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Ford Taurus, Mercury Sable

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Ford 3.8l V-6 Unanswered Questions •Ford Extends Warranty •Ford Extends II •1995 Windstar •1996 Windstar •1997 Windstar •1998 Windstar •Taurus/Sable •Mustang •Transmission Problems •Lightning Strikes Twice •Refund Problems

Some people are "lucky." They have 1994-95 Taurus and Sable models covered under the extended warranty. Then again, lots of others have the very same models with the very same problems and aren't so lucky. And don't even think about those with cars older or newer than those Ford has decided merit special attention.

Sheila of Marlboro, MD writes:
My 98 Ford Taurus engine blew up and the dealership says it going to cost nearly $5000.00. They were only willing to pay $1000. I have a 24 valve V6 engine. This is a brand new car and I didn't expect to have to come up with $4000 in less than 2 years. I have contacted Ford several times by mail and the customer service reps are not helping at all.

I have learned that Ford has had several problems with their Taurus engines since 93-95. I am being forced to eventually turn my car back in for loan default because I can not invest $4000 into a new car and still continue to make payments. Because Ford refuses to stand behind their shaggy low-down defective engines my credit will be tarnished.

This is really hard on my family since this was our family car and I'm borrowing the company car and I don't know when they're going to ask for it back. I've had it well over a month and I just purchased a new home weeks before this happened, and where I live there is no public transportation.

Betty of Morocco, IN, writes:
In November 1999 we had to have the engine gaskets replaced in our 1994 Taurus. We received the letter stating that Ford was extending our warranty after the fact. We took the letter along with the BIG bill to our local Ford dealer in Rensselaer, IN. In Feb. 2000 our transmission went out of the same car. Has this happened to anyone else with this gasket problem? We also haven't received any money or heard anything from Ford. The only thing we know is we are out of about $3000.00.

I will NOT purchase another Ford vehicle especially a Taurus. We had to rent a vehicle while our car had the transmission replaced which amounted to around $350.00. Has anyone received any warranty money from Ford Motor Company. We owned a 1984 Ford Truck that was a great vehicle for 14 years. We traded it in on a Dodge Dakota! What has happened to the Quality of the Ford line of vehicles?

We can't answer all of Betty's questions but, yes, some people have received checks from Ford. She should send a certified, return-receipt-requested letter asking when she can expect hers.

Tom of Spokane, WA:
My '95 Ford Taurus (3.8 litre engine) prematurely blew a head gasket at 61,000 miles. I took meticulous care of vehicle and head gasket still blew. Over $1900 in repairs that were just finished...not expecting any help from Ford but am going to try to get some sort of reinbursement as head gasket was obviously defective.

Kevin of Aurora, IN:
I got a recall-like notice on my '94 Taurus, about a year ago concerning premature head gasket failures, at the time it was fine, and I was told that Ford would cover any failures for 5 years of vehicle age or 60,000 miles whichever came last. Now with 55,000 on the car, the head gasket blew. Noew Ford says that it was 5 yr or 60,000 miles which ever came FIRST!! Ford knows they have problems with their cars and don't stand behind them.

Bill of Milan, MI:
1994 Ford Taurus 3.8L engine 64000 miles. Blown head gaskets-possible engine required.

1993 Models

Michelle of Royal Oaks, CA:
I have found myself very unfortunate that my vehicle, which has had the problem of two blown head gaskets is not in the time frame of 1994 and 1995 Ford Taurus recall. I have been a loyal customer of the Taurus wagons since 1987. I previously owned an 87, 89, and now a 93 Taurus wagon. When my 93 wagon stared to blow white smoke from the tail pipe I had pulled over and called AAA, only to find that I had blown a head gasket, and repairs would end up costing me $2,784.90. This happened in January of 98 with an odometer reading of 66133, which made the car 5 yrs. old. I have always taken my car in for regular maintenance, hoping to extend the life of my vehicle. When this had happened I asked the dealership what could have caused this problem? They could not give me any real reason. So I got the car fixed, and in August of 1999 it happened all over again. Now maybe at this time I should have asked myself do I really want to fix this, since this is a reacuring problem. I argued with the dealership and ended up with a bogus 20% discount. Unfortunately I had no other recourse and proceeded with repairs coasting $1575,23.

Now I am into $4360.13 in repairs for faulty head gaskets, not to mention the regular maintenance to prolong the longevity of the vehicle. I have called the Customer Service with the number provided only to find that my worse fears have come true. My ford Taurus is not in the ramifications of this recall, although I have a 3.8 liter engine with faulty head gasket problems. I was told by the rep. who took my call not to give up hope, and that Ford is sill investigating the problem, and may extend the warranty to other makes and models.
I own a 1993 Ford Taurus with a 3.8L V-6 engine and the head gasket failed with only 38,665 miles. I tried to complain to Ford Customer Service but they said too bad because I didn't have the extended warantee. The repair cost was approx. $1,700. They should have included the 1993 Taurus in this recent decission to extend the warantee on only the 1994-1995 Taurus.Repair cost was about $1,700.

Robert of Lynchburg, VA:
I have a 1993 Ford Taurus that the Head Gasket went out in. It is the same problem that the others had, but yet they will not go back to that year. My car only had about 55,000 miles on it when the head gasket blew, and I feel that Ford should have done something to help being that they had the problem. They have gone back to 94, so what about those of us that had problems with the 1993 models? I had to pay $900 to get the head gasket replaced. That was $900 I did not have at the time.

David of Chagrin Falls, OH:
I have a 1993 Ford Taurus with the 3.8 engine (currently with 81,000 miles). According to an article in the local paper, "Ford contends it does not have a head-gasket problem with those vehicles" referring to earlier models. I bought the car with 40,000 miles on it in January of 1996. Since that time I have had to replace the head gasket TWICE! Regardless of possible mechanic or machinist error, the fact that it has happened twice shows serious design flaws. I called my local Ford dealer and asked the service guy if there were any design changes in the engine from 93 to 94, he didn't think so but to confirm it he suggested I call a salvage yard. Sure enough after getting off the phone with two local junk yards I found out that there were no design changes from 89 to 95 in the 3.8 liter V-6 engine. I'm trying to remain hopeful that Ford comes to its senses and helps anyone that bought one of these lemons.

John of White Oak, PA:
I bought a 93 Mercury Sable new in 1993. The car has a 3.8 engine, the head gasket blew when the car had 54000 miles on it. I found out Ford extended the warranty on 94-95 Sables with the 3.8 engine, so I gave them a call only to find out that I was out of luck. I looked on NHTSA's web site and found that 1/3 of all the complaints were for head gaskets.Why hasn't a CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT been filed on the behalf of owners of 93 Sables?

Dana of Manhattan, KS:
We just had to replace the head gaskets on our 1993 Taurus LX which is equipped with a 3.8 litre V6. The gasket blew at 75,400 miles. It was not on warranty and cost about $1,200 to fix. We had it repaired at the local Ford dealer where we bought the car new in 1993. We take very good care of our cars and are not abusive drivers. The only other car I ever had with internal engine problems was a 1960 Volkswagen which threw a rod.

James of Omro, WI:
1993 Ford Taurus w/3.8L engine - headgasket blew at 60,000 miles. Engine overheated / no heat from heater. This failure just occurred - 2/2000. Cost me $1350.00 for repair. Program for 1994 and newer cars does nothing for people like me. I understand this headgasket problem affects many more years than Ford cares to acknowledge. Ford Customer Care call was like talking to a recorded message.

1996 Models

Mark of Mt. Washington, KY:
I took my 96 Ford Taurus in to the dealership, in answer to the owners notification program #98B23 It is titled "Brown Coolant". All the symptons that were listed on the notification were experianced by my car. After the procedure was done at the dealership I noticed the resevoir, which serves as a pressurized extension of the cooling system, was lined on the inside with brown sludge. I expressed my concerns to the service department. They assured me that everything was done properly to my car and no harm would result to my car if I flushed it according to Ford recomendations in my service manuel (30,000 miles later). At first I was not satisfied so I pulled my car into the garage and got on the phone to Ford Customer Service. I told them about my concern with the residue in the reservoir, a note they have recorded in their computer system 6/1 and 6/2 of 99. Customer service could not help me and so after being assured again by the service department that a good job was done and eveything was okay. I left!

Halfway to my next scheduled Fluid flush my reservoir cracked, all the water leaked out and my head gaskets blew. I took the problem to the dealership not realizing that the poor flush job caused the crack. They played ignorant of how the reservoir could have cracked and apathetically told me for $1500 to $2200 they would fix my heads. I didn't have that kind of money at the time and so fixed the heads myself. After doing some research I found out what caused the crack (acidic brown fluid from chemical reaction in engine)and complained to the service manager, he said the only problem he saw was getting Ford to rerimburse me since I had done the work myself. Susan M from the Ford zone office sent me a fax saying the very same thing. I don't think this is the only time this has happened I'm planning on filing a small claims suit for labor and parts. Do you have a better idea?

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