1st Jan 2009, 08:20

The author of the 12/4/08 comment either has an incompetent mechanic or is doing his own repairs none too well.

That would be the only explanation for having to replace the steering rack and pinion three times.

Not a lack of quality in the car itself.

2nd Jan 2009, 23:20

"A person must be crazy to expect the average automatic transmission to last 180,000+ miles"

Call the Loony Bin guys for us. Our 1975 Ford made 325,000+ miles with the original automatic transmission (with never a repair) and engine. Our 1977 Buick (sold this year) had 277,000 miles on the original automatic with never a repair to ANYTHING on the car. I sold my Dodge in 1999 with over 240,000 miles. It never had ANYTHING done to it except two timing belts, two brake jobs and a heater hose. Our family still has my dad's 1955 Pontiac with over 250,000 miles on it. It has been restored and the engine rebuilt, HOWEVER, the factory original 4-speed hydramatic has never been touched and shifts as good as new.

As a mechanic I get tired of people who know very little about cars condemning them due to 1) Abuse 2) Lack of maintenance 3) Unscrupulous mechanics who come up with non-existent problems to get their money and 4) Poorly done repairs that cause MORE problems than they have solved.

Oh, and by all means, run out and buy one of those "magical" imports that last forever. I tried three of them in the 80's and early 90's. NEVER AGAIN. All of them have been rusting in junkyards for well over a DECADE now, while our Fords and GMs just keep going year after year.

I did have to shell out $10 for a light bulb for my 8-year-old GM recently. I was VERY upset. $10 is a lot of money to spend on a domestic in just 8 years. I usually get at least 10 years for $.0.

20th Jun 2009, 21:08

I have a 99 Taurus LX with the standard 3.0L engine. I've owned the car for about 6 years and it has about 92K miles on it. I bought it used with 23K miles.

The engine has been pretty reliable, but I have had countless other problems with the car. The transmission failed at 50K miles. It cost me about $2,000 to have it rebuilt.

The brakes are horrible and I have had to put front brake pads and rotors several times already.

Now at 92K miles, the power steering pump started making really loud sounds. I put in a new power steering pump and it still makes a lot of noise. I did some research online and it appears that the steering rack may be gone. The transmission is also starting to act up again. These cars are known for having unreliable transmissions and horrible brakes. It is time for a new car. I am done buying anything from Ford or any other American automaker.

25th Jul 2009, 12:23

Bought 99 taurus se with 84,000 on it. Now have 133,000 on it. Replaced transmission for 1900. Replaced frame under front of car, it had almost completely rusted away. Replaced gas pipe leading to gas tank with rusted holes in it. Replaced both transmission lines. Replaced speed sensor. Several lights are burned out on dash. Replaced radio. Car has slight miss going up hill. Suspecting maybe coil pack. Sitting here wondering what will be next. Gee I love fords.

6th Feb 2010, 20:21

I bought a used 99 Taurus for my mother. It had 176,000 miles on it, the owner said he had just had the transmission replaced. It ran fine with no problems for about 600 miles, then suddenly while on the highway the front end started shaking violently!

She took it to a auto shop at the next exit on the freeway. It seems when the tranny was replaced, they had forgotten to tighten up the mount bolts. OK, that was an easy fix.

Then another 200 miles down the road the car just dies. Had it towed to the shop for her, now the ECM computer had fried. Replaced it for a mere $300, the car ran fine for another 200 or so miles, then check engine light comes on. Hooked up my code scanner, MAF was out, both O2 sensors were bad, Fuel injector sensors were bad and many other electrical components including a sensor on the torque converter, all probably because of the ECM computer.

All repaired. Car runs and drives great.

Then when she get to the point to where she has driven it just 1801 miles since I bought it, she stopped in front of the mailbox, put it in park and left the engine running, and got the mail, got back into the car, put it in reverse and it would not move. Put it in drive and it moved about 25 feet and just would not go any farther. When you push down the accelerator, the car bogs down like it is trying to move, but it will go nowhere.

So far I am out the $1000 I bought for the car. The $2500 for all of the electricals, and now it looks like another tranny. Boy did I make a big mistake buying this car. I will probably junk it and buy something else for what a tranny rebuild is gonna cost.

I am sure the previous owner was plagued with bad experiences that he did not want to share when selling me this car.

8th Feb 2010, 09:54

You bought a thousand-dollar, 10-year-old car with 176,000 miles and are outraged that it needed some maintenance? Wow.

You bought a thousand-dollar, 10-year-old car with 176,000 miles for your mother when she needed something dependable and trustworthy? Double-wow.

8th Feb 2010, 16:31

I agree, you should have bought a thousand-dollar, 10 year Honda with 176,000 miles. Not a Ford.

18th Feb 2010, 02:41

My 1999 Ford Taurus is the best car I've ever owned. It not only has over 85K miles on the original engine and tranny, but 28+ MPG on the highway, and I'm not light on the accelerator (and I'm a 20 year old guy). Biggest repair bill I have had was some guy backed into my car and had to get the rear quarter panel replaced. Other than that, largest bill I have had to pay was under $50.

23rd Mar 2010, 14:52

If your Taurus (circa 1999) is chewing up front brakes, you need to fix your rear brakes, because they are not working. The factory wheel cylinders are notorious for this problem.

11th Aug 2010, 00:29

We bought our 99 Taurus SE 3.0 DOHC engine new.

It's been a pretty reliable car with reasonable brake wear. I gave the car to my son for his 18th birthday (at 113K miles) after having replaced the torque converter ($1600), alternator ($500) 2 batteries, the power steering pump, the O2 senor has failed 3 times, paid the first time, Ford replaced it for free the second (since we paid the $1600 for the torque converter at the same time) and when it went this last time, we just decided to ignore it, as it's just for emissions.

It began having power steering problems about a month ago, we replaced the power steering pump and power steering pulley ourselves, but that wasn't the problem. There is a leak in the steering rack. We purchased the rack to do ourselves, but it has turned out that a supposedly simple repair is much more involved. Now to find someone who can do it for as cheap as possible as my son is newly in the Marines and the pay is nothing to brag about.

Honestly, at 150K miles, it's still a good car as long as it's taken care of. Nothing lasts forever, repairs and regular maintenance are needed.