1997 Ford Taurus GL 3.0L 12valve

Summary:

Ford...Hire Geo Metro's engineers!

Faults:

Transmission was bad when I bought the car used.

Interior lights stayed on, running down the battery, all doors were closed

(left rear door switch was temporarily defective).

Coolant reservoir was extremely dirty with brown sludge inside. I flushed the cooling system myself with a garden hose. This caused the reservoir to start leaking, resulting in engine overheating twice (unaware of leak). Undoubtedly this has done engine damage.

General Comments:

This is extremely poor engineering. The reservoir is directly connected to the lower radiator hose, subjecting it to full cooling system pressure and temperatures. If this plastic reservoir leaks, you may soon lose your coolant and ruin your engine before you get any alarms!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 29th July, 2002

2nd Mar 2004, 19:14

You definitely did the wrong thing flushing the coolant yourself. I have been the proud owner of two 1997 Taurus' myself (wrecked #1). The only reason I say you shouldn't have flushed it yourself would be the fact flushing it was covered by recalls. Trust me, I went through the same thing myself. I'm sorry you went through all of the agony, but it wasn't the car's fault, or a bad design... should have taken it to the dealer first!

Good Luck in the future.

1997 Ford Taurus GL 3.8

Summary:

Comfortable, but not mechanically well built

Faults:

There is a popping noise in the front end of the car when I turn right or left. Sometimes it pops when I brake quickly too. The funny thing is that it only happens when it is warm outside. It never happens below 50 degrees. I have read complaints on the Ford web sites and this one is all over the place, yet there is no recall. I'm afraid it might be dangerous, but no one can find anything wrong with it. It is also embarrassing because it's so loud, it sounds like I've hit something!

My gas mileage is horrible, about 14 miles per gallon in city and 19 highway.

I recently experienced another problem with the door ajar switch. This is another complaint all over the Ford web site, but not been recalled. The door ajar makes my interior light stay on, running down my battery.

General Comments:

The vehicle is comfortable, but has been a nightmare of small problems.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 9th February, 2002

8th Aug 2002, 12:56

The review is completely accurate. I have had the same, but more numerous and worse problems with my '96 Taurus GL.

Transmission rebuild, transmission sensor, rough shifting, radiator, overheating, idler pulley, A/C switch, door ajar, brake calipers, engine wiring, wind noise at doors, A/C rattling noise, noisy fan, daytime running lights failure, rear lights burning out too often, paint delamination.

The car is comfortable, gets reasonable mileage and handles well, but is nothing but an endless source of problems.

The only two good things about it are that it has rusted very little and the A/C is cold within 5 seconds of turning it on.

I will definitely not purchase another Ford product.

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1997 Ford Taurus GL 3.0 V6

Summary:

A nice, comfortable and safe car

Faults:

I didn't have major problems with this car.

Since I brought the car I changed the altinator twice.

The engine never over heated.

Also the engine makes to much noise when driving.

General Comments:

On the other hand, this is a really good car to own. Had no problems when traveling to Florida from New York then to Chicago and California.

It is a good car to travel with. I got 426 miles before I refueled, not bad.

Very comfortable, safe and reliable car.

No problems with the transmission.

This is one American family car that takes abuse and yet takes you to where you want to go without problems.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th February, 2002

24th Dec 2002, 13:20

You must have got a car that was built on Wednesday morning. That's the most efficient time to build a car. Sorry I can't agree with your 'good report'. I wish I could find someone to buy my Taurus, which has had nothing but problems since day one. Good luck.