Faults:

At about 40,000 tires, and rear brakes were shot and the front brake rotors were damaged.

Engine knocks unless premium gasoline is used. Dealer said there is nothing they could do.

Trunk often will not open with the button inside or with the keyless remote.

On three occasions the car died for no apparent reason. Since the check engine light did not remain on, the dealer cannot figure out why - scary!

Fuel filter was clogged causing the car barely to run and it was quite expensive to replace.

Electrical problem with brakes that caused failure of the car to shift out of park, the brake lights would not work and the brakes failed to turn off cruise control.

General Comments:

I have never had so many problems with a car in such a short amount of time. I like the size and style of the Taurus, but I think I should have bought another manufacturers car.

I previously owned a Ford Aspire (which was actually made by Kia). I had it for seven years and only ever had to replace the battery, brakes and tires.

Faults:

The engine knocks in warm weather using 87 octane fuel. The car has been back to various Ford dealers five times for this problem, but it just won't completely go away. Ford replaced the mass airflow sensor once, cleaned the sensor another time, reprogrammed the computer three times, changed the fuel filter, decarboned the combustion chambers, and changed the engine coolant. Though the spark knock hasn't completely gone away, the car performs MUCH better now than it was new, even if I do have to use midgrade fuel. The car also gets better fuel economy using midgrade fuel, so it's not a significant additional expense.

The original Continental tires caused a vibration in the steering--after several balancing attempts, I gave up and replaced them with some Goodyear tires from Wal-Mart.

The brake rotors warped and were replaced under warranty at about 30,000 miles.

The front stabilizer bar bushings failed at 40,000 miles.

General Comments:

Except for the engine troubles I've experienced, I've found that the 2000 Taurus is a nifty, well-thought-out vehicle. The dashboard, controls, and gauges are especially well-designed.

The power driver's seat with lumbar support is comfortable.

The standard stereo does a fine job with jazz and classical music, and also has an excellent AM tuner--the best I've ever experienced in an automobile.

The cruise control with +/- 1 MPH set/coast is very convenient and accurate.

The trunk is generously sized and usefully shaped.

The Taurus gets better fuel economy than the much smaller, automatic-equipped Aspire I traded in for it.

The only complaint I have, other than the engine maladies, is that the upholstery material seems too fragile for a family car. I've hauled some cardboard boxes for a short distance on the rear seat and the edges of the boxes left permanent mars in the upholstery.

A prospective Taurus buyer can avoid the spark-knock issues that I and other Taurus owners have faced by getting a car equipped with the uplevel DOHC engine instead of the standard engine. I haven't heard of any problems with the DOHC engine. If you plan on towing with your Taurus, the DOHC engine gives you 500 more pounds of towing capacity--1750 versus a measly 1250 for the standard engine.