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I bought this car used in October 2003. It came with a 90 day warranty. I had no heat the first time I tried to use it (within the first 2 weeks of ownership) and returned to the Ford dealership. The service department told me I was low on antifreeze, added some and I had heat again. I returned nearly every 2 weeks after that with the same problem: no heat and low on antifreeze, but had no sign of a leak. After the first trip to the dealership, the service manager started saying he didn't know what the problem was or that he didn't see any problem. I returned nearly every 2 weeks with the same problem until the warranty ran out. Nothing was ever done. I kept returning with the same problem after the warranty ran out and they continued to give me the run around. Finally, my oil light came on and wouldn't go off. We asked if it had anything to do with the missing antifreeze (I was using 9 gallons of anti freeze a month at this point, with no sign of a leak) and we were told no, that is was the oil sending unit and the oil sensors themselves. They were replaced ($100), I drove the car to work the next day and the oil light came back on! I returned to the dealership, they looked at it and said they had no idea what was wrong with it (I was seeing a theme at this point). It was never repaired. We asked if the antifreeze could possibly be going into the engine as we were using so much coolant, there was no sign of a leak and now the oil light wouldn't go off. We were told no, but that they could tear down the engine and look around, at our expense as the warranty had now run out. We told them to forget it. Meanwhile, the heater core plugged up and I lost all heat again. They agreed to fix it and have Ford pay half the bill. After a few more months with the oil light coming on and them either saying "I don't know what it is" or "I don't see the light coming on", they finally put dye in the radiator to try to track the coolant to a leak...3 times. The dye never appeared anywhere, but the radiator. Finally, they took an oil sample from the engine, sent it to a lab and tested it to see if there was coolant in the engine... almost 6 months after we asked about coolant in the ngine being the problem. They also offered to get a special machine from Ford to power flush the coolant system. Funny how Ford had a special machine for this problem that they couldn't figure out, huh? They kept the car for 3 days, we picked it up and there was no more coolant loss, but the oil light still came on. We figured out that they had put some sort of sealer in after flushing the coolant system (without telling us or asking permission) as we had the coolant loss every day for a year and a half and it stopped all of a sudden. We then tried changing the oil before the 3,000 mile due date to see if the oil light would go off without a coolant leak. With a plugged leak and fresh oil, the oil light hasn't come on since. That confirmed that the coolant had been going in the engine and diluting the oil. The dealership never said a word about it to us. We finally had to call them 2 months later to demand the results of the oil analysis. They gave us a copy of the analysis that the lab had sent them within 2 weeks of originally taking the sample from our car. It said that there were "critical" levels of coolant in the engine, that there was engine damage as a result (based on the oil breakdown), exactly what parts of the engine were damaged and they strongly recommended that the car NOT be driven and immediately serviced. The dealership sat on this information for 2 MONTHS and let us drive the car. We started looking into legal help and now the service engine light is on. We took it back to the dealership again, they put it on a diagnostic machine and said the code that caused the light was for a bad sensor. They said they would replace it, but not charge us labor for the 2 minutes it took to put it on. The repair was $157. I drove the car exactly 60 miles and the service engine light has gone on again! We called Ford itself and were told they would talk to the dealership and the dealership would call in 2-5 days. They never called. We called Ford back and were told that they spoke with the dealership and they said they tried to fix it by replacing the head gasket. We told them that never happened and the head gasket was never suggested as being part of the problem. We were also told that since we bought it used, Ford was not liable, that the dealership was our problem and they wouldn't get into it. So Ford Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles means nothing. I just put "1999 Ford Taurus and head gasket" in an internet search engine and found out that leaking head gaskets causing coolant loss and finally a blown head gasket is a very common problem on the Taurus of any model year. Ford knows about it and even sent their service departments a technical service bulleting telling them that. Unfortunately, very few model years were recalled even though all the Taurus have the same engine and defect.
If you have no heat, look into the head gasket leaking coolant into the engine.
If you have missing coolant, look into the head gasket leaking coolant into the engine.
If you have a plugged heater core, look into the head gasket leaking coolant into the engine.
If you have a Taurus, look into getting a different car!!!
An update on this complaint. We spoke to Ford again. They said the dealership's service manager claims he tried to fix the mising coolant problem by replacing the head gasket DURING OUR 90 DAY Warranty PERIOD!!! there is no record on Ford's computer system of that warranty repair. Also, we were never told of this repair until yesterday and certainly never gave permission for it. If I had been told I needed a new head gasket while under warranty, I would have demanded a full refund under the lemon law. This tells me the repair was either never done or it was and the dealership knew what the problem was the first time we brought it in and lied to us for nearly 2 years, denying us our warranty rights. Ford refuses to give us copies of our consumer complaint file, the full repair history on the car and a written statement describing the service manager's claim of a head gasket repair under warranty. We have to write to another Ford department and ask again. I also found out the limit in NY small claims court is well below what I paid for the car, so that's not an option. Never again!!!
Sounds like your biggest problem was with your dealership. My main question: when you routinely pulled the dipstick to check your oil (as I assume you must), didn't you notice that your crankcase level was getting higher and higher? Didn't you see any little green globules of anti-freeze on the dipstick? Maybe you'd have had better luck to try a different garage as soon as you suspected the run-around. It seems as though heater hose/core restrictions are common in these cars. My parents have a Mercury Topaz that had heater problems, and it took 4 pressure flushes to clean it out, and now it's been fine for 2 years. Probably the previous owner drove it clogged and warped the head, and then you got the problems when you bought it used.
I have a 1999 Ford Taurus and our heater was not getting very warm. We took the car in for a coolant flush. After the coolant flush we had no heat as well as loss of coolant. We took the car to A Ford dealership and they told us the heater core was plugged. They quoted us more than $800.00 dollars to replace it. I took it home, took a hose off of the heater core (found next to the motor on firewall). Plugged the hose and clamped a garden hose to the pipe the hose was hooked to. Went to the right side of my car and took off the other hose (comes out of firewall and into motor). With that hose pointed at a waste disposal container we flushed the heater core with water. All kinds of brown water came out. Put the hoses back on the heater core and our heater works perfect.
I have a 1999 Ford Taurus. I have own the car approximately one year. I realized that a used car requires some maintenance (trans. service, tires, batteries, etc.) But other than regular maintenance, so far I have replaced the storage device for the water/coolant. The head gasket and one of the heads of the car. Finally, the car runs with relatively few problems, and the heat works. I definitely do not recommend that anyone buy a used Taurus.
If you insist on buying a Taurus, get the 3.0 litre engine, not the 3.8 litre engine. The 3.8 litre engine is the one with head gasket problems. Trust me, I'm a used car dealer. But I should say don't buy any Taurus because of the terrible transmissions that they have. They all go bad before the car reaches about 130,000 miles. The 3.0 litre and the 3.8 litre come with basically the same transmission, with the same problem. Walk away, buy a GM, or buy a foreign car, but for god's sake don't buy a Ford unless it's an Explorer!
I have a 1999 Ford Taurus. It has no heat. I have replaced the heater core three times... I will give Ford the cudos, in the fact that they did warranty the second and third heater cores.
I have spoken with several different mechanics. One told me to replace the water pump. He said that these cars are bad about the water pump impellers wearing down and not providing enough preasure to keep the heater core hot. Yesterday 10-13-2006 (I know, Friday the 13th) As soon as my wife drove into the driveway, I checked the heater hoses. The hose into the heater core was so hot, it would burn you. The hose out was luke warm. I unhooked the outlet hose and started the car. the coolant comes out, but with very little preasure on it. I stopped up the bypass hose and it still has no pressure.
Has anyone else heard of this. I find it hard to believe that the engine would not overheat. Somebody help me...
This is why Ford is losing market share.
I had a Ford Contour that was a complete piece of junk which was one thing, however the FORD and 6 dealerships I went to were completely clueless about the problems with the car and that is unacceptable. I will never buy from Ford again because of this. Ford needs to stand behind their products if they expect to get out of their current situation.
We have a 99 Taurus that we bought used just a few days ago. The previous owner told us about the heater not working, but mentioned getting some sort of motor for it. We bought the part for $67 from the Ford dealership, but was told there was a no refund no return policy... the motor part we bought didn't fix the problem and we lost a bit of money. Being that it's a used car, I expect problems because sh*t happens.I'm clueless to what could be the problem.I've read so much that I'm sick of reading. There's been a list of things that could be the cause... heater core, water pump, no coolant, thermostat and so on. If I had the money to pay a mechanic or if my guy had the time to check everything that could or couldn't be a problem plus the money to repair, we could've bought a different make/model.Everything else on the car seems okay, had to get an alignment yesterday, we hate the basic radio Ford so proudly installed so we have to buy the converter kit for $80-cheapest we have found, rotors* are going bad, just minor things. The heater is the biggest problem of all right now, well that and my frosty toes. Any suggestions for a fix feel free to email me... charmin_26@yahoo.com.
I also have a 99 Taurus, and was experiencing the same problem: no heat, and the car was not overheating. I tried everything I could think of (flush heater core and whole system, check blend door, etc.) and no help. I saw similar problems on other forums, and most pointed to the water pump. I finally gave in and replaced the water pump, and sure enough the impeller blades were completely corroded away. The water pump was just a spinning disk, apparently allowing enough flow to keep the engine cool, but not enough to force coolant through the heater core. Now we have heat, although it's not as hot as it should be. I previously replaced the heater/bypass hose with a home-made hose (heater hoses and tees), and I think maybe that is restricting the flow. The cooling system on these cars is a real adventure.
Hi, I also have a 1999 Ford Taurus I've owned from new and the last 3 years the heat is no longer there, and the heater fan now comes on when it wants to, so look forward to that.
I also took the bypass holes around the heater core and put a valve in to shut it off, so the water had to go through the core. This did not work, it was still cold. I've flushed the system, but still no heat.
If anybody asks me about the Ford Taurus, I tell them if you enjoy cold feet in the winter and don't mind wearing a heavy coat while driving, and foggy windows, this is the car for them.
That's not all. It goes through rotors and pads every 8 months. You should check the air filter, by the passenger windshield under the hood by the wipers.
While I am not completely sure of the range, but from what I can tell, something like 1997 through 2000 Taurus's had coolant issues. They were using the newer coolant in them, and it was corrosive. That was what was killing the water pumps, the fins on the impeller were apparently being corroded off. Ford's "fix" for that was apparently to add a by-pass hose to later models so that when the heater core clogged up, which usually preceded the water pump's complete demise, you would still have water flow to the engine. That kept them from having to replace as many blown motors apparently, but it did nothing to address the core issue which is that their cooling system was corrosive! I have replaced the water pump, and I have cleaned out the heater core, and even cleaned out the radiator, but now my water boils out of the reservoir! I have NO idea what that is about, but I have to keep adding coolant all the time to address it. I use the coolant which can replace both types now so that hopefully it will not eat off my water pump's impeller now!
I noted someone's comments about the Taurus transmissions above too. As far as I know, EARLY, pre 1993's if memory serves had very bad transmissions. Someone at Ford finally found a fix, and if a good transmission shop has rebuilt the transmission, it becomes pretty reliable, though I do think later transmissions were not as good as the competitions, I do not think they are as bad as has been represented. The 3.8's may well have head gasket issues, but the 3.0's with the red antifreeze do eat their water pump impellers, and clog the heater cores to the best of my knowledge and based upon the experiences of myself and many others on the net.
Looks like I'm in the same boat. I bought mine new back in 1999 and I began having heater problems a year and a half ago. I've had the system flushed and the heater core replaced twice. By reading the comments here, I guess I'll try replacing the water pump next, just great. I don't think I'll be buying Ford again.
I just finished replacing the heater core on my 1999 3.0 Liter SE Taurus. The dealership confused me by saying that the heater core cannot be flushed, and I was a fool by taking their word for it. After removing the front panel and replacing the heater core (and the clamps on the hoses are a serious challenge, being pointed down and almost impossible to get to), I took the old heater core and flushed it with a garden hose. It is clear now, the dealership people were not completely honest. The heat is still not working, but both IN and OUT hoses are hot. Tomorrow I will check the damper operation and report on the progress.
The reason I am doing it myself is that I Just paid $936.00 to replace the rack and pinion assembly because of a leaking seal. At least, that what I was told.
I've got a 2000 Taurus with the same lack of heat problem. Blower blows correctly at all speeds, but no heat. I've changed the thermostat and checked the water pump for operation. Scary stuff about a possible head gasket leak into the engine. I'm taking the car this week to get it flushed completely since I don't have ready access to a garden hose.
OK, after 30 yrs. of not trusting sales men and just buying the darn car from a salvage (can't lie about condition there) and fixing every little thing. I've learned that most vehicles have certain design flaws. BUT all have these TWO. #1. Newer engines tolerate NO OVERHEATING!!! These aren't the old cast iron V8's no more!! Blows head gaskets due to warped heads!! So used cars don't talk. #2. There is NO ANTI-OXIDENTs in hydraulic fluids due to endangered species act of 1991. Change trans fluid every 2 yrs. or use synthetics at 5x the price of cheap stuff, I do. Brake fluid collects water to protect your steel brake parts. FLUSH out every 2 yrs. DO NOT add sealants to coolant system-THEY PLUG YOUR HEATER CORE!!!