Faults:

I bought a 2000 Ford Taurus LX. We had minor problems with it the first couple years, but I always had the oil changes and check ups done at the dealership so they were taken care of, especially with the warranty. Right after my warranty expired (36,000 miles), the steering wheel locked one morning and we had to have the car towed. There was a problem with the rack and pinion. As my warranty had recently expired, the dealership "only" charged me about $100.00 to fix it.

We've had problems with the windshield sprays, automatic door locks, and steering.

Most recently, this past Sat. night, my car overheated on the freeway and broke down. We were told that the head gasket was cracked/broken. Estimated cost of repairs is $900-$1500!!!

The thing is, we recently (beg. of June, at 65,000 miles) had the car serviced at a Ford dealership, including full inspection of the cooling system, flushing of the radiator, etc. We spent over $400 for that service. Do we have any additional rights in getting that Ford dealership to repair the current condition of my car? They said they'd run a diagnostics test for $100... yea right! I don't trust them.

Please, any suggestions or advice???

Faults:

Ah geez, where do I start? In the first three months of owning it, I replaced two oxygen sensors and two EGR valves (prior to the 15,000 mile mark). In more recent times (approx 30,000 miles), I had to replace the coolant reservoir and subsequent hoses/ fittings. And most recently (45,000 miles), I had to replace tie rods and other important steering mechanisms,... not to mention - the rear power windows (both driver and passenger) would only work on occasion. The major problem that I had was spark knock. I started hearing it at about 40,000 miles, and took it to the dealer six times to be serviced - the problem was never resolved. Wow, couldn't wait to get rid of that lemon.

General Comments:

Whenever I took the car to be serviced - the mechanics jokingly said that it "must have been built on a Friday"... yeah - ha, frickin' ha! I will never buy a Ford again.

Faults:

Rear axle on back of vehicle is broken.

The shocks and struts are not soft, extremely firm and outrageous!

Transmission started turning sour at 58,000 miles.

The transmission started shifting rough only when going from R to D or to Park.

Rotors warped at 45,000 miles.

Back seat to small and shaped like a C, so it is hard to sit three people in the back since seats are not designed to be flat, but curve instead.

General Comments:

It looks like ford rushed this car into production.

Seats are uncomfortable and feel very generic.

Automatic transmission AX4S is sluggish, not adaptive, hard shifting, and overall outdated. I don't see how this transmission would make it to 150,000.

For a good alternative vehicle, check out the dodge intrepid, chevy impala, or Nissan Maxima. Any of these cars will be a vast improvement than this ford.