Car issue

D

daria19

CAGiversary!
I have a 2001 ford taurus ses which I purchased used a couple of years ago as a "program car". Yesterday, at 40k miles, the check engine light comes on and the car was not accelerating properly (acted almost like a transmission issue). Firestone looked at it, and said that a couple of sensors in the engine were dead, among other things. One of the sensors is apparently a known defect with this particular car, and the mechanic unsuccessfully tried to get ford to cover the repair cost.

The bill was reasonable, and I would have probably gotten into a wreck if I tried to drive the car like this, so I had them do the work and throw in a new battery since mine was "marginal". I have a "low coolant" light which comes on intermittantly, but I manually check my coolant and it is fine and this does not seem to affect the car's performance. This seems to be a known defect from the websites. I had some brake work done last year, but Firestone suspected that the dealer slapped new brake pads onto ruined rotors. A little suspicious for rotors to go bad at 15k, but I don't know how the people before me drove the vehicle.

Does anyone know of any other common "suprises" from this make/model which I can anticipate? Any Ford horror stories from CAGer's? (Yes, I have been checking the I hate Ford sites on the web to get an idea of what I can look forward to.)

I am just hanging onto it and seeing if any other major things come down the pike which would justify trading it in for something else and making car payments. The car smells a little funky now, but hopefully that is just from the new parts.
 
I have the exact same car, about 40k miles too. The only problem I've had thus far was a bad dpfe sensor which I replaced a couple months ago ($32 and about 20 minutes of work). A part known for trouble based on the research I've done. There are a couple of minor recall notices I haven't acted on yet (spring shields and the brake light switch), but it's been smooth sailing otherwise.
 
My friend has this car, and she had the engine light popping on a lot, because of faulty sensors. But I also had the same issue in an 01 Grand Cherokee. My problem was the place where you put in the gas was not adequately sealed to the actual tank, but it took three tries to get that problem, because 'check engine' can mean one of about 100 things.
 
My parent have the same car, and the same problem. They've no clue what causes the light to come on. Though, theirs is still under warranty. They barely drive it so its certainly under the mileage part.
 
I can help here. I own a 02 wich is the same set up. severall common problems with the taurus. 1) they are known to have bad IAC valves they are easily replace(held on by to 10mm bolts mounted on top of intake manifold) and farily cheap $40-$50 depending where you go. 2) there is a TSB out on reprograming the veicles PCM if you have extended waranty it is covered there. 3) they are also know for transmission problems(currently going through this myself). I have 60,000 on mine now the brake rotors I changed at 30k due to bad rust pitting(happens due to cheap material used in makeing of the rotor). Great car. I would be glad to answer any other auto related questions as some of you know I am a ASE certified mechanic I went through the ford ASSET program and ford's are my expertise if you will I work for gm now so know a lot there as well
 
Thanks to all for replying. It seems like the funky smell is gone from my car, and I didn't have any problems with it yesterday.

EvilMojo: Thanks for giving me an idea of some common problems associated with this car. It is also good to know that you are still happy with your car. I was wondering if this was likely to be the beginning of more problems, or if it was just an isolated incident caused by a defective EVP sensor.

AllNatural: I wasn't in the brake light recall, but I am affected by the spring shields one since I live in a "cold weather state" (CT). I have also been pretty lazy about this since the dealer's hours are not exactly convenient and you always wonder what else they are going to find wrong with your car when you take it in.

Browneyedgal: Yea, they had to put the car on a scope to read a code to determine why the check engine light was coming on.

HumanSnatcher: I missed my warrenty coverage of the EVP sensor by a month, even though the mileage on the car is pretty low. The warrenties are written so that it is xx years or xx,000 miles. Your parents would know if it was this particular sensor because there was a noticeable change in the way that the car drove. As Browneyedgal stated, the check engine light can be alot of different things.

Sorry for posting in the wrong forum, I must have hit the back button or something and wasn't paying attention.
 
[quote name='evilmojo12542']I own a 02 wich is the same set up...they are also know for transmission problems(currently going through this myself).[/quote]
lol, my parents own an '02 and they've been having transmission problems too. The mechanics haven't been able to trace the problem yet, so they essentially said, "drive it until it gets really bad." Good thing they have an extended warranty.
 
Sorry about all the car troubles :) I do have a Ford horror story myself.... well a Mercury, but it's still a Ford subdivision.

I was 17 in early 2003 and drove my parents 98 (?) Mountaineer when I had the chance, so I drove it maybe once a month if not less. Long story short I was driving to a party and the fucking gas pedal fell off... actually detached from the rest of the car. My father came and drove the car back by pulling what I think was the throttle wire. The pedal was re-welded and that was that. Still crazy that one of the main parts of a car would just fall off.
 
[quote name='TheBlueWizard']Ford = Found on road Dead = Fix or Repair Daily

TBW[/QUOTE]

fabulus off road driving, fantastic on race driving
 
I have nothing against ford. However for the sake of future CAG car purchases. Stay away from Ford Mercuys and Taurus nothing but trouble. I would explain more but I don't feel like typing that much.
 
[quote name='evilmojo12542']fabulus off road driving, fantastic on race driving[/quote]
fucked Over Rebuilt Dodge
 
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