1996 Ford Taurus

I bought my Taurus SEL Wagon new in 2003. I've had no major problems until recently. First the starter made an awful noise once while still under warranty. We could not reproduce until 2yrs ago. The starter which is a sealed unit had a bolt in it. We don't know whether it came from the crankcase or the starter, but we do know it happened on the assembly line. Ford did pay to replace this. Now I have just replaced the crankcase seal which developed a slow but annoying leak after the starter was replaced. Result of the bolt we don't know, but my guess is yes. Other than the fact I got a Monday or Friday car, I completely love this car. Its a tank. It will go anywhere in the winter snow and is very comfortable to drive. If you can find a good one, you can't go wrong.

2000 FT SE. I bought this car with 249,500 on it for 1000. This has been a somewhat good purchase for the money. However, I wish I would have saved a bit longer to get one with less miles. It also has some hail damage. I checked it over before purchase (especially the tranny) as I've learned the hard way that Ford transmissions can go at any time. I was surprised that a car fax report didn't show a rebuild as the tranny is very solid. I just had both front ball joints replaced, and an issue with the passenger side headlight, $500.00 for that repair. I put Michelin destiny 80,000 mile tires on it, $450.00 for those. I just found out that the oil pan is leaking and needs a new gasket and so do the valve cover gaskets. That will run another $800.00 for that. It also needs inner front tie rod ends, $400.00 for that. All told, I could have bought a much newer taurus for $4000.00 and saved a bunch of time. I'm thinking of trading this in before I get in too deep with repairs. Over all I like the style and power of the taurus, but the taurus costs way to much to maintain. BTW, I have a 1996 FT that has 187,000 on it, and the tranny went on that at 98,000. This will most likely be my last ford purchase.

My ratings are based on value which means I'm considering how much I paid for my Taurus in the ratings. I bought my 2007 Taurus SEL two years ago as a program car and bought it right. It was still under warranty; I had several thousand miles of warranty left and did not have to use it. Since I've had it, I have only had to perform routine maintenance. Beyond that I have spent nothing. Many don't like the Taurus; that was good for me because I didn't have to pay a premium price for it. This is among the most reliable cars I've ever owned.

I bought this car in 2006 with 50k miles.Since then I had to repair something every few months.So far I put an additional 8k miles on the car Now the rear brakes locked and the whole car got real low so I guess that is brakes ,struts and springs . Oh well . It is not a Toyota that's for sure. The person I bought it from took care of the car diligently so it's not like it was neglected. He bought a Toyota and I sold my 1990 Camry after I bought this lemon.

I have a 98 Taurus wagon with 217,000 miles. Last month, it began doing the following.

Once the engine is hot and then the car turned off, more often than not, it will not start again until the engine fully cools off. Sometimes I've had to wait 10 minutes before it would restart; other times it can take an hour or more.

Any idea what's causing this? Otherwise, it's a very reliable car.

my dad owns a 2003 with the pushrod engine.this is our third taurus.best car the ford ever made.shes got 172000 miles and keeps going.only thing is we had to replace the coil pack and wireset.no biggie $180 bucks for coil pack wires and new plugs.runs like brand new.were looking to buy the SHO.ive driven one and man do they fly.rides like a lincoln.this is just a great car.it gets better milage than my focus.i would definatly buy and recommend this car.oh and another thing is the lights are a little hazy.but hey what can you expect for it to be stored out side for 6 years and driven almost everyday.

I just pick up a 2004 Taurus with 24 v DOHC 3.0v6. for 5000$ 66K Miles in excellent condition
this will be my 3 Ford Taurus , my first was back in 1990 it was call sable it was my first Front Wheel Drive and I did not change the transmission fluid when I should have and transmission went out at 90,000 miles . I replaced the transmission for about 1,800$ and drove it for another 100,000 .

I bought a used 2001 ford ses Taurus it was program car with about 2000 miles . It is now has 200K on it and still runs like a new car . I change oil 3000 miles Transmission fluid every 30K. and I hope it makes 300k my son drives it every day to school .
If I get this kind service out of the 2004 Taurus I will be a very happy owner

i have a 1996 ford taurus gl ive owned it for 6 months this is a (AWSOME CAR) before i got it alot of people was telling me its is junk yea BULL SHITT i never had any problems with it at all. but i would not go out and buy a 3.8L because they blow gaskets like shit so i herad and exsperienced this these are good cars they can last a long time my car has 120km on it and still runs like its new every 3 months i get my car checked for any problems. i would recomend this vehicle for anybody and for start off drivers.................

This is the fourth Taurus I have owned: previous Tauri: 1990, 1995, 2000, plus a 2005 Five Hundred. I have driven well over 500,000 mi. cumulatively on these cars. Had front pump go out on tranny on the 2000 Taurus, it was under extended warranty so no out of pocket on that. All my Tauruses I have purchased extended warranties on however, I probably spent about 2,000 dollars on the extended warranties all told and maybe had 2500 dollars worth of repairs done under warranty. I would say that all of my Tauruses performed beyond my expectations mechanically. I had several tire problems with Pirellis on my '05 Five Hundred. But that is Pirelli's problem and not Ford's. I drive back and forth between PA and Oregon to see my grandkids and never have had any mechanical probs with any of my Tauruses.

Now to my 2008 Taurus FWD Limited that I purchased in April of '08. I have had no problems with it and have spent no money other than regular maintenance. This model has 7500 mile service interval so at 22,500 miles I am due to change oil for only the third time since I have owned it.
Everything works well on my 08 Taurus even the Sync voice command system which I love to show off to my family. The car is comfortable and safe and makes short work of 800 mile days over the road on the Interstate. Gas mileage is excellent with about 28 MPG average Highway and 21 or so around town. It has a 20 gallon gas tank and if I don't lead-foot it on long trips, I can get close to 600 miles per tank of gas.

The only comment I have that is negative about Fords is my local dealer service department gouges on prices and tries to milk me for all they can get on regular maintenance.

My advice: find a good reliable garage to care for your non-warranty work on your Fords and NEVER BUY TIRES from a Ford dealer. They charged me nearly a 100% mark up when I had to replace one of my Pirelli OEM P6 tires. I cancelled the order and got my new Pirelli from Tire Rack shipped me a new tire Next Day for 107 bucks and I had it put on for 15 bucks where Ford wanted to charge me 211 dollars for the same thing.

Fords: great cars in my experience, expensive and "with attitude" service on the part of their dealerships.

Love this vehicel! Had a 500 before this taurus. The only thing is that here recently the steering wheel is "shuddering" at all speeds, not related to tires, and and has a noise in the front right side. When I took it to the dealer to get the problem corrected, they said there was nothing they could do about it! The car only has 25k miles on it. If they do not correct it I will update who it is so you can avoid the hassle with this dealer!

I have 220,000 miles on this Taurus and I had almost 400,000 miles on my 95 Taurus when I sold it. Total repairs on this one to date (not including oil changes, a battery and tires) are the front tie rod ends and ball joints, and a starter motor. I'm taking it in for some minor overheating, but that's about it. Only irritating item is the "Passenger Door Ajar" signal which sends out false reading for a week at a time once every year or so. Otherwise it's great. And our temps where I live vary from -25 in the winter to 95 in the summer. Heater and A/C are always perfect..

i own 2 taurus SE's 2004 (40k) + 2006 (55k).
my last car was a honda civic and i had more problems with it than i have with any (6) ford ive ever owned. not that i would never buy a honda again. im just stating my facts.

PROS: nice more than adequate engine, spacious, reliable, cheap to repair, insure, maintain. very inexpensive ride.

cons: i HATE the brakes on the car. the gas mileage isn't what has ever been advertised. kind of a boring car inside and out.

we have owned every generation of Taurus built to date. We currently own a 2006 and a 1997. The first one we owned a 1986 GL 3.0l was an Awesome car it had over 360000km on it when we sold it. Continued to run with new owner to nearly 550,000kms and was great on fuel ! did replace trans once but hell it had nerarly 250kms on it when I overhauled it. my 1994 3.8l GL was a let down. the 3.8l engines were terible on fuel and blew head gaskets like crazy. we then bought our 1997 3.0L What a great Car ! currently Running over 275kms on it still the same motor still the same trans and it runs like a top! repairs to date are one idler pully $58 one power window switch thats it thats all ! just regular maintenance. Our 2006 that my wife drives is currently at 80kms and we never had to make one warrenty claim yet! These cars made my 2 over priced honduhs look like piles of garbage. Both of my hondas rusted out both had several warrenty claims and both were cold as witchs tit in winter(the passanger actually had to scrape the windows on the inside as we drove and yes we had numorus thermostates put in). My parrents also drove Taurus and owned 4 of them all had over 300kms or better when sold with little to no issues. My advise to anyone looking at buying a Taurus is get one with a 3.0l engine they run forever and are cheap on fuel. Stay far away from 3.8L equiped fords of any varaity. And for those that bitch about trans failure answer me this did you ever have your fluid changed like you are suposed to ever 48000kms? willing to bet 90% did not. It is the most neglected part for maintenance on a new car. Take it from a auto tech of 14 years. even after 300km plus none of our ford taurus we owned had any cracks in the dash rips in the seats just min ave wear.. wish I could say the same thing about my 2 accords I would not by another honda to save my life !

Bought the car new. Been a stellar performer. Pushing 155k mileage now. Got 72k on original tires. Just replaced second set. Routine maintenance at scheduled times has proven the key to keeping the car on the road and performing well. Had 288k on previous Taurus when I sold it.

Bought new taurus in 2004 and drove just about 53000M before the transmission died on me. Spent about $2400 on rebuilt transmission and other stuff. Totally disappointed in ford and will not even consider buying another ford.

Body- paint coming off at gas tank, Had a partial paint job about 10 years ago. The rest of car looks good.

Interior- the fabric is coming loose at the top of the rear window. The carpet holding up well considering the wear and tear on the car.

Brakes-brake light has been coming on for the past year - intermittently.

Electrical and lights - My rear turn signals are not working and the lights on the rear are not working. No brake light on the rear driver side.

Drive train - no knowledge. No diagnosis of a problem in this area.

Exhaust and emissions - have had mufflers replaced at least 4 times. I was told about 8 years ago I needed to have a catalytic converter replaced. Have had no problems to the best of my knowledge.

Heating and Air Conditioning. No problem with the heating but - I have not used my A/C since 2000! My car's engine dies when I use my A/C. I have not had a decent diagnosis on why yet. The computer diagnosis was always suggested when I did not have the money to get it done and when the car was running fine, I did not think about it. I got one computer diagnosis and it did not tell me anything of value. And it was not done at a Ford facility.

Suspension and Steering - I keep my fluids level and have had no problems in this area.

Today I had to replace the rear strut rod and bushings when a piece broke loose, jammed into the wheel and stopped my car. Fortunately I had reached half of my destination and had not picked up the passenger I was to take in for a medical appointment 20 miles away! it cost me $141 for the replacement parts and labor. I don't know what the regular charge is at a Ford dealership but this is what I paid at a brake place.

Overall, I love my Taurus and really have not had that much maintenance done on my car. Tires and oil changes have been my most numerous maintenance items. I did have Transmission work twice since I purchased my car in November, 1995 as a retirement gift to myself. This was the newest car I had ever purchased and don't think I will ever buy another one.

I have owned this 1997 Ford Taurus for less than one year and it had 100,000 miles when I got it. In less than a year I have had to replace the brakes, catalytic converters have holes in them, and a valve has gone out in the engine. I will not replace the converters as this is at least a $1200. dollar repair. The same, another $1200. or more to replace the valve. This is a piece of junk!

Great Car I have only owned it for six months
though it seems to have an ignition switch problem just starting up and and a trans light comes on from time to time I changed the trans fluid but it has not stopped the light

I purchased my Ford Taurus two years ago. At the time it had 93000 miles on it. After driving it off the dealers lot (it was a new car dealership)the service engine soon light came on. I returned it to the dealer and after some convincing they agreed to replace the exhaust monitoring chip which would have costed $68.00. Last year on the way down to California the front seal went on the automatic transmission. I found out that the engine had to be removed in order to repair this $2.00 part (labor costs $1,300.00).It is now sitting in my driveway with a power-steering pump leaking.(repair est. $275.00)

I purchased a 1990 Ford Taurus about 10 years ago, while I was a college student. It had a 128K at the time. They kept telling that the trany would go out soon. We drained all of the tranny fluid. Consequently, it has faithfully performed through the last two years of my university education, hauled my three children to their variuos events, and taken us on various important family events. Apart from having to paint it again, and replacing the CV joints, I have noticed no problems with the drive train. With a total of 228K, I think that it has done an excellent job for a 19 year old car. It proves that if you change the engine oil, and maintain all of the fluids to their correct level, a vehicle can outlast even the best of them. Strangely enough, I can keep up with the Lexus, Jags, and BMW's in the Dallas traffic. I'm sure that they make fun of my car, but who cares. I'm not the one making those big payments. I'm will continue to drive that little Taurus. It has proven to me to be a great car.

D. Candioto
Dallas, TX.

I bought my Taurus with around 70k miles on it and I have loved it apart from a major problem with the Transmission. It seems that these cars were built to go for not much more than 130k miles. Other than the I still own i and love it. I would recommend it to anyone.

junk

Brought this car for college son with 60k on it. Now 3+ years later 130k on it. First 2 years ,no problems. Third year ,a money pit. replace front/rear struts springs,brakes twice,power stering pump. Spoke with seveal amchanics and all state this is a trouble free car until 125-150K. It wasn't sdesigned to go beyond 150K,all mechanics agree to get rid of it soon or it will cost you more money.Son graduates in May 09 and will trade in on a 2 year old Fusion.

I bought my Ford Taurus from my Grandma with low miles (60K in a 10-year-old car). Ford replaced her head gaskets and transmission at around 30,000 miles. Aside from those major failures, nothing else really failed on the car that wasn't normal wear and tear. The wheel cylinders were replaced once (leaks), and the tie-rods became loose so those were replaced as well. I have to say I love Ford's burn me/freeze me settings for the heater/AC.

great car. have always love the taurus/sables. faithful performances.

I've had my Taurus since Sept,2000. I love this car. Have had some suspension problems,and keep having them,but this little six cyl. really has spunk. Off the line she's pretty quick but if you have to "stomp-on-it"she'll do 110mph no problem.

I have put 100k miles on this car in just over 5 years. The only concern I have had is that the transmission fell out at 96k. Otherwise, it's been a very comfortable car to drive with no major concerns. The a/c continues to blow extremely cold, even in Texas!

I drive about 1000 miles a week for my job. I chose this car, because I have a 92 Mercury Sable with over 200,000 miles, and this 3.0 engine is been very reliable. For the price, its a good reliable car, and fairly easy to repair. Have always done my own oil changes, every 3-4000 miles, and feel like that has helped make the engine last that long. This is my first "fancy" Taurus decked out with moonroof and leather seats, very stylish.

Great car with an engine that will actually get the car up to highway speeds fast enough. My only complaint is the low mileage but that's solved with smart acceleration and braking as well as conservative driving.

Heard from my mechanic that the Taurus GL 3.8L V6 requires more maintenance due to the larger engine, which is understandable. If you do your own oil changes, you can save yourself some green as well as add to your engine life if you're good about keeping up with it.