The clear coat started coming off the car in around 1996. By the year 1999, there was no clear coat left on the top of the car and the color coat was fading away to reveal the primer.
Rust started to appear on the door handle at around 1995. The quarter panel had rust holes in it in the year 2000.
CV joints at 70,000 miles.
The lightbulb in the radio, the lightbulb in the clock, and the Air conditioner failed at 70,000 miles.
The alternator generates too much electrical interference on the AM radio.
Complete brake overhaul (calipers, cylinders, rotors, drums) at 80,000.
Water pump, heater core, transmission gasket and a rear suspension part all failed in rapid succession at 90,000 miles.
The CV joint failed a second time.
The passengers side rear power window seized up and wouldn't roll down.
The power seat, only moved extremely slowly.
The power locks only worked on the driver side.
The rear doors became very difficult to open because the door mechanism was gummy/rusted.
A well known transmission defect started to occur at 110,000 miles. I decided to get rid of the car.
The 3.0L Engine is very reliable and never required any work.
The transmission was always a bit strange in the shift between 1 and 2. The cracked aluminum piston defect in the transmission started to make its presence known when the car would rev into neutral after a sudden stop.
What I couldn't stand about this vehicle was the clear coat delamination. It made the car a horrible eyesore for many years. Most darker colored fords in that era had the exact same problem.
Replacing the light bulb in the radio required that I tear my whole dashboard apart. The light bulb was custom and cost me $20.00 at the dealership.
I think the doors have water penetration issues which causes the failure of the power windows, door locks and door mechanism.
I can't imagine that there are many 1989 Ford Tauruses that are in anything but poor condition today.
All I can say is...AMEN! I have an '89 with many of the same problems, including the radio light. The car is rusty and requires repairs often.
All of them I've seen were in sad, tired shape. Youre assumptions are true.
I have an '89 Taurus L wagon with the 3.0L V6, which I bought new. It's been a workhorse and surprisingly, I have not yet had any major repairs. The car looks like hell because of the paint fading off and rust on the bottom of both front doors. The car has 137,000 miles. I have had to replace the A/C compressor twice and the heater core twice. Also, about five years ago, the car kept stalling at speed. I finally found a mechanic who diagnosed the problem - it turned out the be a malfunctioning sensor attached to the cooling system that thought the car was out of coolant and kept shutting the engine down. The trans is starting to slip a little in city driving, but it runs fine on the highway. I'm sure I also need some suspension work. The car is very handy to have as a spare with its huge cargo area, so I plan to keep it going as long as I can. For fun, I drive my 2003 Maxima. Vroooooooooooooooom!
I don't have an 89' Taurus, but an 88', and this car has had ZERO problems with it. 191K miles on the clock and it still purrs. I had this car meticulously maintained and waxed frequently. The paint is still glossy and the car runs perfect. BUT!! Where are you going to find a person who waxes and polishes their Taurus, probably nowhere, so hence, MOST 80's Taurus owners have a sad looking car.
The one problem with this car is its tranny - it stops going into gear, and only goes into reverse. It takes 2500 to fix.
But all in all, it's a darn good car and lasts a long time.
My folks used to have an '88 Taurus and I kind of would have to agree. It was nice until 120,000 miles or so, then the paint went bad and it started rusting away badly in odd places like around the door handles, and then the transmission went. The interior was flimsy and the plastic door handles broke repeatedly. The motor, however, had excellent power and longevity.
I have a 89 Ford Taurus and it runs like a brand new car. BUT the only problem is the transmission slips a bit when going out of 1st and into 2nd. But besides that, she runs as quiet as a new car and has plenty of power for a 3.0!
I have an '89 GL. 54,000 original miles. The previous owner had it repainted and trans work completed. I bought it in April, '06. Since then I have had the trans replaced (Ford paid for it since it was still in the 12/12,000 agreement with the previous owner), trans cooling lines replaced, A/C comp. replaced, struts replaced, and the oil pan gasket replaced. "Most" of this was known concerns, at 43,000 miles when I bought the car, save for the A/C compressor. The purchase price was $1,500 and I have spent, on average, $500/mo in repairs. Good deal or not? Well, if it lasts another year or so, sure. However, if expensive parts continue to fail, no.
Giving credit where it is due: The '89 Taurus rides very well and I have gained, on average, around 30mpg/hwy and 22mpg/city. I removed the stock tires (195/14) in favor of tires with more control (235/14) and stability. Keeping in mind tire ratio as not to corrupt the speed.
The interior is in excellent condition: no fading, tearing, wearing, etc. To keep it that way for a while, I threw in some very dark black window tint; legal of course.
Many law enforcement employees in my area have made comment about it looking like an old detective's vehicle. That was not my intention, but I can live with it.
In the end, I have purchased the car twice over the initial purchase price due to repairs. Yes, at almost 18 years of age it goes unchallenged that it may need some repairs. Show me a car that does not need ANY type of service with as many years.
I have a 1989 Taurus it's a 6 cylinder 3 liter automatic tranny I need a question answered don't know if this is the right site, but anyway I start my car and take off it stays stuck in low gear for about a mile in a half or two then it finally starts to shift likes there is nothing wrong with it the speedometer stays a zero till it shifts what could be wrong please help.
No my 89 is in perfect shape everything works I guess I'm just lucky.
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