The contact owns a 1995 Ford Taurus. While driving 15-20 mph, the contact heard a loud clunking noise underneath the hood and a loss of steering. The engine fell and landed on the steering rods, which made it extremely impossible to maneuver the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent dealer and they confirmed that the damage was not worth the repair, and would not recommend investing money into the vehicle. A week prior to the failure, the independent mechanic at a local midas installed a new muffler. There were several recalls listed for that year, make, and model vehicle and Ford was notified. The contact was informed that there was only one recall for the year, make, and model vehicle, but in reality, there were six. Ford also stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under recall on October 6, 1999. The contact stated that he did not receive a recall notice or have any repairs performed at the location they claimed. The current and failure mileages were 103,013. Updated 08/04/08 updated 08/07/08

- Spencerport, NY, USA

1995 Ford Taurus 3.8L station wagon with only 28,000 miles on it blew the head gasket. Today, February 15, 2008 we called bob davidson Ford in towson, Ford customer service, and Ford executive offices, who all say they will not give any assistance to fix the problem because of the age of the car. It does not matter how old the car is, it only has 28,000 miles on it and this is a known problem with the car. Ford should pay to fix the car or give some decent sort of allowance to help cover the cost of the repair. It has been regularly over the years, generally several times a week, but not far, because the owner is elderly. If it was driven by a younger person, the problem would have shown up years ago, well within the 7 year warranty Ford gave for this problem under Ford service campaign 00M09. We want Ford motor to pay for this repair. We are waiting for an estimate to repair the head gasket from bob davidson Ford in towson md. We do not even know yet if the engine has been damaged. It is totally unacceptable for Ford to refuse to cover this known defect. We are planning to write directly to chairman william clayton Ford about this. We would appreciate any guidance you can give us. Thank you.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

The contact owns a 1995 Ford Taurus. While driving 55 mph the vehicle stopped without warning. He stated that the steering wheel locked however, he was able to pull over. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic and they stated that there was a blown head gasket. The vehicle was towed home and as of August 1, 2007, it has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 120,859 miles. Returned usps, 2nd attempt made 08/28/07 failed.

- Sunnyvalle, CA, USA

1995 Taurus fire started under the hood. The consumer was driving the vehicle when black smoke started emitting from under the hood. The consumer managed to pull over before the vehicle became totally engulfed in flames. The consumer searched the internet and found out that her vehicle had been recalled for a faulty cooling fan which could result in a fire. The consumer contacted the manufacturer and was informed that her vehicle was included in the recall. The consumer was never notified of the recall. The manufacturer inspected the vehicle to see if the fire was caused by the cooling fan. The dealer was unable to determine the cause because the engine compartment was so badly damaged therefore they provided the consumer with no assistance.

- Clinton, CT, USA

Was driving vehicle when I experienced ax extreme overheating condition. Over course of less than 2 minutes time my vehicles temperature guague progressed from the very bottom of the normal range all the way up past the red zone above normal. At time of occurence it was a cold day outside and I was less then 5 miles from my house having driven vehicle less than 10 minutes so I was fairly certain external factors could not have explained this degree of rapid engine overheating. This overheating was accompanied by excessive amounts of thick white billowing smoke exiting from my exhaust pipe (severe to the point it was impossible to see out my rearview mirror. Upon getting the car back to my house and allowing it to cool off I inspected the radiator and found it totally void of coolant and preceeded to refill it with over 6 liters of replacement fluid. Upon inspecting the underside of the engine I was able to ascertain that no coolant had leaked from my vehicle and finally upon inspecting the oil within the vehicle I noted the engine oil was contaminated with coolant/water resulting in a thick whitish milky appearance. Upon consulting a mechanic and have someone come to my house to look at the car it was determined that the head gasket failed. At this time I am uncertain as to the extent of damage to the core engine itself.

- Rochester, NY, USA

While the consumer was having the oil changed in his 1995 Ford Taurus the technician noticed that the epoxy coating covering the engine oil pan failed and came off. As a result the pan was severely rusted. While driving the speedmeter needle suddenly moved back and forth very fast

- Hicksville, NY, USA

Ball bearings in engine fan motor, idler pulley, and belt tensioner all cease, or shred into metal bits. Engine fan fails, causing overheating, pulley and tensioner fail and fall off the car, causing loss of electricity, power steering and water pump, causing more overheating, plus a loss of control of the steering of the car.

- Reynoldsburg, OH, USA

The vehicle will not start. Consumer had the computer/ coil, and distributor replaced. Also, engine head gaskets were replaced three times.

- Memphis, TN, USA

After Ford recall replaced head gasket due to leaking coolant into front 3 cylinders of 3.8 engine, engine started using oil (quart every 600 miles), causing front plugs to foul and bad engine performance. Plugs must be replaced every 5000 miles to keep engine performance even barely adequate. Ford dealership denies fault. All I know is that something went wrong after gasket was replaced. Car now has 64000 miles. Ford= fix or repair daily.

- Jamestown, NC, USA

Nar 05/21/2003 the consumer head gasket blow out.

- Marietta, GA, USA

Problems with vehicle's engine and exhaust system. The consumer learned of recall on the vehicle regarding the head gasket. The consumer took the vehicle to the dealer and while in the process of performing the recall a bolt broke off in the engine. The bolt could not be removed, so Ford authorized the replacement of the entire engine. On May 9, 2004 smoke emitted from the exhaust when the consumer started the vehicle, the consumer took the vehicle back to the dealer who performed the recall months earlier. It was later determined that head gasket on the replacement engine was failing. It was apparent that the repalcement engine did not have a quality head gasket installed.

- Decatur, IL, USA

E-mail fm jamie phillips (tn) opposed auto mfrs being allowed to have secret warranties for hidden defects & recalls, she experienced problems w/ the head gasket on her 1995 Ford Taurus, reply to wash, DC ofc.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

Request reimbursement for motor, fan and fuse assembly prior to receiving the recall notice.

- Rose Hill, MS, USA

Vehicle has 45,000 miles. Well maintained. Engine failure; loud, hard, engine knock.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

Complaint about the warranty extension provided by Ford for the head gasket defect. Consumer felt the extended warranty of 7 years/100,000 mile was fine for long distance commuters, but unfair for retired individuals who only drive 7,000 miles a year.

- Auburn, CA, USA

While driving and with no warning vehicle will stall, and it will be hard for the consumer to control the vehicle.

- Rome, NY, USA

The consumers vehicle experienced symptoms of recall 98M01. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who did a compression test and stated that all cylinders were ok. A few years and many engine problems later, the vehicle would frequently hesitate, misfire and overheat. When the vehicle was inspected it was determined that the head gaskets were leaking. The consumer requested reimbursement for head gasket repairs. (recall number 97V019000).

- Glendale, CA, USA

Head gasket failure with approx. 61,000 miles. Ford did extend the head gasket warranty twice; 6/98 - 5yr/60,000 miles, and again on 3/00 - 7yr/100,000 miles. Ford would not offer me any compensation, as my 7 years ended 8/02.

- Sinking Spring, PA, USA

The temperature guage fluctuated, then without any other warning the engine blew the head gasket, stranding the passemgers and driver. After having it towed, it was determined by the auto mechanic that the head gaket was blown. It was also determined that when the gasket blew, it damaged the engine block requiring the replacement of the motor. It should be noted that the car has just passed 65K miles.

- Perkasie, PA, USA

The car has had problems starting from the day it was delivered. The problems began with flaking paint, misaligned hood, door and bumper due to poor quality control. These problems were fixed by dealer w/O charge, as was the head gasket failure. Repairs for muffler failure, sway bar linkage failure, air conditioner failure and starter motor failure were not covered by the manufacturer under any sort of recall. The most recent problem with the air conditioner and starter motor cost over $1200 to fix. The problem with the ignition system was intermittent. Some times the car would start and other times the starter would not engage at all. One time the engine simply died while driving down the road. Starter motor would not engage until engine cooled down and had been sitting for an hour or two. Then starter motor would work. Mechanic at dealership said the starter motor probably had "dead" areas in starter motor that may be causing intermittent failure. Air conditioner failure attributed to failure of "motor mounts" that caused rupture of multiple hoses in air conditioning unit. I've never had a vehicle with so many equipment failures with this type of mileage.

- Acton, MA, USA