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Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Sedans Pre-2008

3389 messages,  Last post on Jan 21, 2011 at 11:46 AM

You are in the Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Forum.

What is this discussion about? Ford Taurus, Mercury Sable, Sedan

Messages Page 20 of 339

#190 of 3389 Reply to ohio7 by barjon

Jun 23, 2000 (4:21 pm)

Congratulations on your purchase, and I hope you're enjoying your new red SEL!


Now, about the rear doors....I'm very confused. Before taking my car in on 6/19, I discussed again with my service advisor exactly what they proposed to do. I was told it involved removing the molding and inserting a black caulking, the same thing that they had done to fix a Contour problem. I felt very uncomfortable with that because the doors on a Contour and a Taurus are completely different, and this fix had never been done to a Taurus before.


I went for a second opinion to another Ford dealer where I had purchased my last Taurus. The service advisor there told me the doors aren't supposed to be water tight, and the gap isn't a problem at all. He said not to have my dealer apply the sealer, because that would look like hell.


Now with opposite opinions, I called the Ford Customer Service center to tell me what Ford says to do. To my surprise and amazement I was told that Customer Service does not have the means to get technical info from the engineers or the manufacturing plants, but relies solely on the opinions of the dealers' service managers.


Therefore, I kept my appointment on the 19th, but only to show my car, and all the other new Tauruses on the dealer's lot, to the actual service manager (not the advisor). I said I did not want the caulking applied. I also showed him how the moldings on a 1999 Taurus were not cut so poorly and had a much better fit. His remedy, for now, is to order a new set of moldings which he will personally inspect when they come in to see if they're cut any better. If they're not, he's going to find out from a regional rep if ordering moldings for a previous year will work. I haven't heard back from him yet.


Now I'm nervous after hearing about the broken metal part on your door, as a result of removing the molding. What did they do for that?


To be continued.....

#191 of 3389 ohio 7 to the rescue by ohio7

Jun 24, 2000 (2:16 am)

I drove my red Taurus for the first time today! WOW!! Yes, it is ticket red. Glad it had cruise.


Barjon, my left rear door looks great! This dealership went way out their of their way to make me happy. I gave them a stack of postings from Edmunds and other places talking about the "gap". What they broke was only a metal piece that comes with the rubber, not anything on the door that would hurt anything.


If your service manager told you the doors aren't supposed to be waterproof, that's true - I was told that too, via the salesman. BUT, I told him to tell the service manager that HE didn't just pay over $20,000 for a car that I hope to have for 13-16 years! If the job was going to end up looking like hell, then they are not careful in how they use weatherstripping glue. I'm in the process of putting on new weatherstripping on my just repainted/repaired 1957 T-Bird. It is aggravating work and I could go the rest of my life and not miss doing that again. But, these guys get PAID to do careful, good work. This isn't something that you can slap-dash and move on.


Looking on their computer, Ford listed nothing concerning the "gap". I'm not sure how they found out what to do, but it looks as tight as a friend's '99 Taurus. The salesman said that Ford must have gotten a new vendor this year for the weatherstripping and their mold for that side was cast wrong. It sure looks that way. I showed the salesman all of the Tauruses on his lot and he showed the service manager.


If he's willing, he can contact Sheehy Ford in Springfield, VA. Keep me posted.

#192 of 3389 To Slunar re #196 by robnis

Jun 24, 2000 (6:55 pm)

Hmmmmm maybe I'll have to be objective and drive one this Winter. Appreciated your thoughts.

#193 of 3389 Taurus woes by jfata88

Jun 25, 2000 (1:54 pm)

I own a '93 Taurus with 111,500 km and so far it had not mechanical failures. But lately, there has been an intense rattling sound coming from the roof and its gets really loud. Does anybody have an idea what the hell it could be?

#194 of 3389 Taurus by easyrider300m

Jun 26, 2000 (5:47 am)

I own a 86 taurus wagon with v6 engine. Have140k on the odometer. ONly prob I had was needing a head gasket at 90k . Cost me only $400 as I knew the mechanic well. Probably would not have needed it if I hadnt had an accident and had to replace radiator. I used a Korean radiator to save a few bucks. Car would run hotter than normal and eventually I blew the gasket. Rather than replace radiator at this age, I replaced thermostat with a 160 degree spec and have no more problems. Except for lots of body rust, car runs fine and is like an energizer battery--I cant kill it.


this car owes me nothing--


Just bot a 300M as my main vehicle, but use the taurus for mall runs and in bad weather. Taurus handles well in the snow and rain.


Taurus is a good value and looks great.

#195 of 3389 Interior Light by riswami

Jun 27, 2000 (3:32 am)

I have a 97 Taurus GL. Totally satisfied with the car. Just wondering if anyone had this problem. My interior lights wouldn't go out without closing the door 20 times. Dealer replaced a switch. 18 bucks for the switch and 2 hours later it was fixed. They had a Sable in the service area for the same problem. Anyone else experience this? Dealer new what to do when I called for an appointment. Got a feeling this is a common problem.

#196 of 3389 Shopping by ljerryd

Jun 27, 2000 (2:55 pm)

I am looking at family cars and the only two American sedans that interest
me are the Taurus and new Saturn L series. I found a Saturn forum and from
reading the posts, most of their complaints are fit and finish, not major
mechanical problems.


According to my rather limited research, the Taurus seems to have good days
and bad days. I recently drove a 2000 SES with the 24 valve V6. It seems
like a good value, roomy, and has plenty of power. Are there any options I
should consider or steer clear of? I did notice that there is a slight delay
when pressing the gas to the time the auto trans actually decides to engage.
Is this normal? Have they gotten the engine and transmission reliability
improved any? I am tired of continual transmission problems with my Chrysler
minivans and don't want to be stuck after 3yr/36000mi with a bucket of
problems on a 20k+ new vehicle. Do you think that Ford's extended warranty
is any good?


#197 of 3389 Interior lights by rich94

Jun 27, 2000 (10:17 pm)

I'm also having a problem with my interior lights staying on (97 Taurus). I had a new switch put in about two months ago and its acting up again.

#198 of 3389 warranty woes by u98se

Jun 28, 2000 (12:55 am)

earlier in these post i indicated i recently purchased a 98se with 60k miles on it. felt good about it because of stories of 150k mile tauruses and my own 170k buick. this car came with 90 day/3k warranty. at one month and 1200 miles i took it in for front end noise and burning oil smell. the rt frnt axle seal was replaced and the frnt struts and some linkage parts were replaced. the best part, ford refused to honor the warranty!
i fought them, explained that a warranty on a window sticker is a binding contract per the ohio attny generals office. they came off half the bill and i gave in. anybody have similar problems with warranties and/or frnt end noise. this problem is spookily similar to my 96 windstar...

#199 of 3389 Taurus Comment by tim1966

Jun 28, 2000 (3:46 pm)

I just bought a 1999 Ford Taurus SE Sedan, and I really think it is one of the most comfortable cars that I have ever owned. I have driven the 2000 Chevy Impala a nice car but gutless. I drive 780 miles a week and I drove the Impala for about a week, but I will put my Taurus up against the Impala anytime as far as dependability, and comfort. I had the Impala for a little over a week, and it was in the shop after the first two days that I had it. I rally wanted the Impala, but when I got it I was very Disappointed.

Messages Page 20 of 339

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