastly my engine light comes on and the last code check which also cost me two hours or $150 found nothing wrong.
Call me upset, angry and a new ford defector. I will have someone else reset my CPU when I get an oil change.
I own a 2000 Taurus Se and have expirienced similar problems. My father owned the car before me as a fleet car. The transmission was replaced at 60k miles. The reae drivers side window motor broke. All before I bought the car. The check engine light has been appearing and disappearing randomly. It seems to be getting less than desired fuel mileage. Also the rotors are warped and vibrates the steering wheel under braking. I do however have the answer to one of these problems; the rotors. Fords seem to use some poor quality for the brake rotors. They cannot withstand a lot tourque when tightening the lug nuts. The problem lies with the mechanics at the local tire store. They just have to save themselves a few seconds by using a high power impact driver to zip on the lug nuts. Thus resulting in the poor material Ford uses to warp. My advice is to tell them to never use the impact driver on your automobile, no matter what brand you own. They can and will use other means of tightening the lug nuts if you request it. Hope this helps anyone who may be expirienceing this problem.
We purchased a 2000 Ford Taurus with Flex Fuel and it has been a constant headache. We have replaced the brakes numerous times, had rotors rotated and resurfaced, and even bought new rotors (not from ford). Brakes were last replaced in September at 75000 miles and begin squealing again before Christmas. Car now has 81000 miles and a new set of problems. The check engine light came on a few years ago and never goes off regardless of what you do. One mechanic suggested replacing all the air hoses in the car, the estimate sounded like a good down payment for a better car. The current problem is the engine now makes this incredibly loud roar whenever you hit 45 mph. You slow down to 40-43 and the roar quits. Ford charged me $90 to tell me they have no clue what is wrong, but would let a mechanic take the engine apart to try to narrow down the problem for the sparkling price of $70/hour with a 4 hour minimum.
If anyone has had the engine roar issue or has a clue what it is I'd love to hear from you!
Someone mentioned they are still in the green by buying and repairing a ford over getting a Camry or Accord. Have you checked the value of this car? I got a deal at $17,000 with every option and now my car is worth $3500. That Accord or Camry would have only been $2000 more, much less headache and they are selling for $10000 in my area. We have a 2003 Civic, our 4th Honda, and never had this much issue out of any of them. I will never buy another ford, I don't think I'd even take a free one at this point!
I bought a used 2000 Ford Taurus SE in the spring of 2003, and it had 31,000 miles on it. I haven't had ANY problems untill about 68,000 miles. It is also giving me the EGR valve excessive/insufficient message. I replaced teh EGR valve, and it still happens, so I'm just going to go check it out.
First off, whats with people complaining about the rotors wearing out? They are SUPPOSSED to wear out, brakes are one of the things that wear down on your car...
Also, the sensor on my coolant take went bad. I bought a new one for 30 bucks and it took all of 5 minutes to put in.
Also, other than these two things, I have had NO Problems. It has been a wonderful car, and I would buy another. I guess it really depends on the user, and if you perform proper maintenence on your vehicle.