6th Jul 2009, 15:07

I love my Ford Taurus 98 SE, and would rather pay for another engine than get another car.

I have had heaps of issues, but I also don't maintain my car - I'm not mechanically inclined and I'm broke. I do minimum oil changes, and what is needed to get by.

I never had a dome light, and I really don't need one. I purchased it used without a dome light and had no problems.

I was upset that the head gasket was bad and the dealer's mechanic didn't fix it on warranty. Played that "she's a girl, so I'll tell her it's normal for the radiator to have black sludge in it." I tried to argue until I was blue in the face and nothing was fixed under warranty on my car, but that is the dealership's fault, not Ford's.

The car died on me last week during a trip, just stopped running. It cranks over fine, but won't go, it doesn't seem to be getting gas, then the windows suddenly stopped working. And I've had no heat for 3 years nor A/C but that doesn't bother me either, well I could do with heat but that would mean a new heat gasket, new heater core, and thermostat. If I don't replace the gasket, then I've got to flush the system every month.

Oh, and the locks have always been troublesome on getting them to unlock with keys or lock automatically from the inside on the driver's side.

I know this all sounds awful, but I've never loved a car more besides my piece of crap babydoll 89 Crown Vic' "Bolt" and I loved her dearly. - Amy.

7th Jul 2009, 20:31

Hey, had the same problem with getting no gas to the car, got it towed to a mechanic and it ends up the Ford Taurus has an gas cut off if the car even gets bumped LOL. So it's in your trunk behind the covering on the right side, just pull the covering back and you will see a little switch; press the red button on top and you should get gas back to the engine! Sadly I had to pay the mechanic 38.00 to press the switch -_-. See if that works! It did for me.

25th Aug 2009, 21:57

I got a 1998 Ford Taurus as a gift. I had just about all the same problems like most of the other people on this site.

Now it's sitting in my driveway. The other week I was driving home and it started steaming. Then it wouldn't move when I pressed the gas. So I pulled over and had it towed home.

Now when I crank it it sounds normal, cranks fine, but when I put it in drive or reverse and press the gas, it won't move at all. It has water, oil, transmission fluid, gas, and everything else. I am not a mechanic so I really don't know what else to check. I have no idea what's wrong with it. If anyone knows, please reply, I would really appreciate it.

20th Sep 2009, 14:40

I have a 1998 Ford Taurus SE with 134,000 miles. It run well but it has no heat, the blower works and the temp gauge works. It doesn't get hot or overheat even after 30 minute runs. What can I do to try to fix this myself?

20th Sep 2009, 18:47

To comment 14:40:

It is difficult to understand your comment, but I can try to help.

Is it low on coolant? Maybe you should try checking that, and if it is, when you add some more, does the level go back down? If so, you might have a coolant leak, this would be easy to tell though, there would be a bright yellow liquid underneath your car.

If there is no leak, but you're still losing coolant, then you probably have a faulty head gasket. If the head gasket is going, you will need to have a repair garage do the work for you unless you know how to do it yourself. (Head gasket replacements generally cost about $800-$1000.)

If you aren't losing coolant, then perhaps your water pump needs to be replaced, you will need to have a repair garage do this for you as well unless you know how to do it yourself. (Water pump replacements can vary from vehicle to vehicle, but the price is likely within the $400-$800 range.)

The next problem could be your thermostat, another job to be done by a professional. (Another varying price range, but probably about $200 to $500.) However, at 134,000 miles, your Taurus has basically had its run. Domestic vehicles tend to start needing costly repairs around this mileage in order to keep them running, mostly because they are completely disposable at this point, and were only designed to go this far in the first place.

13th Dec 2010, 22:01

My current and last car are 1998 Ford Tauruses. My son has been driving one since I got my "newer" one. I absolutely love my car, despite some of the problems listed above also.

Specifically, the doors not latching, dome light issues, and the blinker problem on both of my Tauruses. One other problem I am having with the one I am currently driving is that the car runs down the battery when it is idling. It charges fine if I rev the motor or I am moving, but at just an idle the car will run down until it dies and then needs a jump start. Haven't figured that one out yet.

Still, it is the most comfortable car I've ever had and I will drive it til it dies. I have 240,000 on the first one I have and 185,000 on the one I'm driving now. Still start and run like champs!

My next car will be a Taurus Limited.

14th Dec 2010, 13:47

I would take apart the the connections to the battery, alternator and grounds, clean them, apply dielectric grease where applicable, and see if that fixed it. If it didn't improve, I would have the voltage regulator and the rest of the charging system checked. It could be the battery too.

Good luck.

14th Dec 2010, 19:04

For the no heat... I had that problem! Found out there is a bypass hose, the antifreeze was not going through the heater core instead it was going through the bypass. Clamped off the bypass hose and haven't had a problem with the heat since!

I have a problem with the car door latches freezing. I've been spraying pb blaster in the latches and it still isn't working... Any ideas?