My 96 ford taurus gl has the following electrical problems, radio goes out, seat belt light flashes and clicks, intermittent wipers fail, power windows fail, finally power steering locks up,and when running for a while transmission would slip, causing safety concerns. If put in park everything goes back working as normal. Took to shop and they say it's the transmission range sensor and that several 96 taurus' they have worked on have had the same problem....I am wondering why this has not been a recall part if that is the case...something is definitely wrong!
1996 Ford Taurus: transmission slipping
9 of the 825 complaints about the 1996 Ford Taurus describe transmission slipping.
- owner complaints
- 9
- of this car's complaints
- 1%
- recalls
- 3
Is there a fix? There are 3 recalls and 42 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below
Transmission slipping by model year
What owners say
Transmission will slip out of gear while driving and right before the car comes to a complete stop, the tranny bucks. I was told by two transmission shops that the transmission has a faulty forward piston and needs to be rebuilt at a cost of $1800.00 dollars. The car has only 71k miles. After reading all these horror stories, I think ford should do the right thing and issue a recall!!
Transmission slips--86,000 miles getting trans rebuilt
0transmission goes into neutral when coming to a stop. The transmission was 'repaired' by metro auto repair service, 4633a auburn blvd., sacramento, ca 95841, (916) 485-3240. This repair service stated in their work order: "transmission neutrals when coming to a stop. Remove for overhaul, found bad forward piston causing seal to bypass pressure. Also found forward clutch valve retainer broken, rebuild transmission replacing cluches, seals and gaskets also replace torque converter and refil fluid." the total charges for this service was for "$1098.25" (included "23.36 sales tax"). On august 10, 2001, my wife noted the transmission would slip into neutral gear when coming to a stop; making very unsafe to operate the vehicle. This is the same transmission problem that we had experienced 15 months ago. The federal safety agency service bulletin number 983112, describes the problem. I advised metro auto repair service of the federal safety agency service bulletin; they acknowledged they were aware of it also.
Car stalls at stop lights or when slowing down to make a turn on hot summer days. Transmission slips in fourth gear.
Transmission slipping.
Whenever brakes are applied transmission would jerk or slip. Took to dealer & mechanic replaced it with a rebuilt one. Jerking/slipping reappeared. Took vehicle back & it was test driven, no problems existed. For a 3rd time, problem reoccurred. Mechanic informed owner that ford orderd not to fixed the vehicle even though the manufacturer knew about the transmission problem.
Brakes go the floor and do not stop, transmission slips in first or second gear, grinding noise is heard turning, and vehicle stalls.
Transmission slips.
Service bulletins that may apply
- Groan/buzz/vibration when the gear selector is in park with the vehicle parked on an incline
- New transmission cooler flusher - service tips
- Torque converter clutch not engaging when commanded and/or diagnostic trouble codes P0741 or P1744 stored...
- Some vehicles may exhibit a groan/buzz/vibration when the gear selector is in park
- Some vehicles may exhibit a park pullout clunk noise when shifting from park to another gear position
- Brake shift interlock
- Some vehicles may exhibit a harsh 2-3 shift after installing a remanufactured automatic transaxle
- Information regarding the new transmission cooler flusher- service tip
Related recalls
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- The automatic transmission park pawl shaft may not be free to rotate as intended. If the park pawl shaft does not rotate, it would prevent the park pawl from engaging the park gear when the shift lever is in the park position.
- Risk
- This condition could result in the vehicle rolling as if in neutral with the shift lever in the park position.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the park pawl shaft rotation and those shafts with restricted rotation will be replaced with a shorter shaft that will not restrict rotation.
Recall number 96V176000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission: gear position indication (PRNDL)
- What is wrong
- The park pawl abutment bracket has a sharp edge which can cause the parking pawl to hang up and not engage the park gear. This would allow the vehicle to move even though the gear shift indicator shows that the vehicle is in park.
- Risk
- Unintended and unexpected vehicle movement can result in personal injury and property damage.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the park pawl abutment bracket.
Recall number 96V166000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- The park pawl shaft was improperly positioned when the roll pin that retains it was installed during transmission assembly. If the shaft was not properly positioned, the roll pin may not have lined up with the groove in the shaft and have been crushed at assembly. Also, a burr could have been raised on the shaft.
- Risk
- This could result in the park pawl occasionally not engaging when the transmission selector lever is placed in the park position. This could result in the vehicle rolling as if in neutral if the vehicle operator does not apply the parking brake.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the park pawl shaft roll pin. If the roll pin is damaged, both the roll pin and the park pawl shaft will be replaced. In addition, owners will be reminded to fully apply the parking brake, in addition to placing the transmission in park.
Recall number 96V086000 · Recall details
Questions about the 1996 Ford Taurus slipping
Is transmission slipping a common problem on the 1996 Ford Taurus?
9 of 825 owner complaints about the 1996 Ford Taurus (1%) mention transmission slipping. The model year with the most reports is 1997.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1996 Ford Taurus?
There are 3 recalls and 42 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1996 Ford Taurus
Stalling 57Transmission failure 35Overheating 32Engine failure 29Loss of power 27Grinding brakes 20Check engine light 20Power steering loss 19ABS 18Coil spring 16No deployment 15Headlights 15Wipers 15Brake failure 14Door locks 14Tire blowout 13Steering noise 12Fire or smoke 11Jerking 9Seat belt 8Knocking 7Steering lock-up 7Airbag light 6Ball joint 6Sudden acceleration 6Won't start 6Won't shift 5
VIN decoder
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