Problems with 2000 Ford Taurus POWER TRAIN

The steering wheel vibrated at speeds of 40-50 mph. also the automatic transmission did not seem to engage in the correct gear.*jb

Nar 06/19/2003. *mr the consumer has encountered numerous amount of problems with the vehicle. first the transmission was leaking fluid the brakes failed twice in a year. the vehicle was repaired at dobbs ford two times and both parts were not under warranty and again after being fixed the brakes failed. as a result of the vehicle defect the consumer has lost her car insurance and is unable to purchase anymore because no other company want to risk another accident with the brakes. the consumer believes ford should except responsibility for this car before some is hurt. *cb the consumers nephew was driving the vehicle and crashed into a concrete block and the air bags failed to deploy. *jb

The car jerks and hesitates continuously. ph

The brake system in our car has not performed properly on wet roads many times. on jan 21st, 2002 and mar 13th, 2002, we asked muzi ford to fix this problem. they could not find the problem. they reported, it is common to confuse abs activation with difficulty stopping". in fact, our car is not equipped with abs. on the morning of jan 17th, 2003, my husband was driving in the slow lane of i-95; the car in front of our car came to a sudden stop. he immediately braked. he was still far away, and the speed was only 45-50 mph, the road was wet and our cars brake system did not work properly and it hit the front car. there are many problems with our car. the emergency brake on/off has been adjusted, the transmission fluid and both front axle seal have leaked twice; steeling fluid has leaked once, the brake light, gas cap assembly and solenoid canister have been replace, and the wiper motor park switch has been recalled. please help us to solve the brake system problem with ford motor company.*jb note: did not count as crash for rq03008 since crash was not due to brake light issue.

I have owned my 2002 ford taurus for 32 months. during this time, i have hade the the brake pedal switch replaced twice, new rear struts, replaced airbag system. the car is now back at ford to have a new transaxel installed. there have been more than $5,000 in repairs to this car which has just over 60,000 miles.

My 2000 taurus required a major repair before it was 2 yrs. old. the trans. had to be overhauled. the torque converter could not stand the heat per the repair person. ford co. was contacted but refused to reimburse me for $1,985. their reason was because i did not choose to have the work done at a ford shop. the ford quote was $1,000 higher than a non-ford shop. since when should a customer be punished for mitigating damages? i did have a ford shop analyze the problem initially, but at that time had no assurance that ford would reimburse me, so why should i sign up to pay ford's high repair costs? the aluminum parts being used in the trans. can't stand heat and therefore fail. ford needs to admit poor quality and recall them. *jb ***dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut-over to artemis****770821***

Transaxle warning light came on so i took the car to local ford service. they said the torque converter was "locked up and wouldn't turn" (even though i was able to drive the car in just fine!). they said the transmission had to be rebuilt. i got their estimate along with estimates from 2 other auto repair shops in town. i choose a transmission shop and had the car towed there. their estimate was $1000 less than ford service. the new mechanic said the problem is due to poor design using aluminum parts that can't take the heat. ford refuses to reimburse me claiming the denial is due to my having the repair done by an independent trans. shop and not at ford service which would have cost me $1000 more. i'm denied reimbursement because i mitigated the damages. what ever happened to fairness and common sense?

While traveling on the express way consumer press accelerater to speed up and it felt like engine was about to die, vehicle was shaking. cause is unknown. please provide any further information. mr

Taurus transmission has failed twice and been for service 4 times. local ford dealerships non-responsive with assistance.*ak

Consumer has to apply brakes a couple of times to get transmission to shift out of park. vehicle has not been examined by dealer.*ak

Nar 01/16/2003. the consumer had problems with the transmission on 4 occasions which ultimately left him stranded on the highway. *jb

Torque converter failed after taking to dealership for 60000 miles maintenance then extended warranty wouldnt cover claim written by middlekauff ford. middlekauff ford didnt want to have nothing to do with me. easycare didnt want to have nothing to do with me. ennis ford... where i took the car in for the 60k maint.denies doing anything..this cost me $1400.00 out of my pocket. *ak

Consumer stated he became stuck in traffic, he was able to pull over to see if perhaps letting the engine cool off would help, after about one half hour, consumer started the vehicle, but was unable to put it any gear, consumer then noticed what seemed to be transmission fluid leaking onto the ground, the vehicle was towed to the dealership and consumer was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced.*jb

driveshaft separated from the wheel on the the left driver side. the car pulled suddenly to the right, resulting in a collision and the car flipping over.*ak

The automatic transmission of this vehicle literally fell apart, while the car was being operated. luckily my wife and 3 children were not on the highway when this occurred! after having the transmission looked at and fixed, we were told by the mechanics that a gear broke, as a result of poor craftsmanship. as a result the transmission was destroyed. there was nothing that we could have done to prevent this from happening. ford has a long history with faulty transmissions in the ford taurus. for some reason they are unwilling to fix the problem. a transmission with 42,000 miles on it should not just fall apart!*ak

Vehicle will not come out of park. vehicle was towed to a dealer. secondly, brake lights will not shut off.*ak

I have had the rack and pinion replaced it has failed again. the front half shafts have been replaced they have failed again. i have paid for many four wheel alignments which won't hold. i've paid for new brakes and many tire and wheel balancning which also haven't helped. carl gregory ford doesn't know what is wrong with the front end of my car and refuse to do any other repairs until the engineer drives it. i've had one appointment with the engineer for which he didn't show up. the next appointment is july 29 who knows what run around i will get then. i have had an ongoing problem with the front end of my car for over 7 months and 10000 miles. the car will not hold an alignment, the front end pops,grinds, and cracks, and drives very loose. it does not handle the road well at all. it isn't safe for me, especially for my children not to mention any other vehicle on the road anywhere near me. the dpfe sensor has also been replaced, what is that? please help me to get my car safe to drive again. thanks.*ak

Tires: reported vibration , shimmy and pulling to the left. took to dealer 6/24/2000 (1829) miles, balanced tires. on 11/14/2000 (9061)miles, 04/23/2001 (12871) balanced tires. finally, 5/25/2001 (14518) replaced two front tires. vibration and shimmy stopped but kept pulling to the left. on 10/10/2001 (23876) miles, charged me for alignment, car stopped pulling. transmission: at approximately 40800 miles car had a noticeable shudder while going in reverse. took to the dealer and was told it was a cracked casing as noted in tsb 15559 nhtsa number (630095) caused by miss manufacture of a part. was informed dealer or ford motor co. would not assist with repair cost to exceed $1495. brakes: reported brake problem on 5/25/2001 and 10/10/2001 when it was server, shaking and control problems when stopping. dealer cut front rotors which was out of spec.- problem is back. fuel: have smelled gas in my car many times. bought to dealers attention and of course could not find anything. car is to have 18 gal. tank but runs out of gas before that. gas gauge reads empty at 12 gal. and was told it was built to be that way. several complaints filed with you also describe my problems. odi numbers 760669, 896396, 897642 and 862471 are some. *ph *nlm **dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut over to artemis**769760

When attempting to shift vehicle out of gear, the gear shift malfunctioned preventing vehicle to go into gear. consumer has contacted dealer . dealer has to replace computer system and other parts. *ak consumer also stated the window trim has come apart leaving the windows scratched, engine light comes on, the engines emission control needs to be replaced, brake shift interlock is inoperative, the steering cloumn was replaced, front tire keeps losing air, rear brakes light need to be replaced. *jb

While driving transmission had failed the same day after being repaired at dealership. vehicle towed to dealer, and mechanic indicated a defective rear loop seal on transmission. *ak

Automatic transmission would slip while accelerating, and jump out of gear. dealership examined vehicle and determined that transmission needed to be replaced. please provide any additional information/attachments.*ak

Consumer was backing out from garage with transmission in reverse, and couldn't put it into another gear. transmission locked up. *ak

Consumer put vehicle in reverse, but vehicle went forward. towed vehicle to dealer, who found cable snapped on transmission. *ak

Brake switch had a loose wire per gateway lincoln/mercury mechanic and was replaced under warranty. driver could not shift out of park. no brake lights were operational. fortunately this did not occur while driving or vehicle would have been stranded in the road or potential rear end collision from failure of brake lights to illuminate while slowing or stopping.

The transmission light illuminated on the dashboard and then the torque converter clutch would not engage. *ak *jb

While driving 20-30 mph, vehicle stalled without prior notice. dealer couild not find a problem. *ak the vehicle went in reverse from drive while stopped at signal. *yh

Transmission problems, gear gets stuck on park. has not contacted dealer yet.*ak

2000 ford taurus with several repairs made. consumer states that the vehicle had the heads on the motor replaced twice, driver side window would not go up or down. coolant reservoir was replaced. transmission had work done to it, and the back lock does not operate correctly. *kb there was a problem with the emission control system. *jb

Vehicle accelerates mostly at speeds of 35-40 mph, engine revvs. consumer has to brake to slow vehicle down.*ak the vehicle also backs up while in drive and while stopped at light. *yh

Consumer states on 3 occasions the gear shift would not engage leaving the consumer stranded, when the vehicle was taken in for repair, the dealer repaired the brake wire, the second time the gear shift would not engage the dealer replaced the brake lamp switch which was a recall part, which had shorted out, the third ocassion the brake lamp switch was replaced again, however the dealer could not explain why this was happening. *jb

Automatic transmission failure in a new vehicle. *ak

Over the past two and a half years consumer has been experiencing reoccurring transmission problems with this vehicle. the first incident consumer had the ford mechanic check on a persistent transmission leak, which was corrected. afterward the transmission had it's first failure and quit pulling. the vehicle was towed to ford for repairs. consumer requested assistance with an adjustment in cost but was declined. the vehicle still loses power and stops pulling for a brief period of time. consumer traded in the vehicle and requests that ford reimburse for monies paid. *jg

Since may of 2000 there was a problem with the starter system jamming. consequences of down systems...such as windshield wipers, abs, traction control, turn signals,a/c and blower. one incident led to complete shut down of car...dead would not start. dealer replaced two starters and then one "starter switch'. that failed as well and dealer tried to repair on 9/25/2000 and confessed they could not and that they had conferred with ford before last two repairs and they said ford knew of this problem and didn't expect a fix till 4th qtr.. they told me there is no safety issue here and i question that because my car whent into complete shut down of all systems and dealer couldn't even start it.

Consumer states when making a panic stop, the front brakes vibrate 50-60 mph, the vehicle glides when making a stop, this occurs when a consumer hits a bump in the road or applying the brakes on a curve, also when coming to s stop brakes make a grinding noise, the dealer has turned rotors and drums and replaced rear brake shoes, however the problem still remains.*jb

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

Consumer was driving 35mph and vehicle geared down and then transmission locked up. had turned into highway, and hit the median. had contacted a tow company, and vehicle was towed. tow driver indicated transmission was on ground and would need to replace it. consumer feels that dealer should replace with another vehicle. problem has duplicated. *ak *tt