Grandpa0594

I have a 99 Ford Taurus with a Duratec 24V V6 engine.

I've searched the internet regarding this problem and the answers are all over the place. My problem is failrly consistant. Here is exactly what is happening.
1. In the morning I'll take off with the car but after 10 to 15 miles, (like clockwork) when I come to a stop and take off again, the speedometer starts to move erratically.
2. When I come to a stop again and take off, the car will struggle to shift up. Then the O/D Off light comes on, the speedometer goes to 0 and it shifts normally again.
3. After a couple miles of driving the speedometer starts jumping again but it shifts as it should.

If I shut the car off and let it sit for a few hours its OK for the 10 to 15 miles and then starts all over again. This has been going on for a couple of weeks. For a few days I thought it somehow fixed itself because I didn't have any problems what-so-ever. I talked to two mechanics and they both gave me a price of between 5 and 8 hundred dollars to fix, but niether gave me any idea as to what the problem was other than it was in my transmission. I then looked on the internet and read on some forums that the problem may be a VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor). Since the transmission appears to shift normally, (if it can figure out the speed it's going), it's difficult for me to see how it could be the transmission going to pot.

My trust of mechanics is not at an all time high right now. Given my type of engine, first, can I see the VSS while looking at the engine? I've seen three different answers on forums to this question. And second, given my type of engine, is this something I can fix myself? Be aware, the last car I worked on was my 1963 Galaxy 500 around 40 years ago. It would be really nice to hear from someone who has actually seen these types of problems on a Taurus and has actually fixed it.

Thank you very much in advance for any help you may be able to supply.

Millermagic

Sounds like Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS)

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reekor

As stated above, it sounds like a classic Vehicle Speed Sensor problem. When the car starts acting up you may notice that your cruse control might stop working. Stop by your local autozone and have them read the obd2 codes (it's free) and post them here. Even though your check engine light might not be on the Vehicle Speed Sensor can still store a hard code or a pending code.

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His, 96 Limited, 5.2 Magnum, Magnaflow CatBack System, HID Head & Fog Lamps, 242 T-case swapped , Rear Trac-Loc. Chrome grill added to match the wheels.

Hers, 96 Limited I6, 242 T-case, HID Head & Fog Lamps.

MyTaurus8AChevy

Did not know this. Thanks