Faults:
I bought this car used in 2006 from a used car dealer. The car had 91,000 miles on it.
The head gasket had to be replaced at 98,000 miles in December, 2006. I had to replace the head gasket on my 1993 Mercury Sable at about 100,000 miles in 2001, six months after I bought it, just like this car.
The heater never worked on this car. I did not check it when I bought the car because it was summer. The A/C had gone out on my Sable in 2006 so I was just glad to have A/C that worked in this new 1999 Taurus. The A/C works great on the 1999 Taurus. I asked my mechanic about the non-working heater on the Taurus and he shook his head and said it would be very expensive to fix. Looking at the reports here on the Taurus it seems there is a lot of problems with non-working heaters.
The Engine Check light came on two weeks ago and the mechanic said it was Emissions Control & reset it. Then it came back on a week later & it said P1744--TCC. The Trans shop said it was the Torque Converter was failing & said the trans. replace would be worth more than the car. They said the car seems to be running fine otherwise. I brought the car home and the check engine light went off. I had the trans. fluid replaced. It was a bit dark. I did not know if the car had its transmission service at 90K miles. The Check light has been off since.
Passenger car window makes grinding noise.
The car shakes when you are driving it. The Mechanic said car needs new struts.
When I got the car, I had one of those 100 point safety checks and they said one rear brake was installed upside down. The tire shop replaced the rear brake and gave me the extra spring that was rolling around in the rear brake. I still have the spring. The mechanic said the one year old front tires need to be replaced because the car is out of alignment and have worn the outer tread off the new front tires. The back tires are fine.
In terms of wear, the steering wheel cover is deteriorating.
The cover on the dashboard is coming apart.
The front windshield cracked one day, and kept cracking for an hour until the crack was twelve inches across. I replaced the windshield one month ago at 105K miles.
General Comments:
I like the big engine on this car. I need a V6 for driving over a hilly area on Highway 17 to Santa Cruz. The V6 of my 1975 Ford Maverick, my 1993 Merc. Sable and this 99 Taurus went or go over the grade on Highway 17 like champs. I had a V4 1990 Mercury Topaz that I bought as a new car and it never could get over the grade without bottoming out at 30 m.p.h. Also, I like the big engine for acceleration on the Northern California freeway on-ramps. The V6 takes you smoothly to highway speeds without any faltering.
The 1999 Taurus handles well on turns on the mountain roads.
I like the sedan style of the four door Taurus. It is easy to get people in and out and it is definitely a great family car design.
