Faults:

New transmission at 40,000 miles.

New air con compressor at 35,000.

Dash lights work half the time (at night).

Auto door lock does not function properly.

Spent 400.00 for a new airbag sensor - airbag light on again after 90 days.

Drivers electric seat doesn't work right.

Cigarette lighter will not stay in the receptacle and the vanity lights decided to stop working.

The column shift has so much play while in "D" that it makes my wife nervous and she refuses to drive the car.

The rear left passenger window will not roll down from the driver's seat console button and there is a strange white oxidation on the black trim around the doors and windows.

The dealer is useless, covered NOTHING under warranty and rarely can figure out what the problem is. It is no wonder Ford lost 12 billion dollars last year.

General Comments:

I will walk barefoot to work before I buy another Ford.

Faults:

Great car except for poor cabin air quality. 2 problems with most Taurus models:

#1: Cabin air in vehicle does not get replaced unless the windows are opened. No allowance for venting stale air from the cabin. The car gets very warm even on cool days. A small amount of cabin air escape is engineered on most cars in order to keep air fresh, but not here.

#2: Under hood heated air penetrates into the fresh air/heater grille compartment, making the cabin air very warm when the knob is set on vent. Very poor design of fresh air compartment at firewall ie. made of plastic and gets heated from high under hood temperatures, thus heat transfers into fresh air intake.

General Comments:

On cool and hot days, the heater fresh air vent is useless and only brings in hot engine compartment air into the car.

Faults:

Nothing at all.

General Comments:

I think the Taurus often times gets a bad rap. I am sure that some owners have had problems with their cars. I can honestly say that mine has been very good from day one. In 2001 I rented a Taurus SES (mine is the SEL with the Duratec engine) and I really liked the comfortable ride, it is a big car without being overly big. I decided to buy one in 2002 when I paid off my other car (Escort). I decided on the SEL Premium because it had so many options (puddle lamps, lol) and I wanted to try the Duratec engine which was rated at 45+ horsepower than the vulcan engine. Relatives who happen to drive much more luxurious cars than me complimented me on the ride and overall look of the car.

This car in my opinion has plenty of "get up and go" and is very safe. I opted for the traction control (safety package) which has been quite handy on a few occasions during snowy weather. I have three kids so safety is important as well and, it had high safety ratings. The only drawback is the resale value on this car. I intend to keep this car for a very long time so, resale value is not much of a concern to me. This is the first car that I have owned in which I catch myself inadvertently going 80 mph on the highway (when I am alone) ; it is that comfortable in my opinion. Also, I believe that the Taurus is no longer available as a new model for 2006 (fleet and rental sales only) so, a real bargain can be had by getting a used one. If you do consider one, I would recommend the Duratec over the Vulcan engine. That of course, is just my opinion.