Faults:

I've only owned the car for 2 months, I just replaced a neutral safety switch. The faulty switch was causing my windows and radio to fail, and the power assisted steering failed as well.

General Comments:

This car has 183K, but nobody would ever be able to tell when they ride in it. The engine and transmission work just as good as new, and it is roomy and comfortable just like any Taurus.

I hear plenty of Ford put downs all the time, but this car is proof that even a Ford can last if you really take care of it. My previous car was a 1994 Taurus SHO, and I only drove it for a year because I was very rough on it and the car started to deteriorate pretty fast.

If you are interested in a used Taurus, make sure it was well maintained, and keep up that maintenance yourself.

Faults:

Only minor things.

General Comments:

My ex-wife owns it, and she uses it mostly as a work car. It's quite roomy and comfortable. As for performance? It could be a bit better. As for reliability? That, too could be a bit better. Believe me, it's not as good as the Japanese mid size cars, but it's good enough. Yes, it's a great family sedan, and can also be used as either a second car, or as a first car. Would either me or my ex-wife recommend one of these cars? Yes and no. Yes because they are roomy, comfortable, and safe family cars. No because they're not that reliable like Japanese cars are.

Faults:

A few things have gone wrong with the car. There are various groaning noises that appear and disappear from time to time when turning corners or at low speeds.

The door ajar light likes to come on and stay on, thus making the interior light stay on as well.

I found that the only way to fix this in my car is actually to flick the child lock switches in the door on and off. I think sometimes the shift and cause the door to read itself as open when it isn't.

General Comments:

Other than those few problems it's a great car, I had heard it was a gas guzzler, but my car actually has better mileage than my Honda Civic and it is very comfortable. The trunk space is huge! All around I'm pretty happy with my car.

Faults:

The transmission went bad.

General Comments:

Would not buy another 97 we had the sedan a 96 and that wa great.

Faults:

Interior lights intermittently will not turn off. Solution: spray WD-40 into the door locking pin/latches. Where the door mates with the grey metal apparatus. That's where the light switches are.

Brakes "pulse" at low speed breaking below 15mph. The calipers are warped, from what I have read the brakes are most likely "under engineered".

Windsheild Washer not working, bad relay most likely.

General Comments:

Take a basic business man's car and put an exotic, high revving 32valve V8 in it. Where do I sign up! At 110 miles an hour this car feels like I'm doing 70. The "stock" top speed is 145 m/ph (No...I am not going there). The suspension is generally comfortable and still sporty, but an occasional bump at low speed will cause the CD changer to skip. This car is designed to cover large distances in comfort. It succeeds triumphantly at this.

Don't expect to do burnouts in this car, it was never designed for that.

You will tear it up right away.

If you want to race, go buy yourself an Acura or Honda with a VTEC V6. This car can make it around corners quickly and would probably scare most people with it's entry speed into corners. That having been said obviously doing this type of driving on the streets is going to KILL your gas mileage.

If you are not the type that likes to take your car to the shop ROUTINE MAINTENENCE, DO NOT BUY THIS CAR. You "NEED" a GREAT MECHANIC to own a car like this. Someone that preferably has a background in diverse, exotic engine systems. Other than the engine and suspension these cars are pretty much like any other Taurus.

There has been a lot of talk about the 4 camshafts that operate the valves. I'm not stupid, this scares me to death. They have FAILED on lots of these cars leaving the engine an all aluminum hunk of junk. Replacement cost $10,000. I have talked to a certified Ford Mechanic that maintains the Crown Victorias for a large, metropolitan city in California. He checked an insider's website only available to professional mechanics. The way to tell if these cams are about to fail is a ticking sound coming from the engine. The TSB lists the "fix" for this as having a mechanic put "Thread Lock" on all the cam gears. My advice, find a mechanic with a racing background. They have been doing these types of operations for years. Have him "pin" the cam. That is the old way of changing the camshaft timing. This is the tested, tried and true method. Welding the cams sounds too dangerous to me. I wouldn't want the parts to get warped.

If you like the styling of these cars (I do) but the idea of engine problems scares you find yourself a V-6 Duratec Taurus. You get a 200 hp engine that you most likely can get to perform like a stock SHO with intake/exhaust and chip upgrades.

However, if you want a true to life, modern day "sleeper" come on in! You won't find the high performance support that you would for Honda/Acura, but it does exist. There are many SHO clubs around the country and all kinds of information on the Internet. There are plenty of people out there with 400 horsepower SHO's!