Ford Taurus

A step above the 'who's the boss' van. The transmission always goes out around 100k...it happened w/two of our tauruses.

I own the Mercury Sable version and I bought it as a rental return from a Ford dealer. It is well equipped and has the 4-whl. disc brake-ABS option. Awesome brakes. Will have a tough time going back to 2-whl. disc type cars. The ABS has saved me from two wrecks since I have owned it. I have a 1998 I bought in 2000 and immediately changed all the fluids. I have the 12-valve v-6 and have 148,000 trouble-free miles on this car. It even has the original coil and plug wires. The transmission while not the smartest operating one I've had has been totally trouble-free. I do change the trans. fluid about every 50K. I replace the air filter about once a year, oil and filter every 3500 to 5000 miles and replaced some brake pads and tires when needed. That is about it. A well made reliable American car. It handles very well also. I have noticed I can get up to 28 mpg on the freeway without the A/C on. With A/C I average about 23-24 mpg freeway. It is not real economical in town. Look for about 18... Read more

I bought a Ford Taurus 3.8L LX wagon brand new in 1995.  This has to be the worst car that I ever owned! I had problems with the handling the moment I drove it. After only 40k, the transmission had to be replaced. I drove it on a long road trip in 2002 after it being fully serviced. During the trip I blew out four tires, the air conditioning system broke down (driving through Nevada in the summer), the radiator leaked and then the engine conked out after one of the rods cracked. I had to have the car towed to a junk yard because the whole engine needed to be replaced. I would have rather have driven a Ford Edsel!!

I owed a 91 with the 3.8  This engine ran great and it never missed a beat and the body was as solid as a rock. Still the car was a piece of junk. Replacing the water pump is an all day job and if you break off a bolt you must pull the engine. It takes  30-40 mins. to change the water pump on my Chevy. The early Tauruses had a known transmission problem . An oil passage was too small to lubricate properly and the tranny would come apart after a few miles. Mine even locked up. Ford knew about this problem but tried to keep it hush hush. I pressed hard and they fixed mine for free. They said I had some front end wear and the would do the repairs for $2,200.00 plus tax. The car only had 53,000 miles and it had been babied. I drove the car two more years and then had the front end work done for under $450.00Another problem was the air conditioning system. The coils leak and so did the snap together lines. They all leaked. This car had no resale value and it is usually cheaper to throw them... Read more

has been an excellent car after the first tranny was rebuilt properly.

Has been awesome to me.

There's no excuse for a car this big to have this little leg room. It has the turning radius you'd expect from a much larger car, and it gets poor gas mileage.

My mother purchased a used 1989 Ford Taurus in 1994 with 52,000 miles on it. The transmission became defective the first year. The following year, it stalled during a hot day and left my mother stranded coming home from a trip up north. You would have to put premium gas in it once in a great while, otherwise it will stall if you leave it idling in drive for too long. My sister worked for AAA as a dispatcher, and she said their was a lot of breakdown calls on Ford Tauruses. I was reading a newspaper some time ago, and their was a classified ad for a transmission shop that had a special rates for Taurus and Sable vehicles. My brothers friend is a mechanic, and he even said the transmissions were junk. Everyone i know who had a Taurus, had transmissions replaced. I dont mind the Ford trucks, i am just wary of the cars. I am proud to be a GM man. This vehicle meets the definition: FIX OR REPAIR DAILY! Pretty sad.

My '97 hasn't been perfect, but very few cars are. The worst I can say is a $45 sensor has gone out, which is the only thing in 7 years to have needed repair. Other cars in the family including Camrys and Accords are only roughly approaching this reliability record. So why have I knocked off one star? In terms of reliability, its been very good, but the transmission controller leaves it making rougher shifts than on the Camry or Accord, though it has shown no signs of wear. So based on experience I'd give it the same ranking as the Camry or Accord. Not perfect, but still pretty darn good.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Once America's best selling family sedan, the Taurus has been eclipsed by both Camry and Accord. And for good reason. The 1996 redesign was nauseating and Ford flooded the marketplace with Tauruses by dumping them on rental car companies and taxi fleets. No wonder they're so cheap! Tauruses are quite literally a dime a dozen. You don't buy a Taurus because its a good car you buy it cause its cheap! Even though the Taurus is soon to be discontinued, you can bet there's gonna be a glut of them sitting on dealer lots in the next year or two when the rental car and taxi companies renew their fleets.

We purchased a Taurus SE over two years ago and have driven it nearly 50,000 miles. So far it has provided us with reliable, comfortable transportation. There have been no major mechanical problems. A rear window motor had to be replaced but it was covered by the warrenty and the dealer was courteous and prompt. It may not be the best looking car in the world, but hey, its American made and has done everything I have asked of it. At his point I'll certainly consider buying another.

This isn't a car, it is a spaceship from Mars. That seriously is what I thought it was first time I saw it. One handy feature about it is that you can choose to drive it either forward or backwards, because the back of the car looks like a front.

I have known many people who have owned these vehicles over the years, and NOT one of these people ever complained about this particular car. They all loved this car, and in fact many still have the same Taurus's they got back then. A nice, reliable, AMERICAN made car. I recommend it to everyone. Especially American families.

The Ford Taurus is a very under rated vehicle. Best selling car from 1988-1996. The 200hp DOHC V6 is a very decent engine. The Taurus also had a sport version, called the SHO (Super High Output). From 1996-1999, SHO's had a 3.4L V-8 that accelerated almost as fast as V8 Mustangs! Class leading rear seat. One of the only midsize sedans to offer a wagon version, which has a 3rd row seat at no cost. Optional Mach sound system, which was rated the Best Sound System for Under $30k. 4 Trim levels to chose from, LX, SE, SES, and SEL. Two modern engines are offered. Ford has also said that they might bring back the V8 in future Taurus's. SEL Taurus's have Lincoln rims! I know several people who own them, and all of them have been completely reliable, no problems at all. For about $26,000, you can get a completely loaded Taurus SEL (leather, 6 Disk CD, moonroof, EATC, etc.) I would say the average one is just as reliable as a Camry or Accord, but the Taurus will have some sportiness in it. Edmu... Read more

1997 3.0 12 valve 155hp. Well, it's quiet. At present it's very quiet indeed since it blew a head gasket at 116k miles. The economy was never anything to write home about, 20mpg in mixed driving. For a 6'3" guy there isn't much head or leg room. The radio/tape is a but antique and very hard to replace with anything decent, a fitting kit and a lot of wires is required to add an after market system, the mach system radio is actually in the trunk! The worst problem, other than the fact that it's currently dead, is the dumb gearbox. It is very reluctant to kick down and you can't select 2nd, so in the mountains it's always trying to get 3rd if you ease off for a moment on a steep climb, then the engine chugs when you give it gas. At moderate speed and light throttle, like 50mph on the freeway, if you give it a little gas it shifts UP! Anyway, it has been a thoroughly unpleasant experience. On the positive side it is obvious that Ford made significant efforts for crash worthiness, which unh... Read more

I've purchased the "99" with the 24 valve Duratec. It's a shame Ford didn't produce this car with a 5 speed manual. The engine is very powerful above 2800 rpm. The automatic is a mismatch for this, and doesn't take advantage of the power very well. At 70,000 miles the transmission developed a shifting problem. It would drop to a neutral condition at times and then kick into gear. Didn't do it all the time, and I had a difficult time getting the warranty people convinced that the transmission was bad. It got to the point where I told the mechanical insurance man that he could keep the car until it duplicated the problem. He finally authorized replacing the transmission. It's a nice car, and fast. There's another thing I've notice while driving this car. When I get up to 60 mph and set the cruise, and then climb a hill, the transmission will slip enough to power up. In other words, the tachometer will be at say 2200, and then while climbing a hill, it will rev up to 2800. It's not... Read more

I'm rating this based off owning a '94 Taurus from 1998 to the present. For the first three years of owning this vehicle, I have had absolutely no problems with it. Very rapidly, and suddenly, though, the car began to disintegrate in quality. I've recently had two huge (and expensive) problems with the transmission (this is an automatic, by the way--I haven't driven the manual tranmission version), and that's only one of the problems under the hood. Little things that were at first reliable are beginning to fail (tape deck, headlight switch, etc.). I've spoken to several mechanics (including my friends, but some who I don't know personally as well) about my car, and they say that it's pretty common for the Ford Taurus to be great for a number of years, then suddenly "go bad" after seven or eight years. But, I have to say, it provided me great service for the first few years. But, I wouldn't purchase another one, either. It's nothing flashy, nothing too special, but it'll get yo... Read more

Generally a dumb car. Comfy though.

I rented this car for a week and did not have one problem with it. The stereo could get a little louder.

Graet car, great manuevers, and great building!

It drives very well. I like how easy it is with the radio also.

We own a 98 with almost 60k miles on the 24v V6, it has been a perfect car and has not seen a day in the shop for repair...The stylin might not be great but its a good car.

At 20,000 miles the a/c went out. At 24,000 miles the a/c compressor went out. Since it was past the 24 month warranty, I got no help from Ford. At 50,500 the head gasket went out. Again, past the "extended warranty" by 6 months. Only a little help from Ford. They hate their customers.

I've had premature head gasket failure with the 3.8L engine and I've had moter mount failure. Probably will not buy another one and will more than likely buy a different brand. I still consider myself a Ford person.

We h ave driven Chrysler products for over thirty years, and are satisfied with them. Now have an Intrepid and love it! Our New Yorker was a lovely car too!

The current Ford Taurus looks like a catfish, not anything I want to drive.