new taurus owner with some questions

[hootymo]

hi everybody!
i just bought a 2001 taurus se with the vulcan in it, and so far i really like it. i am a first time ford buyer, never been much of a ford guy always loved my GM's but i wanted to finally give ford a try and i have to say i am happy so far, even though its only been a few days since i bought it. anyone have any advice to offer me about these things? how are the trannys in them, i know they were absolute crap in the 96-99's so have they gotten better at all? also, how well does everything else hold up? are there any common problems on these cars that I should be ready for? thanks a lot, and i look forward to talking with a lot of people here soon :-)

[sfontain]

It doesn't make sense to most of us why you would buy a car with the expectation that something is going to go wrong with it.

The transmissions in the '96-'99s were not "absolute crap." Most people who tell you they were either beat on theirs, didn't maintain it, or both. They are using essentially the same two transmissions in the 2000+ that they did in the '96-'99.

Common problems to be ready for? Not if you do the maintenance, and if the maintenance was done before you got it. These cars tend to do just fine if you take care of them, just like most any newer vehicle.

[hootymo]

Originally Posted by sfontain

It doesn't make sense to most of us why you would buy a car with the expectation that something is going to go wrong with it.

i didnt mean to stir anything up... i didnt buy a car with the expectation that anything was going to mess up on it, if i thought that i would not have bought it because i really dont have the money to buy another lemon like the 2000 blazer i have now that is a piece of garbage! i went to the taurus because i have heard nothing but good things about the newer ones, thats why i was asking you guys if there was anything in particular i should watch out for, anything i may want to keep a close eye on or anything like that, because thats the way all cars are, theres always something on every car that may not be as well built as others. thanks for the input though i appreciate it and any more feedback will be much appreciated, i really like my new car :-)

[mwt]

Originally Posted by sfontain

It doesn't make sense to most of us why you would buy a car with the expectation that something is going to go wrong with it.


Common problems to be ready for? Not if you do the maintenance, and if the maintenance was done before you got it. These cars tend to do just fine if you take care of them, just like most any newer vehicle.

Lighten up Francais



The Guy bought a used car and wanted to know the common problems that he needs to watch out for.

I would add a tranny cooler to it.

Take the Vin to a dealer and make sure there aren't any recalls or TSB's

I don't know about the 2001 but the computer needed reflashed on the 2000 also the adjustable brake pedals needed a retrofit.

There was also a switch that caused the brake light to come on. There was a recall on that also.
The DPFE sensor will throw a code P0401 that shows insufficient EGR flow and needs to be replaced , a lot of people will change the EGR. It won't fix it. That recall last up to 100K I believe.

There is also a spring shield retrofit to keep the springs from corroding.

So yes Virginia there are some common quirks to the Taurus.

I have owned a 94 and I presently own a 99 and a 2000.

I really like both of mine although I had to rebuild the tranny on the 99 at about 120K and the 2000 lost the tranny friday at 140K

Mike

[sfontain]

I DO think, though, that you made a smart decision by getting a Gen 4 rather than a Gen 3. The Gen 3 Taurus was not a bad car, but the newer ones are just better--more powerful, more reliable (so far), and certainly less hideous.

mwt mentioned about everything I can think of seeing regularly in any Taurus forums. I will add that you may want to be prepared for having your brakes serviced more often than with other cars. This appears, in my experience, to be a major Ford downfall. Their rotors are too small for the weight of the car; additionally, with the soft springs on the Gen 4 Taurus, your front brakes are usually doing an absurd amount of the braking. In a way, that's nice because you don't often have to screw around with opening up the rear drums (which can be a real pain), but you will find yourself replacing rotors more often than you might expect.

mwt cited 120K and 140K as transmission failure times. This is common but unfortunate. On the other hand, I have seen a few Dodge/Chrysler vehicles within the past 10 years that will require a new transmission every 60K-80K (namely, the Taurus competitor, Intrepid), like clockwork, even if you drive like my grandmother. I also knew a guy with a recent Buick (GM) sedan; his transmission went twice in the same car at 50K apeice. I'm not saying this is the rule, but I just can't think of a decent American sedan with a rock solid automatic transmission; but if I had to pick one, I still think I would go with a Taurus.

[mwt]

They upgraded the brakes to a bigger size in 2001. It is the same as the 97 plus SHO's

If anyone with a 96 to 2000 wants to upgrade all you need is the caliper brackets and the bigger rotor. Calipers are the same.
Several people that have done this say brakes are much better

btw I got 246K out of the tranny on my 94 before it blew.

I had a cooler and an external spin on filter on it also but I didn't flog the car like I do my duratec.

Mike

[hootymo]

THANK YOU!!! i really appreciate it guys! i would really like to install a tranny cooler, but have no experience with this, is it pretty easy? i saw another post about it and it said there are all universal tranny coolers out there, and they are pretty easy to install but i dont think i would trust myself... is there any place that installs them for you for a decent price? i would rather have someone else do it right and spend a few extra bucks than do it myself and mess it up horribly just to save those few bucks. again thank you so much for the input!!!

[derrty_ent_derrty]

word of good advice ... sell it. you dont want to mess with a ford. nothing but trouble. all cars have problems but tauruses dont have problems. they have ntural disasters. dont learn the hard way like the rest of us

[maspoon]

I really like the taurus. I had a 93 which had its problems but never left me stranded was a great car and still runs today I see it around town a bit, had 160,000 on it and no new tranny that I know of.
I now own a 2001 se with the 3.0 and seems to be a good car also. in my experience with the taurus they are good reliable cars.
as with any other thing in this world youre gonna have something go wrong with it at some time or another but if you maintain it and dont beat the crap out of it youll get youre use out of it.
I have had had my car in the shop quite a bit since I bought it but its to be expected.
every car of every make and model is unique one will be flawless and another of the same will be a pieace of crap.
the people who say bad things about something have had or know somebody who has had a bad experiance with that dont make them right , only about there experiance with it not everybodys.
I think that youll enjoy your taurus.

[sfontain]

I've said it a million times and I will continue to say it: You will tend to get out of a car what you put in. I and my entire extended family for the past 15 years has always taken good care of their cars, has never ever owned anything but Ford, Chrysler, or GM vehicles (both new and used), and, to the best of my knowledge, has never had a serious problem--no transmission failures, no serious engine trouble. If you maintain your damn car, and don't beat on it (and if you're buying used, spend more than $350 and make sure that it's in good shape first), chances are you are going to get a lot of relatively trouble-free miles out of the vehicle.