1996 FORD TAURUS Complaints

CAM SHAFT FAILURE ON 3.4L V8 SHO ENGINE. VEHICLE HAD TICKING NOISE, THEN VEHICLE LOST POWER AND MAJOR ENGINE FAILURE. UPON INSPECTION, CAM IS STRIPPED AND WILL NEED REPLACEMENT. ESTIMATED REPAIR COST OVER $4,000 USD OR REPLACEMENT ENGINE. I HAVE 47 DOCUMENTED CASES OF CAM SHAFT FAILURE IN 1996-1998 TAURUS SHO'S WILL MILEAGE BETWEEN 40,000 TO 100,000. MEDIAN MILEAGE IS 85,000. FORD MECHANICS SEEM TO THINK PROBLEM IS POOR DESIGN OF THE PART, AND THEY ARE DESTINED TO FAIL. FORD DOES NOT WANT TO RECALL DUE TO VEHICLE IS NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION. THIS FAILURE CAN BE DANGEROUS AS MOST FAILURES ARE COMING WHEN VEHICLE IS DRIVING, AND VEHICLE JUST SHUTS DOWN. *AK

WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH HEARD A TICKING SOUND. SHORTLY AFTERWARDS ENGINE CHECK LIGHT CAME ON, AND VEHICLE STALLED. DEALER REPLACED A BROKEN CAMSHAFT.*AK

MY 96 TAURUS SHO HAD SEVERE ENGINE FAILURE AT 66,682 MILES. THE ENGINE (CAMSHAFT) SHOULD NOT FAIL ON WELL CARED FOR VEHICLE WITH ONLY 66,682 MILES ON IT. THERE IS A DESIGN FLAW IN THE SHO ENGINE THAT IS CASUING HUNDERDS OF CONSUMERS TO PAY HUNDERDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. WHY ISN'T ANYONE CAUSING FORD TO ADDRESS THIS. THERE OUGHT TO BE GREATER CONSUMER PROTECTION AGAINST A MANUFACTURER OF A DEFECTIVE AUTO. PLEASE ASSIST. THANKS!*AK

WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED VEHICLE WILL COMPLETELY SHUTDOWN WITHOUT WARNING, CAUSE UNKNOWN. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS.*AK

SEAL ON BOTH HEADLIGHT LENS HAVE FAILED RESULTING IN CLOUDY LENSES . LENS ARE NOT REMOVABLE REQUIREING REPLACING EACH UNIT AT A PRICE OF $214. PER UNIT. IN DISCUSSING WITH SERVICE PEOPLE AT FORD GARAGE THEY SAY THIS IS OCCURING QUITE FREQUENTLY. THIS IS RIDICULOUS HAVING TO REPLACE THE WHOLE UNIT TO ENABLE CLEANING OF A HEADLIGHT LENS. THIS RESTRICTS THE VISIBILITY DUE TO DIMINISHED LUMENS AVAILABLE . THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFTEY HAZARD.

THE CAR BEGAN MAKING A TICKING SOUND FROM THE VALVE TRAIN AREA. THIS NOISE BECAME MUCH LOUDER OVER A PERIOD OF WEEKS. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED IT AS A LOOSE SPROCKET ON THE REAR BANK INTAKE CAMSHAFT. AS A MEMBER OF THE V8SHO ORGANIZATION (WWW.V8SHO.COM), I AM AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND IT'S MANY OCCURRENCES. THERE ARE NOW OVER 30 REPORTS OF THIS EXACT PROBLEM (WITH OCCURRENCES ON ANY ONE OF THE 4 CAMS), AND 14 REPORTED FAILURES IN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER, 2001 ALONE! THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW AS THE SPROCKET IS MERELY "PRESSED" ONTO THE CAMSHAFT WITH NO OTHER MEANS OF ATTACHMENT. OVER TIME, THE CONNECTION WORKS LOOSE CAUSING THE OFFENDING CAMSHAFT TO SPIN FREELY, THUS ALLOWING THE VALVES TO COME IN CONTACT WITH THE PISTONS, CAUSING COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURE. FORTUNATELY, I WAS ABLE TO CATCH THIS ON MY ENGINE PRIOR TO COMPLETE FAILURE. MYSELF AND NUMEROUS OTHERS HAVE CONTACTED FORD DIRECTLY WITH LITTLE SUCCESS ON THEIR OWNING UP TO THE PROBLEM. THE DEALER'S FIX IS USUALLY TO REPLACE THE CAMSHAFT(S) AT A COST OF $1080 EA., FOR PARTS ALONE! THAT IS A TEMPORARY SOLUTION AS THE OWNER IS STILL LEFT WITH A DESIGN FLAW, REGARDLESS OF THE FACT THAT IT'S A NEW CAMSHAFT. MY BILL WILL BE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF $2000+ AND THAT'S WITHOUT THE SPROCKET ACTUALLY COMING LOOSE! FORD NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS GROSSLY NEGLIGENT DESIGN FLAW!*AK

HEATER CORE BROKE OR RUPTURED AND ANTIFREEZE CAME OUT OF THE VENTS INSIDE THE VEHICLE. IT PUT A GREASY FILM ON WINDOWS LIKE FOG OR STEAM. HEATER WILL NOT WORK. CONTACTED DEALER ,AND DEALER COULDN'T CONTINUE TO FIX VEHICLE BECAUS E WARRANTY HAS RUN OUT. *AK

PLEASE HELP ME WITH THIS VEHICLE. NO SAFETY DEFECT LISTED. *AK (TIRESIZE: P20565R15)

A TICKING NOISE WAS HEARD IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT. TOOK VEHICLE TO FORD DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS. WHILE AT DEALER, CAM GEAR SPROCEKT HAD COMPLETE FAILURE, CAUSING THE VALVES TO IMAPCT HEAD, RESULTING IN COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURE. *AK

ON DECEMBER 16, 2000 WE WERE TRAVELING TO PHILA. VIA I95 FROM WILMINGTON FOR A XMAS PARTY. AS WE APPROACHED THE RESTAURANT MY ENGINED CEASED AS WE TURNED ON TO THE STREET NEAR THE RESTAURANT. FORTUNATELY WE WERE ABLE TO DRIFT INTO A PARKING SPACE. CAR WAS TOWED TO HOME THAT EVENING AND THEN TO DEALER THE FOLLOWING DAY. DEALER DID DIAGNOSTIC TEST AND REPORTED NO COMPRESSION TO TWO VALVES. NEVER OFFERED TO INVESTIGATE FURTHER, BUT RECOMMENDED NEW ENGINE, APPROXIMATE COST $10,814, DEALER WAS UNFAMILIAR WITH WHAT COULD HAVE CAUSED THE PROBLEM. CONTACTED FORD, WHOSE CUSTOMER SERVICE REP DID NOT KNOW OF THIS MODEL TAURUS. AS CAR WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, FORD OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE AND SAID THAT CAR SHOULD BE TRADED AS 85K WAS HIGH MILEAGE. TRANSFERRED CAR TO WINNER, NEWARK DE, WHERE ENGINE WAS TAKEN APART. MECHANIC FOUND 4 BENT CYLINDERS BUT COULD NOT EXPLAIN WHY IT HAPPENED ONLY THAT IT APPEARED THAT SPROCKET TEETH HAD SNAPPED, RELEASING CHAIN AND CAUSING DAMAGE TO CAMSHAFTS. REPAIRS TOOK APPROXIMATELY 4 MONTHS DUE TO PARTS AND LACK OF TECH'S KNOWLEDGE OF ENGINE. CAR HAS BEEN BACK TO SERVICE 5 TIMES FOR ADDITIONAL REPAIRS, I.E. REPLACE IMRC, IAC MOTOR, GASKET SEAL. CAR HAS VALVE TAP AND ENGINE OIL PRESSURE WARNING WHEN DRIVE FOR MORE THAN 15 MINUTES AT HIGH SPEEDS. DEALER HAS REPORTED PROBLEM IS ABOVE THEIR HEAD. THIS CAR IS A STREET PROTOTYPE OF NASCAR RACING CARS, WHILE I DROVE 50 RT MILES ON BACKROADS/DAY IT HAS A TOP END SPEED OF 131+, ADHERENCE TO FORD MAINTENANCE SCHEDULES AND USE OF FORD CERTIFIED TECHS ARE MANDATORY TO MAINTAIN THE CAR. MY PROBLEM HAS NOW SURFACED ON MANY SHOS AND IS NOW A DOCUMENTABLE DEFECT. THIS ENGINE COULD HAVE CEASED ON I95 WHILE DOING 85MPH. COST TO REPAIR TO DATE, $3200, AND IS STILL A DANGER TO DRIVE AND FORD CANNOT RECOMMEND WHERE AND HOW TO FIX.