Faults:

I had the same "no heat" problem with my 99 Taurus as everyone else. Replaced the water pump and thermostat, as well as flushing the system.

A mechanic overheard me complaining about the problem while I was in the parts store. He spoke up and said you have a 98 or 99 Taurus don't you? He told me if no heat after replacing the obvious components, simply use a "quick-grip" style clamp to clamp off the heater core bypass hose. Once the car is at operating temperature, turn the heater on full power. Then carefully clamp off the by-pass hose forcing the hot pressurized water through the heater core. After about 30 minutes of idling, I went and checked the car. It was so hot inside it was hard for me to breathe. Once hot, remove the clamp and there you go.

I myself am not a mechanic, so I am not sure if there are any negatives to this trick, but I didn't have the time or money for a heater core or anything else for that matter. I did however have a clamp with nice smooth clamping surfaces that would not hurt the hose, so I gave it a try.

I would assume one would need to flush the system after doing this, because the gunk that was forced from the heater core had to have went somewhere. Personally I didn't. Wife is happy and car is warm. Mission accomplished!

Hope this helps and saves someone a lot of time and money.

General Comments:

Great traveling car. Good on gas and very comfortable to drive, especially on long distances. Motor seems to hold up very well.

I have 122000 miles, and after some typical maintenance, it runs and drives well enough that I would take it across the country if I had to.

Faults:

I also am having problems with my power steering and heater core. I had my power steering flushed a few days ago, and within 2 days the power steering fluid was almost empty and making the same type of noises. Now, 2 days later, I can barely turn the steering wheel.

Also, I have spent hundreds of dollars trying to figure out why the heat doesn't work. My mechanic has decided that it is the heater core and I will need to spend the money soon (before winter) to fix it. I hope this solves the problem.

General Comments:

I like the way the car handles in windy conditions. The aerodynamics play a big part!

Faults:

Before my transmission broke, my wipers would go off sometimes when I turned on my turn signal.

My brake rotors would warp every time I replace them, adding a shake to my steering wheel when I brake.

I am looking for a new transmission?

General Comments:

This car has been a great car until the day the transmission went out.

Faults:

I have owned this car for a short period of time, and so far have noticed a few things.

The relay for the horn and the cruise control went bad twice in less than a month, so therefore I decided to not replace it anymore and deal with it. My previous car didn't have cruise control, so I don't see it as much of a problem.

The radio antenna has come loose more than once, so instead of finger tightening it, I twisted it with a pair of pliers.

The fabric on the seats seems to be a little loose, it has a few wrinkles.

Both cigarette lighters become loose and rattle.

The headlights are so dim (cloudy lenses), that sometimes it seems I would see better at night with them off.

A/C doesn't work, the lines are bad. I have never owned a car with A/C, so it really doesn't bother me.

General Comments:

I read a lot on this car before I bought it, and took everything into consideration. It seems that the cars with the Duratec 24 valve v6 are the ones with the major problems (overheating, head gasket etc). Mine has the less powerful Vulcan 12valve V6.

I can say so far the transmission is scary enough on its own. The way it seems it just never wants to stop moving, and it shifts hard from 1-2 and from 2-1, which is a common thing in these transmissions.

I bought the car for $1600. It was a salvage vehicle which worried me until they showed me pictures of the accident (wasn't that bad) and statements and receipts from the place that fixed it. The previous owner was an elderly woman who said she really had no major problems with the car except for the brakes having to be replaced a little faster than most cars, which isn't too uncommon as well. However everything works fine (dome lights, locks, etc)

When I buy a car, I usually drive them till they quit or until I find something I shouldn't pass up. I sold my 1991 Cherokee with 285,000 miles and it ran fine, however I thought this would be better for a commute to school, which is about 40miles one way.

But for now I think I did good. It doesn't hurt to do in depth research and get on web sites like these to see what people say.

When researching this car, I went and asked a dealer about common problems with the Duratec engine just to see if he would be honest with me. He said that the Taurus only had motor problems with a 3.6L motor, which is funny because they were NEVER offered with a 3.6L. They only had 2 versions of a 3.0, which were the Duratec and the Vulcan, and a 3.4L V-8.

Basically it comes down to this, you can never do enough research, so to make the best decision go further in depth, take a few days to read everything, don't just impulse buy. And try to avoid a dealer for information.