I love my car but it has been nothing but one thing after another going wrong with it and having to work on a vehicle and make payments is agervating and extremely difficult and the Ford company will not admit problems or help.

- Horn Lake, MS, USA

On 8/3/2001, while in heavy traffic on interstate 95 in Maryland, my Ford Taurus suffered a castrophic transmission failure, which resulted in the car having no power, while the engine revved. I narrowly missed multiple accidents and was able to make my way to the shoulder. This failure wa sudden and extreme and could have resulted in my family's injury or death. I was towed to a transmission shop who had to perform a major rebuild of my transmission, including hard parts. The cost was in excess of $2600.

- Amityville, NY, USA

No summary listed for above vehicle.

- Strongsville, OH, USA

Transmission is bad.

- Strongsville, OH, USA

0transmission goes into neutral when coming to a stop. The transmission was 'repaired' by metro auto repair service, 4633A auburn blvd., sacramento, ca 95841, (916) 485-3240. This repair service stated in their work order: "transmission neutrals when coming to a stop. Remove for overhaul, found bad forward piston causing seal to bypass pressure. Also found forward clutch valve retainer broken, rebuild transmission replacing cluches, seals and gaskets also replace torque converter and refil fluid." The total charges for this service was for "$1098.25" (included "23.36 sales tax"). on August 10, 2001, my wife noted the transmission would slip into neutral gear when coming to a stop; making very unsafe to operate the vehicle. This is the same transmission problem that we had experienced 15 months ago. NHTSA service bulletin number 983112, describes the problem. I advised metro auto repair service of the NHTSA service bulletin; they acknowledged they were aware of it also.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

After coming off a green light, at about 15 mph, transmission fluid began to leak and the RPM's revved with no further acceleration. After having vehicle towed to aamco, I was advised that the front seal had a major leak and failed along with the stador and transmission. I asked hayward Ford for recall or technical service issues and was told that there weren't any. I also called the Ford coroporate office and was told that there were no issues with the transmission. And I was told that there the Ford engineers would be forwarded the message, but wouldn't be giving me a call nor the information I needed.

- Oakland, CA, USA

While driving about 15 mph heard noise like a garbage disposal, then vehicle lost power. After stopping saw a lot of transmission pieces on ground. Took it to dealer for repairs. The manufacturer agreed to replace the transmission at a cost of $1000 since it failed prematurely. However, the consumer found out that there were 3 recalls on transmission for the 1996 model and was seeking refund of the repair cost. Owner was not notified of the recall.

- North Providence, RI, USA

Transmission began to make a strange sounds (whirling). Problem originally thought to be a wheel bearing but ended up needing a transmission costing me $3100. Dealer (sloan Ford in downingtown) was incompetent. I ended up replacing transmission again in may of the same year. Got no satisfaction from Ford. Engine was replaced at 30000 miles and transmission at 54000miles. I just found out about a recall on 1996 transmissions (I was never informed of this recall) I am very curious if this could be the reason for the transmission's short life.

- Chester Springs, PA, USA

Rpms increased while consumer was going 60mph. It kept revving without giving any gas. Finally it quit running, and vehicle stalled. Consumer was able to drift in a parking lot. Dealer has replaced transmission twice with rebuild transmissions, and it still was not correct. Dealer only warrantied transmission for 12,000 miles or 12 months. Dealer said they didn't put in new transmissions, they just rebuild them.

- Dayton, TX, USA

The automatic transmission suddenly and totally failed. There was no power available for the car to move. This happened in a low traffic area. If it had happend on a highway it could have disastrous.

- Holt, MI, USA

Vehicle will not shift into overdrive.

- Palm Harbor, FL, USA

Manual lever position sensor failed at ~50,000 miles. At ~75,000 miles, lost overdrive and was informed that the transmission needed to be fully rebuilt including valve body, gaskets, seals, plates, etc. Ford mechanic in melbourne Florida (kelly Ford) said they were all badly worn. Charged me $2270 for complete rebuild of transmission.

- Satellite Beach, FL, USA

Seal blowout and failure of transmission, required complete replacement. Aamco advised me the unit failed internally. I had a Ford dealer replace the unit. Unit has been regularly serviced. I have been advised this is common for Ford Taurus (never had a failure of a transmission in 32 yrs of driving, so this one seems like a hazard to me.)

- Broad Run, VA, USA

The vehicle has experienced transmission failure, consumer is requesting Ford to repair due to Ford having knowledge of the transmission defect, however Ford will not reimburse due to the model year of the vehicle only 1994 and 1995 model years are covered under the warranty.

- Annandale, MN, USA

Engine check light on the front panel lights up when car is turned on. The "od" or overdrive blinks when the car is driven at/or above 60mph. We took the car to the dealer and we payed 80 dollars for a check-up (Ford dealer located on 46-12 northern blvd, , astoria queens, NY). Three hours later they told me that the car had a malfunction in the transmission. Hence, the transmission had to be changed and the cost was $2,300 dollars. They needed to know immediately! I refused because the cost seemed to high and I wasn't completely sure if this was really the problem. I then took it to a mechanic dealing with transmissions only. They told me that the transmission had nothing to do with the light trouble. They weren't able to solve the problem not even by using the computer. I decided to take it to another Agency (friend of mine) who knows about transmissions. He said that he had fixed many tauruses before, but had never encountered such a problem. Finally, I decided call Ford to find out about this problem. They simply told me to take it to the dealer, which I had already at first. I took it back to another Ford dealer located at the opposite end of northern blvd. They told me the same thing as the last Ford dealer. After all this confusion, I decided to ignore the problem. It's been about a year and a half and I have been to Florida and back already two times from my home (New York). I use the car on a daily basis. I am very upset and confused about all of this. I really want to know what is going on and I think I deserve an explanation the Ford company. I sent in this information to you people (NHTSA) to see if you can help me out on this problem. Thank you for your attention! -carlos.

- Jackson Heights, NY, USA

Transmission shifts at high RPM during 2-3 shift. Problem continues to worsen. I was told by dealer that he could not duplicate the problem. But that it might be a shift computer problem. Problem increases as temperature of engine increases, such as driving for more than 40 minutes in a warm climate. At engine start, noticing the car lurches forward as engine just starts to motor.

- Bloomington, IN, USA

Transmission failed.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

No summary listed for above vehicle.

- Geneva, AL, USA

Transmission is shifting hard into 1st and 2nd gear.

- Summerville, SC, USA

I liked the car when I bought it, but am wondering if I bought a lemon

- Goshen, IN, USA