2001 Ford Taurus SE from North America - Comments

The transmission jerks badly when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear.

In the beginning the cigarette lighter when it was hot would shoot out of the dash into the floorboard. Now it is not functioning at all. I am not getting any voltage to the outlet and the fuse is not blown.

The passenger window will not roll down intermittently.

The windows sqeak and make a horrible noise when you roll them down.

The cruise control only works some of the time. Sometimes it will quit while I have it set in the middle of a long trip.

The brakes are very hard to use when the car is first started and backed out. Almost like the master cylinder is not functioning and I am using manual brakes. This happens every morning backing out of my driveway and stopping at the first stop sign.

The doors unlock by themselves after locking automatically when in gear.

The display on my radio dimms out and you cannot see it until you tap the front of it.

The drivers side seat belt twists up all the time and you have to dissassemble the pully and un twist it.

The radio does not pick up stations like it should. It is fuzzy in certain places inside the metro area.

I have had to put 3 batteries in the car since I have been driving it. I have no idea why, but batteries are not lasting like they should.

The air conditioning does not get that cold.

All of the windows fog up like there is not enough seal between the outside and inside when it is cold outside.

Overall this car is the biggest hunk of junk I have ever driven. This is a company car thank goodness I did not spend my hard earned money or it or somebody would have it where the sun does not shine. I have owned many vehicles in my life and I have never owned a Ford I have always owned Honda's and Acura's. Never had any problems with them. This car has around 48,000 on it, but it seems like it has 148,000. The company that I work for uses Ford products exclusively and we have had nothing but problems with them. We employ more than 10,000 people worldwide and all of the engineering and technical people drive either Taurus's Explorer's or Trucks.

Very bad automaker!!!

I agree with you 100 percent---How they lasted all this time is beyond reason. You get so much more in a foriegn vechicle. Presently, I have a 2000 RUST BUCKET TAURUS with 24,000 miles and they allow me somewhere around 8k. IT's a shame! Remember their paint problem years ago----It took a hell of a long time to admit it---All because they took a short cut--- of course it adds to the bottom line.$$$$$$$$

HAVE A GOOD ONE AND HANG IN THERE!!!

I completely agree. Fords have had certain defects for many years now (ex. faulty automatic transmissions, faulty head gaskeys on 3.8L V6, stalling problems with 4.0L V6) that they know about and have done nothing to resolve them. Ford had known for MANY years that the Explorer/Bronco II was a safety hazard because it was far too easy to roll them over. Yet they waited until just recently to redesign the Explorer, making it wider and lower to the ground. I don't trust any company who knowingly manufactured a vehicle that caused hundreds of deaths related to a design defect. Who says quality is Job #1? More like PROFIT is job #1!

Let's not get too out of control here. First of all, I have owned at least one example of about every common vehicle manufacturer out there. It's true that many European and Japanese vehicles have better build quality and are therefore usually more reliable. But in most cases you get what you pay for and typically you'll pay more for a comparable Honda or Toyota. If Ford or any other manufacturer built only the very highest quality cars, there would be a lot fewer people buying them because the cost of ownership would be too high. You don't see everyone driving a Mercedes do you? Read the reviews for a newer Crown Vic or Explorer for example. Most of them are very positive. Occasionally a certain vehicle does seem to be wrought with untimely problems. I've owned a few of them. But condemning an entire manufacturer's line of products based on one or even a few vehicles is ridiculous and irresponsible. Condemning the Ford Explorer for somehow being more rollover prone than any of the other dozens of SUV style vehicles out there was one of the biggest witch-hunts in automotive history. Any top-heavy vehicle that sustains a catastrophic tire failure at speed will be susceptible to rollover. I've seen video of a Volvo 850 sedan roll over on dry pavement when the driver over-corrected in an avoidance maneuver. And I I've seen first hand a Honda Civic slide 100 plus feet on its roof after doing the same thing on a dry, paved road. So get informed and stick to the facts. By the way, I own a '95 Ford Explorer that has 31 inch tires and is coming up on 200,000 miles. With the exception of a transmission replacement under warranty, a few sensors and the usual brakes, rotors, belts and other items that are part of regular maintenance, this has been and still is an exceptional vehicle that has taken me on some of the roughest mountain roads in the northwest as part of my job to maintain mountain top communications facilities. It always performed its duties exemplary and never left me stranded anywhere. So I guess that means that Ford must actually be the best car manufacturer on the planet according to some other people's perceptions of how a single example in a group must define the worth of the entire group, eh?

Give me a break. The Taurus is one of the best value for the money cars on the road. The 3.0 Vulcan engine is one of the most durable engines out there. I used to be an assistant service manager for a large ford dealer and I can tell all of you normal consumers out there that these fleet companies do not take car of the vehicles they have. Oil changes are done whenever they feel like it, coolant and tranny flushes are ignored, then the company drivers complain when the tranny blows up at 90k miles due to lack of maintenance. Fleet vehicles, in general, are ABUSED. If you are reading this review, think about the last time you rented a vehicle. Did you treat it as your own or did you beat the h**l out of it? I bet most of you are in the latter category. "It's not mine, so who cares, right?" Same thing with company fleet vehicles. I have seen first hand how these vehicles are driven by those who are fortunate to have them. These vehicles are generally floored or goosed at every stop light, brakes are applied at the last second and very harshly, then complaints come in about warped rotors (duh!), on the highway they are driven at 90+mph for hours on end, which wouldn't be a big deal if the cars were maintained properly, but these are cars that are maybe 10,000 miles into an oil change, with 90,000 miles on the coolant and tranny fluids. I have personally owned vehicles of all makes and models, and with the exception of the GM and Chrysler vehicles I have owned, my cars give me good service. I currently own a Ford Explorer with 140K (runs like a top) and have owned 2 Taurus's in the past, both with 150K+miles on them. As the saying goes, take care of your car and it will take care of you. Hope this helps all of the normal drivers out there.

P.S. In case you haven't caught on, never buy a fleet or rental vehicle, it will bite you.

I was actually going to agree with the above comment. Im thinking that you just got a bad one (Which DOES happen with Honda and Toyota too, believe it or not). I'm not a huge Ford Fan, but the Taurus is probably one of the most reliable vehicles out there. Just looking at consumer reports and such will tell you that. I don't mean to offend anyone, but that's just the information I've found. I know that everyone has different experiences with their vehicles, but if you look around, you;ll find that there is more positive comments about the Taurus than negative. I do however, feel for you that you have had such a bad experience. Hope things look up for you!