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I have a Taurus 98 SE, the problem with my car is when engine's temperature raises at normal warm and then I turn it off, I can't start it again instantly, I must wait for around 5 minutes before it starts again. I don't know what the problem is, I guess I have a problem with temp sensor, but I'm not sure.
I also have a 98 Taurus SE and have had the problem with the service engine soon light staying on. For the other problems that other people listed, I have been lucky and haven't had any of those. The only things that last winter I found that my battery was dead and felt that something must be draining power from it. So I bought a new battery and everything was fine - Until a month ago when it started dying again and something is draining power away, so every time I want to drive it, I have to jump start it, then its fine for a few days. If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated.
Hi everyone.
I own a 1998 Ford Taurus SE/LX/Sport. When I saw the car it was an economical choice. As one said expect problems, cars take a lot of beating on the road while you ride comfortably and safely inside the cabin. My taurus has 169,000 just tripped it from comming back from the beach a week ago and is pretty smooth for most part. I have had the Dome light problem from day one. When its hot cool or dry outside they shut off, but when it rains or humid it does it. When first got car disvcovered the dome lights upfront with sunroof control were missing... replaced and fixed door handle problems. Tranny is another story, mine is not shifting rough at all though, it is smooth until the third to fourth and fifth. the 3rd to 4th the tach while switching will jump up 5000rpms higher then switch and then the last switch happens too close together. I was told that the transmission supports should help it cuz after the last switch it has a little jiggle to it which is noticeable with AC running. Also when floored from a dead stop it will shake then when you drive normally it will go like nothing is wrong. I have came to accept that and are doing what needs to be done to fix it. Other than that my car runs great everything works and it goes where I need it to when I need it to and I haven't experienced rough shifting in curves or any other problems near that. My O2 sensor went out and having it replaced this week. other than that my car should carry me another 169000 miles just do or die!
Hi there:
I have a Ford Taurus and have had many of the same problems that everyone else has had. (the check engine soon light -mechanic changed sensor-, interior light stayed on- mechanic repaired; changed battery once) I regularly maintained my car by having regular oil changes etc. It certainly is a comfortable car, but can be costly for repairs. We do have to repair items as the need arises.
I have certainly enjoyed my car.
I have a problem with my Taurus 1998 (148,000 miles) For about the first 1/2 a mile while driving my RPM will go up to about 3500 but the car will only go about 10 miles per hour. After this first 1/2 mile the car will kick out of it and drive fine. If anyone can help me with this problem it will be greatly appreciated.
I have a 1998 Taurus SE and have had the following problems:
1. Interior lights stay on even though doors are closed. I was told by a Ford dealership that two of the door sensors needed to be replaced for $700 - thanks to this site, I'll try the WD-40 solution first.
2. After running for a little while, the engines idle will rev extremely high when the car is put into neutral/park (2000 – 3000 RPM+). This problem only occurs during hot/humid weather and will go away once the temperature drops. I was told by a Ford mechanic that the problem may be addressed if the cars’ battery is disconnected for about a day, since it may be related to a fault in the computer chip. Once the battery is reconnected, the chip goes back to its default settings. He also warned that a few quirky things may appear to happen as well. I tired it and it seemed to work for a while, then the problem reappeared. I have tried it recently and again, it worked. No quirky problems have appeared.
3. Intermittent problems with the turn signal lights not working - it seems (as someone else noted) to be related to the humidity level, occurring more frequently under high humidity and/or rain conditions. I was told that replacing the multifunction switch would solve this issue (at $400). I passed on this and will try to do it myself or live with the problem until I can buy another car, preferably a Toyota or Honda.
I have a 98 ford Taurus with 80,000 miles on it. It seems that for the first 10 minutes that I drive it, it runs really good, but after it warms up, lookout. Everytime I come to a complete stop and then takeoff it wants to jerk pretty bad, it's almost like it starts out in gear, then goes to neutral, and then goes back into gear causing it to jerk. It will only do this if you come to a complete stop, if you coast through a turn and then accelerate it will not jerk. I have been driving it like this for quit some time now and just the other day the check engine light came on now and will not shut off. I am not sure if this light is on now because of this other problem I had or if it"s something totally different. I think my problem has something to do with the transmission, but I'm not sure. Would anyone out there know if I'm having these problems could there be any possible quick fixes or would it just be best to get the tranny rebuilt? I got a tranny flush and put some Scott's Tranny slip fluid into the transmission fluid, but neither of these seemed to fix the problem. Thanks for the help!!
7th Nov 2007, 03:03:
Getting those "tranny flushes" is a waste of time, and may actually do more harm than good. All the flush does is loosen dirt and metal shavings from the filter and put it back into the transmission, or worse yet, ruins the filter, so the same dirt and metal shavings can roam freely and tear up the transmission. Read other posts on here and you'll see everybody saying "Why did my transmission fail?? I had just had it flushed at the local lube place!" There you go.
You need to have the transmission pan removed to physically remove and replace the transmission filter, drain out the old fluid, and put in new fluid. This isn't hard, but it requires laying under the car and getting dirty. Also pay particular attention to what kind of fluid you put in. Different auto makers require different fluids in their designs. In a late '90's Ford, you should be using Mercon automatic transmission fluid, not Dexron, not "whatever"---Mercon (or something like Valvoline that clearly states on the bottle that it meets the specifications of Mercon)! There is also a difference between Mercon 1, Mercon II, and Mercon III--they are not interchangeable! Check your owner's manual, and if you don't have it, then ask your Ford garage.
Your power steering pump also takes Mercon ATF, NOT power steering fluid.
I have a 1998 Ford Taurus that has only 53K miles on it. I also had to replace the tranny and have/had a dome light issue. The dome problem was intermittent until today, it just would not shut off. I found this site using a google search and applied the WD40 as suggested. Guess what, it worked. Thank you very much. I was about to bring it in to the dealership.
I have another problem, the driver side door lock doesn't lock. It unlocks and fine, but the lock doesn't work, Suggestions?
I inherited a 1998 Ford Taurus with 35000 mile on it from my Mom in Dec 2004; it now has 63000 miles. From the beginning I occasionally noticed a coolant smell and in Dec 2006, the coolant reservoir began visibly leaking and was replaced. The reservoir is overflowing again, from the top this time. (I lost a quart this weekend on a trip). I found a Ford Service Bulletin on this same problem and wonder if there is a permanent fix.
I'm a high school student, and for a first car, this is a very nice car compared to some of the other cars my friends are driving. The only problems I have had are the dome lights, which don't bother me, I just turn them off. I got this car, and it had 55k miles on it, and now with 60k, I haven't had any of the tranny problems yet, the only thing that's weird is sometimes going around corners, the tires sound like they squeak, or something is squeaking. Other than that, I get about 18 mpg, so for a V6 I don't think that's that bad. What does everyone else get for mileage?
I have a 1998 Ford Taurus with only 89,000 miles on it. At 6,000 miles the "Check Engine Light" came on, and I had to take it to the dealer for repairs. It has been sitting in the driveway for the past year, because it needs a new transmission. I had it routinely serviced at the dealership as recommended by Ford. I am quite disappointed with the quality of the 1998 Ford Taurus.
I found this site via google search, and have noticed that a lot of the transmission issues are after the good ol' 150K mark. My 98 Ford Taurus SE/LX was sold to me as my first car with 102K on it. I was told that the dome light doesn't work when you open the doors, however you can still turn it on via the switches, but other than that there is nothing wrong. Well lo and behold, I noticed the check engine light. Went to the closest Advanced Auto Store, got the reader to find out that the cylinder spring coil was misfiring. Cool... I got it replaced.
Then I noticed how that when you move from a complete stop, my car goes very slowly for a while, and then as you are trying to gain speed and push on the pedal just that little more, the RPM sky rockets to 5K and that's when the tranny decides it wants to shift, and if you hold it that way, it rockets again to shift to 3rd, but if you hold it after that... the RPM's stay at 5K or until you let off the gas completely. I was told it might need a new tranny filter and oil change, so I am getting it done today. I will let every on here know if I was successful and if it helped or not.
I have a 1998 ford Taurus SE 90,000 miles - Turn signal sometimes blinks (or not) solutions:
I live next to a Ford technician who suggested (1) bumping the steering wheel (2) moving the steering wheel TILT wand and see if this makes any difference while the blinker is on. There is a connection at the steering wheel wheel that sometimes gets jarred and separates slightly. Doing these movements sometimes helps.
It might alternatively be the blinker relay (as mine was). When the relay was (temp) cold the relay would work intermittently. The heat of the day would warm the relay and it woulds work (sometimes) more reliably.
The blinker relay is a blue box cube 1"x1"x1" under the dash driver's side to the left of the steering column and above the driver's side fuse box (you have to get on your back underneath with a flashlight to see it). Went to a junk yard with the defective unit for comparison; found a (free) replacement on a similar 98 Ford Taurus and it solved the problem. Advance Discount auto parts also sells a replacement $11 (and it functionally works, but does not have same form (rectangle block vs. cube). The only problem with using the Advance relay is that you cannot physically remount (with original screw) to same location without thinking of a workaround. But it electronically solves the blinker on the blink problem.
Happy driving =)
I have the 98 Taurus SE, well, for the next day or so I'll have it because we're just going to get rid of it.
The transmission was doing the thing where it only shifts to first, then the rpms go way up, until it's warmed up, then it jerks into gear. Well, now second gear is pretty much ground to nothing, and it's not worth $3000 to fix it.
I HATE this car. I had the dome light problems, that worked intermittently with the auto lock problem.
The head gasket blew, had to have that fixed.
The front tires wobble; I had to get a steel wheel put on one side and was about to get it on the other, thought it was the brakes and had those replaced.
Console compartment broke.
Dash lights dim or go out at random.
Pretty much everything mentioned on here except the check engine light, although mine would go on if I went through a large puddle that splashed even the slightest amount of water. The car actually stalled once from that.
NOT WORTH A PENNY!!! It will suck money out of you unless you can do all the repair yourself. My husband got his 88 Sundance for free, and has done most of the repairs himself. I'm getting a Corolla this week instead of this piece of junk.