Problems with 1999 Ford Taurus STEERING

Well, well, well. just yesterday i filed this very same complaint to you. this morning my husband was on the phone w/one of your people who said there was no investigation into this problem at the present time. however, it's inconceivable to me that you have as many complaints as you do of a failed rack and pinion on 1999 ford taurus, and here we are getting the breaking news today the gm just recalled thousands of vehicles for a failed lower pinion!!!! don't you look at trends with other domestic vehicles, like years, like defects???? this failure is obviously a trend in the '99 taurus! how sad that 15 crashes had to occur in the gm vehicles that were most probably linked to their failure. how fortunate that '99 taurus owners have not experienced the same, at least not that we yet know of. wouldn't you like to be responsible for saving us from accidents, possibly injuries, and possibly deaths? please issue an investigation! also, you technician told my husband on the phone that if we were to have our rack and pinion replaced, as four separate ford mechanics have advised. that we should save our receipts and if a recall was issued at a later date we could be reimbursed. however, once again, on your website i researched and read that the manufacturer has no legal responsibility to reimburse us for work already performed. get your stories straight! i await your response with baded breath. thank you very much. dt

Rack and pinion seal broken, power steering fluid leaking into right boot. in speaking with 3 (three) separate aaa approved repair centers, we were told this is a very common problem with the 1999 ford taurus. we checked the automobile club of southern california website and found several hundred complaints on the exact same problem. ford must do something about this! how fortunate my 2 infant children were not in the car with me when this happened, i barely made it home!!! this is an accident waiting to happen. obviously there is a faulty seal, and ford gouging their customers for an additional $800-$1000 repair is an atrocity!!! dt

Power steering fluid leaking thru the gear into the left tire boot. dt

Problems with car since day one. began with wipers turning on by themselves, spoke to mechanic, said it was nothing to worry about. then the car kept refusing to switch gears (second to third), the speedometer would quit and car died on side of road several times. along with this problem, the brakes squealed very loud. called dealer, would not help, sent me to ford dealer (dave goulds). replaced speed sensor, scraped "rust" off brakes and said they may continue to squeal, they do! the car picks up speed from no where, specially when coming from a stop. very scarey, refuse to let my daughter drive because of it. now the power steering is making a horrible hum and i have lost power steering on several occaisions. added fluid, the next day it looked like cocoa bubbling out. i contacted the gould ford dealership and i have to bring it in tomorrow. i am afraid to drive it and he tells me that my extended warranty most likely won't cover the repair (they didn't cover the speed sensor either). i bought this car at a local company after a severe accident, it was traumatizing to get back behind the wheel, but this car is like a rolling death trap, why isn't ford recalling them? mr

The consumer was driving when he heard a loud squealing noise under the hood. the steering had become hard to steer due to power steering pump and steering gear failure. *yh *scc

While driving on i-71, lost power steering, stopped immediately. no fluid, added fluid, back pressure threw fluid all over car. drove to #1ricart ford in columbus, ohio. they checked and determined the power steering rack was bad, advised not to drive, because of safety hazard of locking up. replaced power steering rack, gear asy-power stng. they determined after removing dust boot that seals had failed leaking fluid into boot. it was a very dangerous situation to be in. please advise, if any recalls have been made on this problem.*ak

Power steering failed while vehicle was being driven due to rack and pinion failure. *ak consumer stated that the vehicle was very noisy and hard to steer. *yh

When i bought this car, the steering was making a grinding sound, i took it back twice to the ford place to have it checked, and i asked the man i bought it from, why it made that noise, and the salesman and the repair man both told me on 3 different occaisons that "it was supposed to make that noise!". so i dealt with it. but my power steering has been messing up for about 5 months now. my steering wheel won't turn, it's making this awful noise and when i stop the fluid just bubblies out, steaming hot. and the rack and pinion busted, and the fluid started pouring out. we called the ford place, and he plainly told my husband that it would only cost $2000.00 to fix! i think these people new they were selling me a lemon! this needs to be reported, because i've asked other people that drive the same kind of car, and their having trouble with their power steering also.something needs to be done about this!!

Power steering failed to work which made steering the vehicle very difficult, roaring sounds come from the steering column, the speedometer fluctuates and caused car to jump forward and speed ahead. nlm

Shortly after purchasing my taurus i noticed a slight vibration when braking. it was very minor and i did not worry about it - thinking it was a knot on a tire. it got steadily worse and when i had a mechanic look at it he told me i needed new tie rod ends. the front tires had both worn to the steel belts. i replaced both the tie rod ends and the tires. now i am still feeling the shudder when i brake and last week i started noticeing the steering was getting difficult and humming as i turned. i took the car to the mechanic today and he said the rack and pinion was leaking and needed to be replaced. he suggested your website and i have found numerous other people with the same problem. ford needs to do something about this, it seems to be getting out of hand. i hope you can pressure them into standing behind their product and do what is fair.

Shortly after purchasing my taurus i noticed a slight vibration when braking. it was very minor and i did not worry about it - thinking it was a knot on a tire. it got steadily worse and when i had a mechanic look at it he told me i needed new tie rod ends. the front tires had both worn to the steel belts. i replaced both the tie rod ends and the tires. now i am still feeling the shudder when i brake and last week i started noticeing the steering was getting difficult and humming as i turned. i took the car to the mechanic today and he said the rack and pinion was leaking and needed to be replaced. he suggested your website and i have found numerous other people with the same problem. ford needs to do something about this, it seems to be getting out of hand. i hope you can pressure them into standing behind their product and do what is fair.*ak

Vehicle had become hard to steer, mechanic determined rack and pinion was leaking fluid. *ak *scc

While in park, vehicle will not go into reverse or forward. dealer notified. steering column was discovered to be broken broken.*ak consumer stateed that the transmission cable broke, while in park. *scc

Consumer pulled onto highway and power steering failed. vehicle was checked by dealer who determined that rack and pinion system had failed, the entire system needed to be replaced. *ak. consumer stated 2 days later the alternator failed, and the windshield wipers came on by themselves.*jb

While driving there was a squeaking noise, power steering went out. also, a fuel leak.contacted dealer.

Rack and pinion had to be replaced at 43000 miles because of leak.*ak

When turning wheel there is a grinding sound. dealer determined vehicle was losing power steering fluid. also, rack and pinion needed to be replaced.*ak *tt

While driving power steering went out, causing vehicle to become harder to control. contacted dealer, and the dealer was not willing to do anything.*ak

First noticed problem 3/01/02- all of a sudden car was hard to turn and making noise. when i got home, my husband filled power steering fluid- it was low but not empty. seemed to do ok for a couple days- no noises or major difficulty turning. problems started again only worse, noticed when we turned the car off fluid leaking from somewhere. we took the car to a firestone dealer, who called us back, and advised us to take the car to our dealership. they were not sure of the problem and thought best to take it to the dealership. also advised us to check into this problem further since the car was low in mileage. a friend suggested we look at your website to see if any other cars had this problem. we did and found 16 other 1999 taurus reporting problem with power steering. the next day car was taken to alderman ford, we explained the problem- told them about our findings on your website and the problem with the other cars. they said they would check into if the same problem found maybe could help us out with cost. three days later received a call saying it was the power steering rack- the same problem reported by others to your agency. they told us the best they could do would be do reduce the price by approx. $200. our final cost was still $820!!! we expressed our displeasure with this, spoke with service manager and general mangager. they said if such a known problem ford would probably have done something, and that they had not seen this problem before. we do not have maintenance records for the car, my husband does the maintenance himself and we have not documented it. we realize our mistake in this practice. however, i still cannot believe this problem is happening to multiple people and ford is doing nothing about it! i've had many fords, this is my second taurus...and after this episode will probably be my last. i realize the car is out of warranty, but this is a huge expense for a car only a few years old. i hope ford decides to take proper action on this probl

Vehicle was losing power steering fluid, vehicle was taken to dealer, and dealer informed consumer that rack and pinion steering had to be replaced. *ak the first steering rack was defective and replaced with another steering rack and the second one also failed. *yd

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

Failure of rack and pinion began 6 weeks prior to final failure. fluid filled boot not leaking out but emptying pump until final failure when boot finally leaked fluid while driving. was mechanic checked during failing period with no indication of leaking fluid or cause thereof.

While traveling consumer noticed smoke coming from the engine area and then vehicle lost all power steering. consumer pulled vehicle over and looked under the hood. noticed power steering fluid leaking. *ak *slc

Vehicle had been to dealer 3 times for problems with the steering, vehicle was hard to steer. dealer found no problem. once vehicle was out of warranty dealer determined the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. rack and pinion is being replaced for the third time in 8 months. nlmjlg

Dealer unable to locate a leak in power steering pump. *ak fluid was leaking in to the power steering rack and pinion unit, filling boots on rack. *jb

I lost the power steering on my 1999 ford taurus station wagon. when it stopped working, i had a very difficult time turning around corners. i had a very difficult time making a left turn into my driveway. i then became afraid to drive it as i did not have the strength to make a turn. i had to have a male friend who is far stronger than me, drive the car to the dealer for repairs. my car only has 41,000 miles on it. this is not a part that should wear out. i was advised by the dealer that the rack and pinion seals had leaked and that the whole rack and pinion steering had to be replaced for a total bill of $734.51. i feel that this part itself is defective and it also could be quite dangerous when a driver is not able to negotiate a turn as expected. i would appreciate all you could do to investigate the power steering equipment used on the 1999 ford taurus. the incident date is jan. 2, 2003 but your computer system only goes to 2002.

Power steering pump leaking fluid. dealer was notified. feel free to provide any further information concerning this matter.*ak

Power steering fluid leaking into rack and pinion dust boot. vehicle taken to an independent repair shop for repairs. *ak dealer replaced power steering rack and pinion and power steering fluid, due to faulty rack and pinion steering gear box. *tt

Rack and pinion steering is not working properly. vehicle is making a growling noise, and has to continously put power steering fluid in vehicle. contacted a mechanic, and they stated rack and pinion needed to be replaced. *ak

While traveling steering wheel was hard to turn and fluid was low and refilled. dealer was contacted and stated power steering needed to be replaced. *ak consumer states the steering rack was determined to be defective, consumer is requesting reimbursement. *slc

Vehicle experienced a loss of power steering fluid causing steering to be very stiff and hard to control. refilled fluid and it was okay for approximately 100 miles, then got low again. each time we filled it, it rapidly emptied, until we could not drive it more than 5-8 miles between refills. mechanic found that both sides of the rack and pinion were leaking into the dust boots, which were full to capacity with power steering fluid. whole rack and pinion unit had to be replaced. ford would not pay for repair at 46k miles, so we paid out of pocket.

After talking with ford taurus owners and local ford dealers this seem's to be a major system failure.this problem need's to be investigated and solved before someone get's hurt or killed. no safety defect mentioned. *ak

They said they will not fix it. no safety defect mentioned. *ak

When i started to back out of the driveway i noticed that it was hard to turn. so then i checked the power steering fluid it was empty so i filled it up and it leaked out as fast as i could put it in. when i had an estimate done they said it was the power steering pump and rack. *ak

Brakes act as if they were not going to stop, first time i carried the car back ford fixed the brakes, so they say. i carried the car back several times after that and they say the found no problems, i finally had to take the car and have the brakes repaired.. when sitting still, car pulsates, dealer said that this is called erratic idling the first time i carried it, they said reason unknow. the other times that i carried it they say they couldn't find anything wrong. rack and penion went out, ford charged me 180.00 to fix.

After driving 60000 mainly freeway miles a seal failed on the rack. by the mechanic's description, the seal was not worn. the rack was replaced by the dealership. *ak

Dealer stated steering rack and pinion leaking fluid due to failed seals.*ak

Rack and pinion steering needed to be replaced due to failure/excessive wear. repairs being made at dealer. *ak consumer stated the power steering pump was leaking fluid into boots, causing rack and pinion to fail. *jb

Front brake rotor warp alot at lease a set a year transmission shifts rough at times steering is stift pulls to the left hard sometimes, think it might be something with the transaxle?

No summary listed for abov evehicle. *ak( dot number: 025811/92t tire size: p205/65r15 )

Due to defective power steering pump, while driving steering would lock up, and would have no steering ability at all. tow truck had to take vehicle off the road into the tunnel. please provide further information.*ak

Replaced the first one, 30,000 miles later it went out again. dt

I was told by ford dealer, the rack & pinion needs to be replaced at a cost of $700. mileage is only 32,500 *jb

Consumer states that when turning the vehicle the steering wheel does not allow the vehicle to make sharp turns. contacted dealer and the dealer is not willing to doanything.*jb

New vehicle required new rack and pinion steering, which caused noise, the brakes replaced which were causing vibration in the steering wheel while braking. *mjs

Driving on local road vehicle lost power to the steering. contacted dealer now for the 9th time they rebuilt the power steering pump. it broke after 3 days. it is back at the dealer.*ak