1997 ford taurus with anti freeze leak. Consumer states she had the cooling system flushed and they replaced the thermostat. Dealer told her she needed the engine repaired and it would cost $300 or $400 dollars. *kb the consumer stated when the vehicle was returned to her, it was overheating. The dealer informed the consumer a campaign had been issued for engine corrosion.
1997 Ford Taurus engine complaints
Page 2 of 6: complaints 11 to 40 of 150, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Dt*: the contact stated while traveling 60 MPH, the check engine light illuminated, then smoke came out from under the hood, and the vehicle began to decelerate. A mile later, the engine stalled, the vehicle was pulled over and the contact noticed liquid dripping from the engine compartment. The vehicle was restarted and was driven to the contacts residence. Then, the vehicle would start, but not move. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop who determined the sprocket that holds the timing chain came loose and the engine needed to be replaced.
Dt*: the contact stated while attempting to apply brake pressure at 65 MPH the brakes went to the floor. When hitting a bump the brakes bounce and the check engine light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop for inspection. The mechanic replaced the front and rear brakes and the engine light sensor. The manufacturer was alerted.
Service engine light on code#430 and #340. Told by pacifico ford I have an emission failure and I need 2 catalytic converters and a cam sensor and cam synchronizer on 1/11/2006 at 89044 miles. The dealer replaced the #2 cam parts under warranty on 11/04/2002 at 55616 miles.
Oil pan gasket leaking and replaced on 6-15-02 at 51070 miles under e.s.p oil pan gasket leaking again on 1-11-06 at 87734 miles total cost paid $428.75.
1997 taurus heating system failed. This was caused by a failure in the radiator. *ts ***no answer required*** the radiator failed.
My fiancee's head gasket is blown on her 1997 ford taurus (spelling). Is this normal because the mechanic that we went to said "oh I bet I know what is wrong with this car. I bet the headgasket is blown." how long is this head gasket supposed to last. She only has 140,000 miles on her car and does regular maintanence on it.
When consumer was exiting the freeway engine check light came on and vehicle stopped. Then, smoke started to come from under the hood, and vehicle started to make a noise. From that point on each time vehicle cut off, restarted, and moved a bit. Afterwards, vehicle cut off and consumer restarted it until he got home. Then, had it towed to a private mechanic, who told him that the sprocket came loose. Mechanic attempted to repair the vehicle, but could not because the labor and parts would cost about $6000.00 - $8000.00. Consumer told mechanic not to bother because he could not afford it. He had the vehicle towed back to his home. *ak the cam shaft was broken, 2 cylinders went bad, the transmission was affected, the vehicle would stall possibly due to the coil packs and the struts went bad.
Speedometer would stop operating and vehicle would stall after driving two miles. Vehicle had been to several repair shops. Each mechanic could not determine the problem. They informed consumer that it might be the catalytic converter or the oxygen sensor .
1997 ford taurus. Car began rough idling at cold start. After warming up would run fine. Took to mechanic twice. They did not know problem said it was safe to drive. Car only had 80,000 miles on it at the time. Car eventually started losing anti-freeze (not leaking, just turning up low every couple of days), exhaust fumes heavy, white smoke from exhaust, gas mileage terrible. I took to my uncle, a mechanic in another city and he knew what it was immediately. As I suspected, head gasket. Will cost $800-1000 to repair. This is my second ford. Other was a 1995 ford escort. After two transmissions and a cracked engine it died two years ago for good. I'm a sigle mom and this is only transportation. Cannot afford a new car yet. But it will not be a ford when I can. Ford has changed and is not the same as it used to be. Ford does not care about the consumer.
While driving 15 MPH consumer heard a noise coming from the engine compartment. Consumer took vehicle to an independent shop ,who could not find the cause of the problem. Consumer checked the vehicle, and determined that the motor mount bolts sheared off. *ak
Bought 97 taurus with 53,000 miles in 03-2001 at a dodge dealership, with extended warranty [chrysler 24/24]. Took in for oil leak 3,000 miles after purchase. Oil pan gasket repair work was said to be done. Approx. 8,000 miles after that, I took car in again for oil leak and possible coolant leak. Again gasket repairs were suppossedly done; no report or repair on suspected coolant leak. Approximately 9,000 miles after that, car breaks down on fwy; will not crank/turn over. Had car towed to same dealership; reported findings were: no coolant in radiator, coolant in oil basket, no compression. Extended warranty expired 2 months prior to break down. They say the previous complaints aren't related to present problem. I feel the repair work each time I took the car in for service was incomplete, overlooked, or mis diagnosed.
Transmission going out at such a low mileage, serpentine belt failure,cam sensor & false distributor shaft, & multi-functional switch in steering column
Service engine light will not turn off...transmission has been replaced and repaired and is now needing repair again...tires from normal wear...brakes from normal wear...
Vehicle has a major problem with cooling and heating system.*mr five months after purchase the heater became defective. At this time the vehicle was under warranty for consumer absorbed not cost. The failure occurred six times over the past years. The episode became more unsafe and extremely inconvenient. On july 26,2003 the defective radiator sprung a leak. Consumer stated ford should recall the vehicle and should be given another vehicle at a big discount price in 1999. *ph
Reimbursement request for repairs performed on defective radiator. *mr there was one front tire separation with a knot, and the radiator was inoperative. (bridgestone weatherizer) *scc
1997 ford taurus - 3.0l v6 ohv type u tensioner puller seized up while driving on highway - result: serpentine belt sheared off the tension pulley assembly. Pulley and belt needed to be replaced, engine overheated due to water pump not running because no belt was operating the pump due to the tensioner pulley seizing. Mechanics stated that they have to replace this item on the 3.0 l v6 engine and subsequent damage to other items within the engine compartment on 4 to 5 cars per week. (the brake shop - centerville, in).
"service engine soon" light came on (2nd time) first time ford dealership did full transmission flush($125) to see if corrected problem. Two months later (on long drive), warning came on again. Took to dealership and said it was a transmission code that needed the transmission dropped to determine cause ($300). They told me that (even though the transmission was working ok) that the transmission was having a complete and total failure. All parts and components were either scorched or failed when tested and recommended a total rebuild ($2862) or purchase a ford rebuilt one ($2756). I said this was unacceptable for a car with 39,400 miles on it. They said they could do nothing and I contacted ford motor company. They sounded interested but would not back up their product due to being out of warranty. (so much for the quality one - customer care moto). Reading other complaints this is a very common problem in the ford taurus over the years. We had a 1994 taurus that had transmission problems to the tune of $1,100. Needless to say this is my last ford product and they wonder why people by foreign vehicles!. When I told the dealership to put the car back together that I can get a rebuilt transmission from 2 other transmission sources (used parts for $1400) or new rebuilt parts for $2030), they then said "let me see if there is any last thing my management will do" of course when put on the spot to lose business and respectability they lowered their price to $2281 for a ford rebuilt one. I am still concerned since a lot of others say they had failures with their 2nd one too! It comes with a 3/36,000 warranty. I cannot believe that this day and age that the consumer should be responsible for the total repair costs when known defects occur. A safety recall should be looked into as some transmissions have separated and locked up causing immediate stoppage of vehicle like slamming on brakes.
Premature engine and component failure due to faulty head gaskets. Engine and transmission failed at less than 55,000 miles.
The "service engine soon" light came on and was diagnosed at a local auto parts store with code 402 that showed excessive flow in the egr system. I removed the egr valve and tube from the engine and inspected the components. The egr valve was extremely clean and did not show any leakage through the valve when it was closed. The tube leading from the exhaust manifold to the egr valve was also extremely clean. The battery was disconnected to reset the indicator light. Two days later, the indicator light illuminated again. The vehicle was taken to clarke ford in hudson, ohio for repairs. The vehicle was tested by a mechanic who found the same results. I was charged for two labor hours for replacement of the dpfe sensor and trouble shooting. I told the dealer that I wished to keep the old parts. When I reviewed the old part with the mechanic, excessive corrosion was present in the hose of the sensor. The mechanic and service writer informed me that ford no longer manufactures the sensor from metal and the replacement is plastic to prevent the corrosion. The service writer proceeded to show me the print out that displayed the replacement information. I had been to clarke ford on two consecutive days before this automobile was serviced to schedule the appointments for service on two vehicles and to drop the vehicles for servicing. While I was speaking with the service writer, no less than 5 other customers received the same news of a bad dpfe sensor. The service writer informed me that this failure was very common. I feel that this situation needs further investigation since the problem appears to be so widespread and has a new style replacement part to fix the corrosion problem.
The engine coolant reservoir over flowed.
The vehicle shut down due to a hole inside of plug of the engine compartment causing fuel to leak. Please fill in additional information. Dealer is aware of the problem. Ph
Vehicle jerks heavily and the engine light comes on. Dealer has been notified. Ph
Catalytic converter rattling inside. Replaced by dealer
Cam sensors are being replaced in the 1997 ford taurus models; since they are related to the the firing of the engine it will cause the emissions to increase and should therefore be covered under the 8yr/84000 mile law. Dt
Idle speed will increase while driving resulting in sudden unexplained high idle/acceleration rate (idle speed increases from 600-800 RPM to 1500-2000 RPM) that makes stopping difficult. In addition, with this high idle the car will make a sudden surge when brake is released. Car has been to dealer over 18 times, dealer and ford are aware of problem, have changed numerous parts but were never able to find actual cause. Ford refuses to make replacement and/or repurchase offer other than what dealer will offer as minimal "trade-in" value if I purchase a new ford. Dt
The frost plugs in the engine block failed catastrophically due to internal corrosion. This caused rapid loss of nearly all coolant from the engine. The loss of coolant caused the engine to overheat, the head gasket to fail, and the heads to crack. Within ninety seconds, the engine shut down and consumer was left without power.
Cam sprocket failure could have been prevented by being notified by ford. Ford has know of the problem and should have notified owners as there is aprocedure to remedy this problem. By not welding the cams engine failure accurs causing excessive damage to engine. Preventive welding for $ 500.00 corrects the problem. I now have to replace total engine at a cost of about $6,00.00 for salvaged motor. Dt
Cam failure; apparently rotated relative to camshaft. Occured at light tip in under 45mph, under 3200 RPM. Engine started missing, (running on 4 cylinders) and loss of power brakes. Engine started overheating while driven 1/2 mile to find parking lot. Dealer estimated costs at $3000 - $9000. Dt
While in motion the service light illuminated and then began to flash.
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