Vehicle stalls at various speeds, dealer has adjusted PCM but this did not remedy the problem, the brakes cause vibration when stopping.*ak
1996 Ford Taurus engine complaints
Page 3 of 8: complaints 41 to 70 of 216, newest first, as owners wrote them.
While driving in traffic ,engine light illuminated indicating tha t vehicle will stumble while in idle. Dealership has been notified.
The consumer turned on the heater and defroster and cold air along with a mist that filled the inside of the vehicle and covered the windshield. The consumer had to use paper napkins to clear the windows. The heater core is an existing problem that reoccurs every 3 months since april 2001. The dealer was notified. Nlm coolant leak. Dealer replaced heater core 5 times. Right rear window inoperative. Dealer replaced right rear window motor. Switch on air conditioner control head falls off. Dealer rpelaced cracked center control knob. Sunglass compartment in center console lid broke off. Console compartment door, hinge pins and spring replaced. Squeak noise under hood. Replaced belt tensioner and idler pulley.
Car is always overheated and transmisson sliping and jumping.
Based on info read from other ford taurus sho owners, camshaft problem is occurring in a high number of these vehicles. The ford dealership that did my cam replacement showed me the defective cam and the sprocket that was attached to it, that moved freely. It was not supposed to be a moveable part. Most complaint appear to be for the same type of camshaft engine failure. Problem is, I have begun hearing the same clicking noise again. There are 4 camshafts in this engine and only one was replaced for the $2200.00 fee. If another one goes, I will have a vehicle with payments, that will be of little value without the sho engine, it was purchase for. Your help please.
Vehicle will stall when slowing down and turning. Also, stalls in warm weather. Dealer contacted.
When driving hit a puddle of water and passenger's side tire splashed water on serpentine belt which started to slip, pulling vehicle off the road. Lost power steering. Dealer contacted. *ak the alternator was also affected by the splashing water causing the engine to stall.
Normal camshaft failure accurring in these model cars.
While driving 66mph vehicle lost all power without warning. Everything locked up. Took to dealer, and daler indicated engine needed to be replaced.
This is the second time a camshaft sprocket has failed.the first time was under warranty so the engine was replaced at no cost to me.now my warranty is out and the estimated bill is over $3,000.this could be a very dangerous situation because the vehicle loses power all at once.this could cause a serious accident in traffic.I have seen many other complaints on this same problem(at least 20 other incidents).will it take someone being killed before something is done about this problem.
My car broke down 10/21/2000. I lost all power on the freeway driving with my 2 year old son. I took my car to 3 ford dealerships and none of the mechanics could figure out what was wrong. Finally I found an independent machine shop who was competent enough to not only diagnose and fix my car properly, but they had to piece my engine (including the axles) together after a ford dealership refused to put my car back together. I had no vehicle for 7 months and had to pay $3171 for the repairs not to mention 4 tow trucks. Shortly after having my car fixed I noticed it would idle high when sitting at stop signs or lights. Eventually my check engine light appeared and recently discovered it is either the throttle position sensor or throttle body. Regarding the cam sprocket failure, I know of at least 69 people who have had the exact same problems with their taurus sho models. Ford refuses to help fix its defective product and hopefully no one will have to die from this sudden engine failure before action is taken. Thank you.
Camshaft gear separated from camshaft.
Car stalll without warning, dealer cannot find problem, may result in serious accident. Other taurus owners have this problem. Ford is not interested.
Motor mount has broken, safety issue?
While traveling at 45 MPH and without any warning, vehicle stalled. *ak consumer states the vehicle completely lost power, timing chain broke destroying the camshaft, 8 valves, upper gasket, head bolts and causing the cam sproket to fail.
When starting vehicle, the engine check light would remain on, followed by shaking and vibration. Also intermittent stalling would occur when coming to a stop or applying accelerator pedal from a stop position, vehicle was taken to dealer shop, and had some severe repairs done, problem concerning engine is still occurring, also rear brakes were replaced, the coolant overflow bottle contained a leak.
When purchased, this car was serviced, including a cooling system inspection. I also notified ford by telephone that I had purchased the car, providing the VIN. I was told that there were no recalls on the car at that time. The cooling system was checked 4 months ago, and was fine at that time. Several days ago, the car overheated, spewing coolant when the hood was lifted. I did not, at any time attempt removal of the coolant cap; the coolant was spewing from beneath the closed cap. My mechanic found that the cooling system is completely contaminated with rust and sludge. He also told me that ford had a recall on the situation. When I called ford, they told me that the recall was over, that they would no longer cover this problem, and that the recall was over in 1999. I was never informed of this recall. Ford did provide me with a tsb number- 972416. But, told me I would have to bear the cost of the repair. How is it possible that a manufacturer can decide to repair a serious defect for only a limited time, and only if the customer complains during that time? I was stranded in a very bad part of atlanta by this incident, and coolant was spewed all over me. This is a safety concern, in my view, not the 'customer satisfaction' issue ford termed it on the telephone when I spoke with them today. This situation was produced by a design defect that ford clearly has knowledge of as evidenced by the tsb. Ford has also produced a retrofit part to correct the situation- f7dz8522aa (coolant recovery kit). Why is ford not being required to take care of this situation on all affected vehicles?
No summary listed for above vehicle.
Consumer received manufacturer's recall notice in 1999 about engine cooling system. Consumer had repairs done which replaced reservoir and heater coil. Since then, problem still persists. Recall did not remedy the problem. Contacted dealer, and dealer stated nothing else they could do . Also, contacted ford, and ford stated warranty expired, and nothing they could do. Please add VIN.
My 96 taurus sho had severe engine failure at 66,682 miles. The engine (camshaft) should not fail on well cared for vehicle with only 66,682 miles on it. There is a design flaw in the sho engine that is casuing hunderds of consumers to pay hunderds of thousands of dollars. Why isn't anyone causing ford to address this. There ought to be greater consumer protection against a manufacturer of a defective auto. Please assist. Thanks!
While driving at any speed vehicle will completely shutdown without warning, cause unknown. Please give any further details.
The car began making a ticking sound from the valve train area. This noise became much louder over a period of weeks. I took it to the dealer who diagnosed it as a loose sprocket on the rear bank intake camshaft. As a member of the v8sho organization (www.v8sho.com), I am aware of this problem and it's many occurrences. There are now over 30 reports of this exact problem (with occurrences on any one of the 4 cams), and 14 reported failures in the month of october, 2001 alone! This is a design flaw as the sprocket is merely "pressed" onto the camshaft with no other means of attachment. Over time, the connection works loose causing the offending camshaft to spin freely, thus allowing the valves to come in contact with the pistons, causing complete engine failure. Fortunately, I was able to catch this on my engine prior to complete failure. Myself and numerous others have contacted ford directly with little success on their owning up to the problem. The dealer's fix is usually to replace the camshaft(s) at a cost of $1080 ea., for parts alone! That is a temporary solution as the owner is still left with a design flaw, regardless of the fact that it's a new camshaft. My bill will be in the neighborhood of $2000+ and that's without the sprocket actually coming loose! Ford needs to be held accountable for this grossly negligent design flaw!
A ticking noise was heard in engine compartment. Took vehicle to ford dealer for diagnosis. While at dealer, cam gear sprocekt had complete failure, causing the valves to imapct head, resulting in complete engine failure.
On december 16, 2000 we were traveling to phila. Via i95 from wilmington for a xmas party. As we approached the restaurant my engined ceased as we turned on to the street near the restaurant. Fortunately we were able to drift into a parking space. Car was towed to home that evening and then to dealer the following day. Dealer did diagnostic test and reported no compression to two valves. Never offered to investigate further, but recommended new engine, approximate cost $10,814, dealer was unfamiliar with what could have caused the problem. Contacted ford, whose customer service rep did not know of this model taurus. As car was out of warranty, ford offered no assistance and said that car should be traded as 85k was high mileage. Transferred car to winner, newark de, where engine was taken apart. Mechanic found 4 bent cylinders but could not explain why it happened only that it appeared that sprocket teeth had snapped, releasing chain and causing damage to camshafts. Repairs took approximately 4 months due to parts and lack of tech's knowledge of engine. Car has been back to service 5 times for additional repairs, I.e. Replace imrc, iac motor, gasket seal. Car has valve tap and engine oil pressure warning when drive for more than 15 minutes at high speeds. Dealer has reported problem is above their head. This car is a street prototype of nascar racing cars, while I drove 50 rt miles on backroads/day it has a top end speed of 131+, adherence to ford maintenance schedules and use of ford certified techs are mandatory to maintain the car. My problem has now surfaced on many shos and is now a documentable defect. This engine could have ceased on i95 while doing 85mph. Cost to repair to date, $3200, and is still a danger to drive and ford cannot recommend where and how to fix.
I have found numerous examples of this type of failure on various websites (www.v8sho.com). This seems to be a widesread problem, and ford is doing nothing about it at this time. There has been no recall of these shafts. I am pretty sure they know that this is a growing problem. This type of failure results in catastrophic engine damage.
Camshaft failure. This seems to be happening more and more often on these cars. I have spoke to many that this has happened to. Ford is doing nothing for the victims of this problem. What more can we do to get a recall or reimbursment?
Freeze plugs rusted out.
The 1996 ford taurus shos are a 3.4l 4 cam v8. On the left bank of the v8, the exhast camshaft broke. The dealer reporting the damage to me said that this camshft is driven as a slave camshft to the intake camshaft which is driven off the timing chain. It is possible that in other cases that the damage could be on the right side cylinder bank. They are identical in design, meaning one camshaft is driven off of a slave chain from the other camshaft, which is in turn driven off the timing chain. It appears that the camshafts in these v8 shos are an achilles heel. There have been many reported failures. Please see information in www.v8sho.com or www.v8sho.com/sho/camshaftsprocketfailure.htm, and www.v8sho.com/sho/camsprocketautopsy.htm, and www.v8sho.com/sho/camsprocket2.htm as well as your own database. I called ford's customer relations line at 1‑800‑392‑3673 to report this damage. Ford is not willing to cover any part of the damage at this time. I believe that 105,348 miles is very early in a car's life for such a failure. I have looked through the ntsa's records and I see many other complaints regarding this same issue. I believe that ford is aware of the design flaw and these failures. Would you please review your records and encourage ford to repair the failures or reimburse owners for repair costs. Also, it appears ford dealers are replacing camshafts with replacement units that have the same design flaw in them! Therefore, is a customer ever free from the fear that the camshafts could break again to the tume of $2,000 to $12,000 damage as some people have reported? The estimate for my vehicle's repairs is $5,500 or greater (more inspection is being done at this time at crestwood ford) not including sales taxes! I hold ford responsible for this issue not the dealers. Personally, if ford provided the parts free of charge and shared some of the labor, I believe many people, including myself, would accept those terms. Thank you.
Freeze plug malfunctioned on12/28/99; had recall on05/13/99 #98b2, only 7 month after the recall 41234miles freeze plug replase 51231miles tank you.
Ticking noise from top of motor diagnosed as camshaft sprocket failure by ford technician on my 1996 ford taurus sho, 3.4l, 207 ci v8. Dealership reccommends replacement of the entire motor as parts may take up to 5 months to arrive. I've heard that this is now becomming a common problem on these cars with more reports of them being made known on the internet.
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