1993 Ford Taurus GL from North America - Comments

Too many to name... This car NEVER ran right from the day I bought it...

New transmission at 51,000 miles.

New transmission at 79,000 miles.

Head-Gaskets blew at 86,000 miles.

Rebuilt engine at 86,000 miles.

Head-Gaskets blew at 91,000 miles.

New (used) engine at 91,000 miles.

Transmission finally died a THIRD time at 97,000 miles.

Various interior parts broke for no reason because of cheap plastic and bad design.

Check engine light was always on...

Oil light was always on... even though the oil level was fine...

Turn signals stopped working.

Windshield wipers stopped working at random times...

Dashboard started cracking in various places...

Half the time it didn't even start... couldn't figure out what the problem was...

Shocks always wear out more than normal...

Lots of clunking and loud banging noises while driving...

The Ford Taurus is the worst car ever produced. The car is a complete disgrace to anyone who drives it. In order to save a few dollars, Ford used cheap quality parts and engineering on every single element of this car, and boy does it show.

It will cost you more to fix this car on a daily-yes daily-basis than the original purchase price!!

I honestly don't know who in their right mind would even think about buying a Ford Taurus. There are SOOOOOO many other better cars out there.

Avoid at all costs!!!

I had a 1993 Taurus wagon with the 3.8l v6 and didn't have problems until 98,000 miles. The same head gasket problem. Mechanic told me it was a common problem and could cost from 700 to 1400 depending on what damage there was depending on how long it had been leaking coolant inside the engine and how much mixed with the oil. Had same problem with a Venture 3.4l v6 we later got, but caught that in time and before extended warranty expired. That one happened at 40,000 miles. Also had problem with 3.8l v6 in a Buick Century wagon when the timing chain slipped and took out the valves at around 110,000 miles. That is every v6 motor I have ever had, and I don't trust a v6 anymore. I have never had an in-line 6 that failed under 200,000 miles (Dodge Dart 225ci slant 6, Chevy Truck 250ci I6, BMW 3.2l I6, Jeep Wrangler 4.2 I6). Other than that, I would prefer a 4 cylinder.

I really liked the car, and would have fixed it except my wife needed a 12 passenger van for her business, so we traded it in instead of fixing it and I drove her old van.

You people make me laugh. You take a chance on buying an old piece of junk, then complain when the thing has problems!

I don't think I would even buy a brand new Taurus!! They are simply terrible cars!!

How so? From what I've seen, they're OK cars, it's just that people don't take care of them.

That review brings back memories of my family's Taurus. We bought it off of somebody that we figured was honest. That turned out to be false later. I think we had it from about 1999 to 2004. It was a great car at the start. It looked fabulous and never gave us any problems. Then we overloaded it once on a long trip (probably by a couple hundred pounds). The car overheated, and threatened to overheat more on the trip. After that initial failure (we think it was the fan) we had a transmission seal fail. Besides that, I really can't recall that car costing us much. We didn't take especial care to drive or maintain it really well, and yet it gave us a bit of pause. We had to sell it for $200 when practically everything on it worked well, just because it had high mileage. After we sold it we found out that the car hadn't been from B.C., as the dealer had told us. Furthermore, as he never would have told us, it was a car with an accident in it's past. Considering that, we did pretty well with this car. Not all Tauruses are bad, just quite a few of them, due to being rushed to production and the dismal quality of Ford's transmissions and engine components from the 1980s to the 1990s (and beyond).

First of all, if you buy any Ford product with the 3.8 engine, you are just asking for a headache. I own a 1993 Taurus GL with Fords' long time popular and RELIABLE 3.0

As of writing this, the car has just over 264,000kms on her. and aside from normal maintenance that is required on any vehicle, the car has been great and problem free. My brother in-law owned the Sable wagon with the 3.8 and had nothing, but problem after problem, expected with the crappy head gasket case that the 3.8 really is, and the tranny for that particular engine wasn't anything to brag about anymore than the engine was. He finally wrote the piece of s*** off and bought the Taurus wagon with the 3.0 (i might of had something to do with that) and has been happy ever since. He's owned the car for 3 years now, and aside from normal maintenance, has put only a ball joint into the car.

The Taurus really isn't that bad a car, although they are well known for the struts failing regularly, and are perhaps one of the worst vehicles prone to rusting out very quickly if not taken care of. So, as long as you stay away from the 3.8 engine when buying a Taurus, and take regular care of it, it makes a nice family vehicle.

I got a 1993 Taurus LX 3.8 V6.with 85,000 miles on it. I had it anti rustsprayed twice. There is vertually no rust or holes in the car. I bought it used in 1995. I would buy a 2006 if they still made them. Any problems I've had are small part of wear and tear.

I have a 2005 Ford Taurus SEL. Before this, I was an avid GM owner, previously I owned a 1994 Chevy Lumina, a 1994 Olds 88, and a 2001 Chevy Prizm. Of all of the above cars, the only one that I LOVE is the Taurus. The Lumina was repair after repair. I put THOUSANDS into the Lumina in just a few years, with tranny and engine problems. Then Olds was OK, but had electrical issues constantly. The Prizm was all right, but too small and the engine had no power with the A/C on. My Taurus, which goes into the shop today for the 25,000 mile service is running wonderfully. She gets 23.6 MPG city/hwy mixed. Power is superb, with plenty in excess even at 70 mph to pass. I would highly recommend the Taurus to anyone who wants a car that is big enough for all of your stuff, has the power to get you where you're going, and will do all of this stylishly, and without problems. Here's to 200,000 more miles!

"I would buy a 2006 if they still made them."

Actually, Ford makes 2006 Tauruses, just not for the public; they're only sold to rental fleets and such.

I don't know what you guys are talking about. I bought my ford taurus about 8 years ago used from a marine, and it has given me NO problems ever since. Other than the usual wear and tear nothing has gone bad at all. The ford taurus is and AWESOME car. If you had to replace the tranny once and it went bad again I wouldn't even bother.

I have a 1993 Taurus 3.8l V6 and it has been one of the best cars I have owned. It has almost 275,000 on it now and has the original transmission. Head gaskets replaced at about 150,000 but the dealer paid half. AC quit, but other than that, no major concerns. It is fast and comfortable, but the body needs work.

I don't get it. I have had three Ford Tauruses. All have been outstanding cars. All have well over 200,000 miles on them. I have not pampered or babied them at all. I might have changed the oil every 10,000 miles. I did make sure I kept the oil up though. I also had the transmissions flushed at 90,000 miles just after I bought them. The only problems were wear related. I replaced the alternator on two of them and the water pump once on all three. The only weakness was the ignition module problem which is common to this car. I had the 3.0 engine by the way. I think I might have mistakenly posted somewhere else that I had the 3.8 liter. Anyway, I love these cars and would love to find a good pre 1996 SW with low miles.