Faults:

Needed a new wheel bearing at 160,000 miles.

General Comments:

We purchased our 1996 Ford Taurus used with approximately 130,000 miles. We then proceeded to drive it hard and put it away wet nearly every day for another 100,000 miles with only $500 worth of repairs. She died with dignity at the age of 222,000 miles looking great inside and out. My only regret is that I will probably never own a car that reliable and tough again in my life. Rest in peace Charolais.

Faults:

Well, the most talked about thing in these Taurus' is the transmission. There have never been anything good said about them. Although.. mine has been fairly good. It obviously has problems, but none that affect its performance enough to make it an inconvenience.

The car was mainly a highway computer, so the body is in spectacular shape inside and out for the year, and the miles on it.

The exhaust has never been a problem, the only thing that's WONKY is the heater blower motor. It only works on high, but in these cold Canadian winter months, high heat is needed.

Other than that, the car is exceptional.

General Comments:

The real reason I wanted to comment on these cars is because of that happened a few days ago. It is around -20/-30 Celsius, and it has just made a run around the city. The car performed normally and was operating at a proper temperature, and the radiator was doing its job.

The next day, I went to start 'er and nothing happened. It was cold, and yes, the car was plugged in. The obvious things were taken care of like frozen gas lines, fuel, and such. But one thing I somehow missed, was the coolant level. My dad went outside to see what was the deal with my car. The first thing he checked was the coolant level. It was really low, but was still functioning properly. The coolant was filled back up, LOL and the car fired right up.

So to all those fellow teenage 1996 Taurus owners, if it's winter time and cold out, and the obvious things are taken care of, check the coolant level!!

Faults:

Other than routine maintenance like brake pads, tires, and batteries.

550000 miles - Ball joints, tie rod ends, CV joints. This suspension was built really poorly. Some of the front end parts were made of plastic. I hit a few bumps on a road that was being repaired, and broke a ball joint, and ruptured everything in the front end. I had to drive home, which was only a few blocks away with the wheel dragging. Cost me $750 bucks, and a good friend of mine is my mechanic, so he didn't even charge me full price for the maintenance.

Transmission went at 63000. When I picked this car up from the dealership the day it was bought for me, it was 2 quarts low on trans fluid already. It leaked a few quarts per thousand miles. It left me on the side of the road because 3rd gear went out, and overheated the car. Blew my radiator hoses too when this happened. $1600 dollar repair.

Alternator - 64000. A little bit of a cheaper repair, but I was on a trip driving back from Boston back home to Jersey. It left me stranded over 100 miles from home needed to be towed. Cheap fix, but expensive tow.

Water pump - 68000. This went on another trip, but luckily I made it home before it overheated.

Thermostat - 72000.

73000 - Camshaft position sensor.

75000 - brake rotors warped.

77000 - Belt broke, and almost overheated it. Needed to have it towed once again. I put the blame of that on myself though for not replacing it as regular maintenance.

Around 80000 the A/C stopped working.

81000 - Shocks, struts, and springs. Car was sagging.

84000 - Another alternator.

86000 - New transmission started leaking out of the front seal.

88000 - Fuel pump. Another tow. My girlfriend at the time was with me, and it was a cold night, and we were stuck on the side of the road for 3 hours before the tow truck came.

89000 - Ignition switch towed again.

89000 - Power steering pump.

89000 - Motor burned or leaked oil mostly since new, but I was getting ready to trade it in so I had the main oil seal fixed as it was leaking faster at this point.

89000 - The day before I was ready to trade it in the starter felt like crapping out.

General Comments:

Very good car for the first year or close to it that I had it. Then it was a major headache.

Very unreliable.

Comfortable car, nice interior, but mechanically it was horrible. A nightmare, and a terrible experience for a first car. Especially since it was only 3-6 years old when I had it.

My grandfather bought me this car when I got my license in 1999. He bought it for A LOT more than the value of it was. RIP OFF. My grandfather was kinda bummed that I decided to trade it in. He thought I should keep it. I had to pretty much buy the car back on repairs.

All in all I have known other Taurus owners, and they seem to have experienced similar problems with theirs as well. I think this is quite possibly the WORST car Ford ever built, and should have been the cheapest. I don't understand how this was the best selling car in America for years straight.

I bought a 96 Contour after this, and I have to say I have put 100000 miles on it so far it is at almost at 200000 miles, and it is a MUCH better built car, and MUCH more reliable. Yet is is a cheaper car. Go figure.

Never had to have it towed once.