27th Apr 2008, 21:47

Bought my 2000 Taurus SES in 2007. Noticed a "wobble" in right front wheel area and steering wheel vibration when stopping. Took it to reputable AAA repair shop nearby and was told front coil springs were broken, right front axle broken, right front tire had been scored by broken coil spring and both rear brake drums were broken and needed to be replaced. Total cost: $2200 plus!

Went ahead with work because -- what choice do you have? After I got the car back, it occurred to me to check and see if there were any recalls on this model. Turns out there was a 2004 recall on those front coil springs because they break and -- yup -- score or puncture tires. This part of the repair work alone ran to over $1100.

Took my invoice to the Ford dealer where the very unpleasant "customer service" (hah!) woman told me to run back to the repair shop and "get this broke down with every part number listed." I told her she could call the number on the invoice and get that info from AAA (I had neither time nor gas money to do the leg work). She said "Ford will never honor this." Well, she was right. They totally did not stand behind their product or the recall. Offered me $338 -- less than a third of what the repair cost. Said: "Too bad, you should have had the work done at the dealer." I said that if I were a certified auto mechanic I would have known what the problem was before I decided where to take it. And if I were clairvoyant I would have known there was a recall, but I am neither. "Tough luck, take it or leave it," was the bottom line. I'm hoping the magistrate in small claims court will see it differently.

As for buying another Ford? Why on earth would I ever consider it? I could have excused the faulty engineering if only they had cared enough about me as a customer to cover the cost of repairing a potentially lethal problem. Any suggestions: kesmarn4@yahoo.com Thanks.

22nd May 2008, 15:42

I own a 2000 Sable. The front end shakes real bad, rotors are poor quality, it leaks when it rains, does not run real good, and the air does not work, but other than that it's a good car.

1st Jun 2008, 21:34

Does anybody know if the loud knocking sound is normal when going up a hill or any surface that goes upward a little bit?

I have a 2000 Ford Taurus SE 3.0, and I also had to do a lot of work with the check engine light. It was something like the whole system of the emission part of the engine.

I also had to replace the coolant overflow tank at around 80,000 miles, and I bought it at 76,000 miles. It had a small hole in it! What!

I did have to replace the timing cover because it was leaking coolant, which is probably normal at around 90,000 miles. But was not cool was thinking it was the water pump and replacing that first, and it was not even the problem.

I do like that it has a timing chain rather than a belt. And I had a lot of problems with loud brakes and vibration, when braking and my brakes were good. I think they fixed the vibration a little bit though.

Never had engine problems, transmission problems, air condition problems, or doorlocking problems.

I didn't like that a replacement key cost like $100.

I did just trade the car in, and it had 118,000 miles but the car sounded great. Should have kept it for the money I put into it. I think I was a decently reliable car for what I paid for it.

I traded it in for a 2001 Honda Civic EX 1.7L 4cyl vtec, and now that I bought it I have been reading some pretty bad reports about my Honda. And I'm stuck with it now! Should have kept Sarah! (my Ford Taurus)

19th Sep 2008, 11:13

I have a 2000 Taurus Flex Fuel for about 3 years now. Check engine light comes on a lot. The code is always O2 sensor. Well I have replaced all 4 of them and it won't stay off.

Was on way home yesterday and lost the brakes. Took them apart and they were horribly warped (again). Then put the new ones on and found that the brake line rusted through to the box under door.

Was told by dealer that I could just pull up to E85 and put it in. Big mistake. I only got 8mpg street and 14 highway. Went back to regular and getting 25 street and 40 highway. Don't know why so many highway but not going to complain. Went from Cleveland to Brickyard in Indi on 1/2 tank.

Trunk release never works. It worked the day I got it and never again.

The winters are very cold here and when it's cold good luck closing the doors and getting them to stay closed. The latch on it never comes back down to close it. Nothing I do fixes it. Can't take the door apart completly because it's like a tank. Good thing having a door reinforced like it is but hard to fix for cold weather. Is anyone else having this problem in winter?

Will buy a ford again but will do research on it first for problems that are common. But should have kept my smashed up lumina a little longer. But makes me feel safe driving a tank with my daughter in the car. The best thing about this car is the reinforced doors.

2nd Nov 2008, 19:29

I am 17 and bought a 2000 Taurus SE with 92K as my first car for $2000. I only planned on having the car for a couple of years at most, and I knew I wouldn't be driving it on a daily basis, so the mileage wasn't a big factor.

Well, I should have done my research because this car is a serious pain...

I had the local mechanic check it out before I bought it and he said everything was fine.

One day the engine light just came on, and I started losing power up the hills. I brought it to the mechanic and the code read a misfire in one of the pistons.

When he actually checked the piston, it was fine.

So he just cleaned the injectors and said it was working okay.

After having it back from the shop, no more than 3 days later the light came on again so I took matter into my own hands. We changed the fuel filter, with no avail.

Then I unplugged the battery to install a sub-woofer, and when we hooked everything back up, it reset the computer and the light was off... until I hit the next hill.

I live in upstate NY where the winter is cold and hills are part of any drive, so this problem really gets frustrating.

When the engine is cold it's definitely harder to get up the hills,

So now I usually drive it in OD and before going up the hills I kick into drive for more power.

That's how I'm coping with the problem, and it seems to be working better, but there are times where it will just lose power all together up the hills, going at a top speed of a whopping 30 MPH !!!