Freeze plugs blew out without warning at 65 MPH on interstate hwy; temp gauge within normal range and "check engine" light did not come on until engine died. Required head gasket job as well as repair of freeze plugs. Temporary loss of power steering when turning corners on wet streets. Windshield fogs over completely when defrost/defog is turned on before it clears. Temporary loss of vision through windshield resulting in extremely hazardous driving conditions...
1996 Ford Taurus visibility complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 55, newest first, as owners wrote them.
No summary listed for abov evehicle.
I brought my car to my local mechanic when I noticed antifreeze leaking from the car in my driveway. Due to complete corrosion of coolant system, this resulted in the replacement of freeze plugs, water pump, radiator, head gaskets, thermostat and heater core. I will have to bring it back in april for another radiator flushing. I later learned from a radio talk show that there had been a recall on the coolant system for this auto. When I contacted ford, they told me there was an owner notification sent, but I never received it and it expired august 1999. Ford or the dealer refuse to do anything so I don't know if the recall has been fixed by my repairs or not and will this happen again. Ford has also refused to reimburse me for any of the costs. I would appreciate any assistance
Consumer stated that, the radiator and antifreeze bottle recovery unit failed and was replaced.
When defroster is tured on, a mist of sticky fumes develope at the bottom of windshield. This mist has caused consumer to have headache and stomach problems. Manufacturer has not been contacted.
Windshield wipers will only work on high speed sometimes not at all. Sometimes left turn signal switch will not stay down or even hold down to use the turn signal.
The problems with my taurus dates back to a recall concerning the cooling system in 1997. Since then, I've continued to experience premature problems with varying parts of the cooling system including a failed thermostat, heater core, gasket, and radiator. I've contacted ford, and they refuse to offer any additional assistance.
My windshield has developed a haze between the lamenation and glass, as diagnosed by the dealer. The only solution was to replace the window. This condition makes the view severely blurred when oncoming headlights and/or sun is involved. It is much like shining light through a prism. Glass on a vehicle should last the lifetime of the vehicle, and not go bad. This creates a serious visual hazard. I would hope that this warrants an investigation to provide consumers like myself some sort of replacement/recall option. Further, if a windshield cannot withstand the test of time, I have lost faith in its integrity during an accident. To say the least, ford has produced a "lemon" product, as again...glass should not go bad.
When turning on defroster ,all front windows and windshield will fog up lasting about 2- 3 mintues causing poor visibility. Manufacturer claims this is a normal due to plastic components in vehicle.
Heater core only lasts 12-13 months, dealer can not find prob with ABS brakes..
I returned this car to the dealership because the windshield wiper control began clicking whenever I tried using them. The repair dept. Told me that was normal for the taurus and that nothing was wrong. Now, I am limited to only several settings where the wipers will actually function. That has never been a "normal" feature on any of my other vehicles. I feel ford needs to address this failure before I don't have any wiper capabilities and someone is either injured or killed due to this malfunction.
Windshield wipers would stop working while in operating mode, or speed would change from high to low intermittently. Dealer notified, and nothing would be done unless consumer picks up the expenses.
Rain on 10/04/99 turned wipers on to 4 to 6 seconds wipe---started to rain harder moved wipers to low setting--starting wiping every 10 to 12 secs---hit a bump in the road wipers started to work like they should--hit another bump--wipers went back to slow speed---then stopped...had to use high speed to get the wipers to work
Defrost failed and had very poor visibility when windows fogged almost causing wreck
The major problem was engine overheating, brown coolant,loss of heater. Ford repeated flushed out the heater core,replaced the coollant, flushed out engine, radiator. After about a year of this they finally had to replace the engine with another engine, a rebuilt one of course. They continued to have to flush out the brown coolant. Now the heater does not work again. They say that since my warranty is up I must pay for the heater core even though they knew it was going bad and that they had two recalls on brown coolant problems. They say they have not had any problems with engines if they performed the recall. They should have replaced the heater core according to the recall notice 98-b23 and 98b23-s1 but did not. They replaced the steering rack three times to get rid of the noise when turning. Then they replaced the spindles which the ends should have been sealed at the factory but were not. They ground down the rotors several times to keep the car from vibrating and replaced them once. They replaced the door lock which wouldn't allow you to open the car on the drivers side and then replaced the hood latch so you could get under the hood. They have replaced the AC knob twice since the plastic inside keeps breaking. This car has been a piece of junk since I got it and continues to have problems especially with the coolent and the heater system.
Front motor mounts broke in two. Dealer has been contacted.
This problem is that the windshield washer works only periodically. I have not been in contact with the dealer since the car is past the warranty date and I can visualize a major cost item for repair. This car has been nothing but a series of problems and in spite of my contacts with ford customer service division, they have not responded in a satisfactory way.
Intermittently windshield wipers become inoperable. The dealer has been notified.
Windshield wipers stop working in any interval position.
During a very heavy rain, the windshield wipers shut down right in the middle of operation. Spontaneously the wipers will start up again. The vehicle was taken to the dealership. The problem was corrected at owner's expense.
When driving in rainy weather the power steering goes out. The windshield wipers also stop working. The vehicle has been taken to the dealership three times since april of 1997 for this problem. The dealer changed the power steering belt which did not correct the problem. Vehicleis at dealership for the fourth time for this problem.
Rear brake makes grinding that dealer can't duplicate.
Heater core failed.
Defroster is used,windows fog up, causing poor visibilty. Dealers could not duplicate problem. Cause unknown.
When defroster is on the windows are instantly filled with a thick solid green fog, obstructing the view of the driver. Tsb is out for problem. Dealer and manufacturer have been notified.
Complete failure of the transmission, pump shaft split in half.
Passenger's door rattles. Replaced steering rack/leaking oil pan gaskets/oil filter and bracket/ seat belt retractor/rear defroster.
Defroster fogs windshield, causing poor visibility when first engaged.
During rainstorm windshield wipers will become inoperative. Will begin to slow down or delay, making it difficult to see. Dealer cannot duplicate problem.
Grinding/vibrating noise from steering when making low speed right turn due to defective rack and pinion steering. In addition, in some weather conditions, when defroster is activated, windshield fogs up, causing visibility problems.
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