2001 Ford Taurus: sudden loss of power

Filed Aug 12, 2008 · Engine · 96,000 miles · UT

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford taurus. While driving 30-40 MPH, the vehicle would suddenly shut off lose power steering ability. The vehicle would drift to a stop and the interior lights remained illuminated on the instrument panel. During the first few failures, the contact was able to pull the vehicle to the side of the road and walk home. She sent her husband to check the vehicle and it started up normally. On other occasions, it would take hours to days before the vehicle could be restarted. Two different mechanics have performed diagnostic tests on the vehicle and they both stated that the cause of the failure was the box installed on the vehicle by the loan company. The contact called the loan company and they informed her to call their technician. The technician stated that it was not the box, even though it had not yet been inspected. He also refused to replace the box unless the contact paid $80 for the inspection service. The failure mileage was 96,000 and current mileage was 96,500.

Filed Aug 26, 2007 · Electrical · 98,000 miles · TN

I have a 2001 ford taurus. While driving the vehicle the anti-theft light will come on. The vehicle will shut down without warning. I was driving on interstate 75 in tn. The speed zone is 70mph. The car shut off and I was almost hit in the rear by a semi truck. I had my entire family in the car with me at the time. This is not an intermittent problem. I took the car into a ford dealer and I was told it was the ignition. It was replaced and two weeks later the same thing started. Now I am told it is a gem module, or, PCM module, several other things. This to me is a very dangerous vehicle. When the car quits running, and you lose all power,and control of the vehicle, from brakes to steering. Even the steering wheel locked down. It took 2 hours before the car would restart. This has occurred over 20 times. This problem is not only dangerous to the driver, but other drivers on the road. It will one day kill people.

Filed Mar 8, 2007 · Engine · 94,600 miles · AR

Tl* -the contact owns a 2001 ford taurus ses. The contact stated that the front end of the vehicle shook while driving at 45 MPH or faster and got worse the vehicle reached 60 MPH. Also, the contact stated that the engine light turned on approximately 2 months after purchasing the vehicle and has not turned off. The contact was told that the emissions caused the engine light to turn on, but that she should not worry about it. The contact had the vehicle for three years now. The contact stated that the engine lost power about 8 months ago, she got a jump start, and had no problem again. The vehicle was currently in a repair shop, and she was told that there was a coolant leak, and that the vehicle needed to have the radiator flushed. The failure and current mileage were both 94600.*ak updated 04/09/07.

Filed Aug 22, 2005 · Engine · 77,200 miles · TX

Went out of town for the day, car starting making noises. Noises seem to be intermediate, we cut our trip short and drove home. It is in the area of 100 miles home. When we got home I parked it till next day and had someone look at it. They said a bolt either fell out or broke and my hub assemply was falling apart. At that point they also tell me I was lucky that the pulley didn't freeze up on me because I would have lost all power. At 65 MPH coming home we could have been killed. I called my ford dealer and they suggested that I get it to a ford dealer here and let them look at it. I had it towed the next day and they veriified the same information. They said I needed to replace the A/C compressor, clutch, pulley and a coil. I did speak to ford and they didn't seem to think that they should assit in any repairs because my warranty expired. My biggest thing is that the car was falling apart while driving down the road. It was not due from neglect or an accident. Their lack of concern was disturbing. I have not repaired it as of yet but when I do I will keep the old parts.

Filed Jul 15, 2005 · Electrical · 58,219 miles · NJ

I was driving my ford taurus and all at once the engine shut down. I lost all power of the vehicle. Fortunatley I was not driving fast about 35 MPH when the incident happened and I safetly stopped on the shoulder of the road. Turned off and on the ignition and the car started as if nothing had happened. Driving home the same failure happened.since then I drove the car two more miles but I am afraid to drive the vehicle, specially on the highway. I am planning on taking the car to the dealer but I fear they wont find anything wrong with the car since the failure seems occur randomly.

Filed Jun 10, 2005 · Engine · 33,000 miles · CT

Dt: without warning the head gasket blew out. While driving caller lost power and had to pull off the side of road. Vehicle was towed. Dealer will not cover the damages because warranty expired. Manufacturer said the same thing.

Filed Jun 10, 2005 · Engine · 33,000 miles · CT

On june 4th, I was travelling on I-95 south bound (new jersey turnpike) when all of a sudden my 2001 ford taurus lost power, and stalled out. I immediately pulled over to the shoulder. I took it to an independent mechanic who advised that the engine head gasket may be the cause. After taking it to the dealer they advised that this is not covered, since the warranty has expired. I only have 33,000 miles on the vehicle, and this should nevere happen to any ford product, especially with 33,000 miles. Obviously, their is an engine problem that ford may not want to address, and as always the consumer gets the short end of the stick. I strongly belive there is a considerable defect with this model engine and should be investigated.

Filed Feb 3, 2005 · Engine · 56,860 miles · KS

I have a 2001 ford taurus station wagon with a little over 56,000 miles on it. I turned off the engine at a long stop light & when I turned it back on, I had no power steering. I was able to drive the car the remaining mile to work with great difficulty. When I got to work I noticed the serpentine belt had broke. After work, I was able to drive the car 2 miles to a garage for repairs, once again without power steering. The garage stated that the reason the serpentine belt broke was that the bearings in the air conditioning clutch were seized which caused the clutch to lock up. This caused tremendous friction on the serpentine belt causing it to break. The mechanic showed me the air conditioning clutch with the seized bearings & also stated that the bolt that holds the clutch to the engine was about to come off & that would have caused the clutch to come off the engine. The shop manager stated that this problem should never happen to a vehicle with this amount of miles on it, but he had noticed this problem lately with newer model fords. This problem did not cause an accident as I lost power steering when the vehicle was not moving. I am also a muscular man, so I was able to steer the vehicle at low speeds worth great difficulty. However, if this had happened at a highway speed with my wife or my teenage daughter driving, they would not have been able to control the vehicle & would probably have crashed potentially causing serious injury or death. I would like this problem investigated to see if there is a design problem with the air conditioning clutch on late model fords.

Filed Apr 18, 2002 · Engine, Seats · TX · crash

Consumer states that vehicle had shut off causing a car crash. Nlm consumer adds there was a loud noise when put in reverse and drive at times and goes into gear very hard, then the transmission went out in the vehicle while driving, dealer replaced transmission and worn planetary gears. Eleven days after vehicle was repaired, the engine cut off causing an accident. Consumer loss all power with steering and brakes. Consumer states there is a sqeaking noise in right front and drivers seat when driving. No problem found.

Filed Feb 27, 2002 · Body · CT

Consumer states a raccoon ran across the road in front of his vehicle, and struck the front bumper, the bumper being constructed of a flexible plastic deflected so far that the pointed end of a screw, which is part of the bumper assembly, struck and punctured the power steering cooler assembly, which LED to the loss of power steering fluid and consequently to the complete loss of power steering assist, consumer stated the bumper assembly did not perform as its intended purpose.