Subject: 
2002 Ford Taurus


Wed, 20 Jul 2005 14:42:18 -0400
Date:    





I purchased a 2002 Taurus, brand new, in the fall of 2001. I thought Taurus's were reliable, 
economical cars and I felt good buying it considering how popular they were. Within about a 
year, I started feeling a shaking sensation in the steering. I did'nt pay very much attention to it, 
until it started to get worse to the point it was  annoying. So I inquired about it and people told 
me it sounded like my brakes. Only having the car a year, I could'nt possibly believe it could 
be my brakes. So I had the husband of a friend of mine at the time, whom I considered a fairly 
skilled mechanic, check it out for me and he insisted my rotars and pads were fine. 

The shaking worsened. So I contacted Ford to check out my car and nothing was found to 
be causing the problems. The mechanic told me that shaking is caused by the ABS braking 
system. Funny, I didn't recognize this before I bought the vehicle. Being the gullible fool I am 
with little knowledge of cars at the time, I just thought it was me, and let it be. Since then, I 
had my brakes replaced in August 2004, and the vibration continues.

Within this time, around the holidays last year, I noticed for the first time as I was driving 
down the beltway, about 60mph, the car hesitated, lost power for a moment, and a few of 
my idiot lights, including the fuel light, and the check fuel cap light, illuminated. It scared 
me, but since the car continued to drive, I ignored it.

Over the next couple months it became slightly more frequent, with it seems a new control 
light illuminating each occurance. I took it to an ASE Certified garage who told me they 
could'nt tell me what the problem was, and to take it to Ford, since they're the specialists.

I dealt with it a while longer, and recently, this past Monday, the vehicle shut off in traffic, I 
attempted to accelerate and the car would'nt move. I turned the ignition switch off then 
restarted the vehicle.

Completely scared for my safety (and the safety of others on the road) I scheduled an 
appointment with Ford and informed the mechanic a garage could not locate the source 
of failure and he assured me this morning they'd find the cause.

It took the mechanic less than two hours to tell me the vehicle passed all it's tests, he 
could'nt tell me what was wrong with it. He then inisted that when I took it to the garage, 
perhaps all the codes were erased. The problem has occured several times since seeing 
the garage, including it completly shutting off last Monday.

I know Ford has a system that can read the history in the car's memory. He told me he 
found nothing.

Which leads me to believe I've either purchased a lemon, or I'm just seeing things. Others 
have been in my car as well when this happens. I recently tried to trade it in, only to be 
setback for Ford's after market costs of their vehicles. I was told by Honda my car's blue 
book value is less than 6,000 dollars. I still owe 14,000 on the vehicle.

I am a 26 year old single mother of two. I have a fairly lengthy commute to work every 
day. I don't feel safe in the vehicle, and I'm at the conclusion of today to just hope and 
pray I don't kill myself, or anyone else for this defect. I spoke to the customer service 
manager who informed me he would give me a rental next week, and have the mechanic 
check my air intake valve and sensor.

He stated sometimes that can happen when it becomes dirty. I then asked the hypethetical, 
so, what IF I receive his service, and the problem continues.

His response to me was to bring the vehicle back. To find what, I was asking, by that time 
they would have exhausted all options, after I paid for service that didn't eliminate my 
problem.

I feel cheated, and taken advantage of. I have a friend who owns a 96' Honda and she's 
explained to me the only service she's ever had to perform on the vehicle is oil and filter 
changes, brakes, and belts. She claims she never visited a Honda dealer after her warranty 
expired. Her car has almost 300,000 miles on it. Mine barely has 52,000 miles. 

I will never purchase another Ford again.

I think I've came to the conclusion that Ford IS NOT built to last.