2004 Ford Taurus SE 3.0L V6

Summary:

All in all a good car for the money

Faults:

Nothing too big has gone wrong with the car yet. I have just had to replace the rear wheel cylinders because they seized up at 127500 km, it was about a $200 repair. Other than that nothing.

General Comments:

The car has been very good to me since I bought it. It gets me to and from school (about 100km round trip) 4 days a week with no issues. The car gets good gas mileage for a small V6. I get about 575km to a tank. The engine gives you a little attitude when you try and start it in extreme cold. Sometimes it takes two hits with the starter to get it to crank and start. But it starts fine if you use the block heater. The engine seems under powered at times. In first or second gear it takes off like nothing, but as soon as you hit third or fourth acceleration diminishes. This means you have to plan your passes a little more. But for everyday driving it is more than enough.

Heater and air conditioning work great. Seats are comfortable and the interior is well plotted and spaced. I actually find that the interior in my car looks and feels nicer than the one in my dad's car (2007 Ford Fusion). The back seats are spacious and people seem to be comfy back there on long rides. The console shifter makes shifting easy and kinda fun. I do wish that this car had a second gear start option so I wouldn't spin the tires in the snow so much. But the car does have a heavy front end so handling in the snow is good.

The stock sound system is good, but I would like to upgrade it in the future.

I would have to say this is a god car for the money. I hope it lasts me until the end of college, then I'm gonna buy a truck :).

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 27th January, 2008

2004 Ford Taurus SE 6 cylinder

Summary:

Bad Transmissions

Faults:

I blew the transmission at 100,000 miles with most of it highway. My brother-in-law blew his '04 SES transmission with 72,000 miles the week before. The mechanic told me the transmissions that are on these cars are very poor. He had two more waiting to have transmissions put in. There was also a waiting list for parts. Consumer Reports graded it as an excellent used car; I do not know why.

General Comments:

I like the car; it rides nicely and quietly. With the transmission problems however, I would not recommend it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 23rd January, 2008

15th Mar 2008, 15:35

Funny how my '01 Taurus has 125k miles on it with the original transmission? And my '04 Taurus has 72k with the original transmission as well. I am guessing you and your brother drive your cars rather "spirited?" Or you don't follow the manufacturer's recommended maintenance for the vehicle, whatever the case may be it seems rather odd that your transmissions went out so prematurely while mine and others I know who regularly maintain theirs are still in good shape.

17th Mar 2008, 21:12

I must agree with the above comment, the transmissions in the Taurus may not be the best but it is extremely strange that they would blow so early in the life of the car. My 2004 Taurus has 132,000km and the transmission shifts nice and smooth. It also has quick response for forced downshifts when passing...

19th Apr 2008, 18:42

Attention to all! Don't let your car rock back and forth when you park (use the parking brake that's what it's for) it will destroy the transmission. Parking on an incline with hurt it also. I have an 01 Taurus I bought brand new and it has 146000 miles on it and it still shifts like brand new. I also found that when coming to a stop, allow this particular transmission to shift itself instead of forcing it by slamming the accelerator. You still have to drive this car pretty hard (this little V6 loves to be aired out) just allow the car to fully downshift when comming to semi-stops. Feel the car... BE the car.