The contact owns 1997 Ford Taurus. The contact stated as he was driving at 65mph the cam shaft fail. The cam shaft slipped into the motor where everything just shuts down. The warning light illuminated and then the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was told he had to replace the motor. The failure mileage was 119,000.

- Buckhannon, WV, USA

: the contact stated while traveling 60 mph, the check engine light illuminated, then smoke came out from under the hood, and the vehicle began to decelerate. A mile later, the engine stalled, the vehicle was pulled over and the contact noticed liquid dripping from the engine compartment. The vehicle was restarted and was driven to the contacts residence. Then, the vehicle would start, but not move. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop who determined the sprocket that holds the timing chain came loose and the engine needed to be replaced.

- Cleveland, OH, USA

: the contact stated while attempting to apply brake pressure at 65 mph the brakes went to the floor. When hitting a bump the brakes bounce and the check engine light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop for inspection. The mechanic replaced the front and rear brakes and the engine light sensor. The manufacturer was alerted.

- Flushing, NY, USA

Oil pan gasket leaking and replaced on 6-15-02 at 51070 miles under E.S.P oil pan gasket leaking again on 1-11-06 at 87734 miles total cost paid $428.75.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

My fiancee's head gasket is blown on her 1997 Ford Taurus (spelling). Is this normal because the mechanic that we went to said "oh I bet I know what is wrong with this car. I bet the headgasket is blown." How long is this head gasket supposed to last. She only has 140,000 miles on her car and does regular maintanence on it.

- West Memphis, AR, USA

"service engine soon" light came on (2nd time) first time Ford dealership did full transmission flush($125) to see if corrected problem. Two months later (on long drive), warning came on again. Took to dealership and said it was a transmission code that needed the transmission dropped to determine cause ($300). They told me that (even though the transmission was working ok) that the transmission was having a complete and total failure. All parts and components were either scorched or failed when tested and recommended a total rebuild ($2862) or purchase a Ford rebuilt one ($2756). I said this was unacceptable for a car with 39,400 miles on it. They said they could do nothing and I contacted Ford Motor Company. They sounded interested but would not back up their product due to being out of warranty. (so much for the quality one - customer care moto). Reading other complaints this is a very common problem in the Ford Taurus over the years. We had a 1994 Taurus that had transmission problems to the tune of $1,100. Needless to say this is my last Ford product and they wonder why people by foreign vehicles!. when I told the dealership to put the car back together that I can get a rebuilt transmission from 2 other transmission sources (used parts for $1400) or new rebuilt parts for $2030), they then said "let me see if there is any last thing my management will do" of course when put on the spot to lose business and respectability they lowered their price to $2281 for a Ford rebuilt one. I am still concerned since a lot of others say they had failures with their 2nd one too! it comes with a 3/36,000 warranty. I cannot believe that this day and age that the consumer should be responsible for the total repair costs when known defects occur. A safety recall should be looked into as some transmissions have separated and locked up causing immediate stoppage of vehicle like slamming on brakes.

- Davidsville, PA, USA

The frost plugs in the engine block failed catastrophically due to internal corrosion. This caused rapid loss of nearly all coolant from the engine. The loss of coolant caused the engine to overheat, the head gasket to fail, and the heads to crack. Within ninety seconds, the engine shut down and consumer was left without power.

- Alma, MI, USA

Re: 1997 Taurus 3.0 vulcan - frost plug corrosion and head gasket blown!.

- Alma, MI, USA

Driving down freeway, car overheated, then stalled, then wouldnt start. The engine was blown, head gasket blown and there was water in the oil. Have extended warranty thru universal and they are not honoring warranty. Was never informed on the cooling recall.

- Des Moines, IA, USA

Catastrophic failure of head gasket while traveling at highway speed. Caused total failure of electrical power systems inhibiting braking and steering making control of the car difficult and endangering driver, passengers and surrounding vehicles.

- Alma, MI, USA

Cam gear failure, car stalled at 40 mph in traffic, lost all power, Ford Motor Company has been notified, unwilling to admit any problem with camshaft gear, and will not help with repair bills. 100 documented cases of cam gear failure can be found at www.V8sho.com.

- Wyoming, MI, USA

While driving, the vehicle stopped running. The sprocket on the camshaft had come loose which threw off the timing/pistons, hitting a valve, and destroyed the engine. Contacted dealer.

- Oak Forest, IL, USA

Engine coolant turned brown and supposedly corrosive due to so-called poorly designed cooling system. This caused my timing cover to begin leaking and my head gasket and engine to fail while on our family vaction in seattle. I have noticed numberous other complaints regarding this problem in your files and was wondering if there is any recourse that can be taken. I am looking at a bill of approximately $4,0000 to replace the engine. Please suggest any action that I can take to recover all or part of this cost from the manufacturer.

- Hawley, MN, USA

Engine coolant turned brown and supposedly corrosive due to so-called poorly designed cooling system. This caused my timing cover to begin leaking and my head gasket and engine to fail while on our family vaction in seattle. I have noticed numberous other complaints regarding this problem in your files and was wondering if there is any recourse that can be taken. I am looking at a bill of approximately $4,0000 to replace the engine. Please suggest any action that I can take to recover all or part of this cost from the manufacturer.

- Hawley, MN, USA

While standing still at light and without warning vehicle shutdown and became inoperable. Dealer has been notified.

- Dear Born, MI, USA

While driving heard a noise and vehicle cut off, which was as caused by cam failure.

- Glenside, PA, USA

Piston cracked, causing vehicle to have a late acceleration and could cause an accident. Cause unknown. Dealer will be contacted.

- Godfrey, IL, USA

This is a failure of the secondary sprocket on the camshaft of my 1997 Taurus sho. This to me seems to be a manufacturing defect the camshaft is attached to the cam by splines which under the stress of the engine spin un the cam which throws off the timing and destroys the engine. Ford knows of this problem and asked the people of V8show.com to send them some cams so they can test them. I am an owner that owes $6000 on a vehicle which is completly out of order sitting in my garage because I do not have the extra money anywhere between 5000 and 15000 to fix it. 5000 is for a used engine wth 50,000 miles on it. 15,000 is the cost of a new engine from Ford. Please help in anyway you can.

- Oak Forest, IL, USA

While driving at approximately 70 mph engine lost all power, and there was a "ticking" noise coming from engine compartment. Dealership examined vehicle, and determined that camshaft failed, and the engine had to be replaced. Please provide any additional information / documentation.

- Milwaukee, WI, USA

We were driving on a busy freeway when the engine failed and completely stopped. We had no prior knowledge that the car had a cooling system problem. My daughter gave me the car so I would have a "safe" vehicle to drive. She owned it for the 3 years prior. Bought when it was a year old. Was never notified of a recall or adjustment for the cooling system by a kit provided by the Ford company.the Ford co. Has an extended warranty to 100000 miles on their Ford Taurus 3.8 engine but not this 3.0L although the same problem exists, blown head gaskets, cracked heads, etc. Would appreciate some help. This at least my 4th form I filled out trying to get an answer from you. Can I expect one or am I just blowing in the wind? lillian C. carson.

- Groveland, CA, USA