The first tow truck driver who gave me a lift with the blown tranny said Taurus’ were notorious for bad transmissions. The next one never should have gone, much less within 18 months of easy driving. There is no way the engine block should have cracked absent a bad cooling system, which it did not have. It had AC and electric seats, neither of which were ever a problem.
If it had an AX4S, then yep. That was a bad one. if it had a 3.8 liter V6, there were a few years with bad head.
It was a V-6, I don’t recall the displacement, but it was a piece of shit. A company that had been making cars for 100 years has no excuse to turn out such a shit product.
Consumer Reports, etc seem to think that overall Ford has pretty good reliability, but only for the last few years. Models vary, of course. So, poster stories about their 1994 Ford are not worth much.
I’d say the Accord is a better car, but $3000 better?:dubious:
If the Ford dealer or Ford iteslf makes you a better deal (check Edmunds, etc for rebates, low interest rates, etc) then go for the Fusion.
yeah, 'cos a modern car is just exactly like a Model T.
A Model T was more reliable. Some of them are still working and drivable today. Which is more than I can say for my 1989 Taurus. And it was the Quadrycle 100 years ago. There really is no excuse for making a tranny in a family sedan that has a reputation for breaking. I had it happen twice in 15,000 miles. And it was a common problem, along with cracked blocks. Back in the day, the only way you could crack a block was to drive it like a maniac *without coolant.*At Ford, quality is not Job 1, it is a marketing slogan, and nothing more. I will never buy another Ford product, new or used. I will buy more Honda products, which are highly reliable. I’ve driven Hondas hard over 300,000 miles and never had a major problem. Even with lots of miles on them they still have a sold driving feel and interior. Fords drive and feel like a cartoon version of a cheap knock-off watch that falls apart as soon as the grifter selling it has left.
while there is no excuse for the problems you’ve had, you are talking about a car that was made 21 or 22 years ago. Acting like that has any bearing on what Ford sells now is idiocy.
um, 1989 is “back in the day.” Besides, inclusions causing stress raisers which lead to cracks due to thermal cycling isn’t uncommon in sand-cast iron parts. It’s one reason that so many blocks now are made from die-cast aluminum.
it’s not 1989 anymore.
tell me another one. if you actually believe Honda uses some magical grades of iron, aluminum, and steel that just never wear out, then hoo boy. If you’re claiming that cars with 300,000 miles drive just as well as new ones, then you are lying.,
my experience with Honda owners is that they say they love their car and they’ve never had any problems with them, even though they’ve had most of the suspension replaced and the radio and A/C quit working, but their Honda’s been perfect and they’ll buy them forever. My aunt loved her Accord until getting walloped with a $4800 bill for front suspension repairs. Last I heard she has a Nissan.
or this girl on another message board I saw who loved her Prelude and how it was going to “last forever.” Then within a year she was posting about how it had 176,000 miles on it and was starting to fall apart, so she got a Fit. Which she loves and is going to last forever. Forever being 176,000 miles, evidently.
jz78817 You’ve summed up the situation. The issue isn’t that Brand X is better than Brand Y, it’s that personal opinions are based on experiences and emotion, not mathematical fact.
Did Ford make some shit products in the late 80’s? Most likely. Does it have ANY bearing on what they make today? Not in the slightest. I’m fairly certain ALL of the assembly methods, raw materials, forming processes, pretty much EVERYTHING that goes into producing a car in 2010 is different that 1989…except, you know, the tires are still round.
For every person that loves their Hondas, and they can never do wrong, there’s another that will never buy anything other than Fords, and yet another that will never buy anything but Chevrolets. or Renault. Or Hyundai.
Does it suck a guy went through two Ford Trannies? It sure is. But what if the second tranny was improperly rebuilt in a way that didn’t address the actual problem? I will not defend Ford (or marginal transmission rebuilders…look em up, they’re EVERYWHERE!) but I won’t condemn them for two decade old mistakes.
The Second Stone
As far as Model T’s still being in the road, don’t make me laugh. I have a 20 year old car that’s still on the road and drives like new. It’s that way because I’ve replaced or observed damn near every part on the car. That’s what restoration IS.
My impression is that the Taurus of today has kind of taken over the Crown Vic’s niche, while the Fusion is more in the category (mid-size sedan) that the Taurus used to be. Am I right?
(For what it’s worth, I see that cars.com lists the Fusion, along with quite a few others including the Accord, as “Best Bets” in their category.)
This is a good website for viewing the pattern of complaints for various make/models. Reading through them you can get a sense of the types of things that typically go wrong.
Here’s their top 25 list:
Top 25 cars with the most complaints filed
1. 2000 FORD FOCUS (4975 Complaints)
2. 1995 FORD WINDSTAR (4883 Complaints)
3. 2002 FORD EXPLORER (3203 Complaints)
4. 1999 DODGE DURANGO (2959 Complaints)
5. 1997 FORD F150 (2715 Complaints)
6. 1998 FORD EXPLORER (2291 Complaints)
7. 1993 FORD TAURUS (2252 Complaints)
8. 1996 DODGE CARAVAN (2172 Complaints)
9. 1997 FORD EXPLORER (2095 Complaints)
10. 2001 FORD FOCUS (2088 Complaints)
11. 1999 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE (2078 Complaints)
12. 1999 CHEVROLET SILVERADO (1986 Complaints)
13. 1996 FORD WINDSTAR (1852 Complaints)
14. 1996 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN (1845 Complaints)
15. 1998 FORD WINDSTAR (1777 Complaints)
16. 1996 FORD EXPLORER (1764 Complaints)
17. 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS (1731 Complaints)
18. 1995 CHEVROLET BLAZER (1704 Complaints)
19. 1999 FORD EXPLORER (1666 Complaints)
20. 1995 FORD TAURUS (1600 Complaints)
21. 1996 CHEVROLET BLAZER (1576 Complaints)
22. 2000 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE (1549 Complaints)
23. 1994 FORD EXPLORER (1548 Complaints)
24. 1999 FORD WINDSTAR (1530 Complaints)
25. 1998 DODGE DURANGO (1518 Complaints)
Top 25 cars with the most recalls filed
1. 1994 DODGE RAM (18 Recalls)
2. 2006 FORD E-250 (15 Recalls)
3. 2006 FORD E-350 (15 Recalls)
4. 1997 FORD F150 (14 Recalls)
5. 1998 DODGE RAM (13 Recalls)
6. 1999 FORD F250 (13 Recalls)
7. 2000 MITSUBISHI GALANT (13 Recalls)
8. 2000 MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE (13 Recalls)
9. 2002 GMC ENVOY (13 Recalls)
10. 2006 CHEVROLET EXPRESS (13 Recalls)
11. 2007 FORD E350 (13 Recalls)
12. 2007 FORD E-250 (12 Recalls)
13. 2004 FORD E-250 (12 Recalls)
14. 2008 FORD E350 (12 Recalls)
15. 2002 CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER (12 Recalls)
16. 1999 FORD F350 (12 Recalls)
17. 1999 DAEWOO LANOS (12 Recalls)
18. 1998 DAEWOO LANOS (12 Recalls)
19. 1995 DODGE RAM (12 Recalls)
20. 1984 FORD E350 (12 Recalls)
21. 1986 FORD E350 (11 Recalls)
22. 1988 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX (11 Recalls)
23. 1999 MITSUBISHI GALANT (11 Recalls)
24. 2000 FORD FOCUS (11 Recalls)
25. 2006 FORD E350 (11 Recalls)
Interesting. It should be noted that, as far as I can tell (correct me if I’m wrong), that Top 25 list is ordered by absolute number of complants, with no attempt at scaling per cars sold or per year.
So if there weren’t as many cars of a particular model sold altogether, there aren’t likely to be as many complaints about it. And the more recent models that haven’t been around as long haven’t had time to rack up as many complaints about them. (Which makes that 2010 Prius really stick out.)
if it weren’t for that braking issue, the Prius probably wouldn’t be on that list.
Also note, there isn’t any ford complaints less than about 8 years old. (9 if you ignore the Ford Exploder. 
)
Ford appears to be investing heavily in technology. Just looking at the newer engines I see things like piston oil squirters for cooling. The new Super Duty turbo-diesel is a departure from previous outsourced engines and is quite sophisticated. It produces 400 hp and 800 lbs of torque. Instead of the former dual inline turbos it uses a single variable turbine that drives 2 compressors. It has 2 separate cooling systems (for different temperature ranges) and the engine is made of graphite iron.
I get the impression they are pulling the Mazda and European connections together in the production of smaller engines and cars. It’s going to be hard to gauge reliability considering the new transmissions and other technology they are introducing.
Brakes are for amateurs. what about the air conditioning?
I rented a Ford Fusion (2010 model) for about two weeks.
I enjoyed the ride it gave.
One little nitpick that drove me nuts was that the radio controls on the steering wheel were on the right side. I don’t know about others, but my left hand never leaves the wheel, where-as my right hand does all the shifting, meaning radio controls are best on the left for me (and for most, I imagine). It was just a small thing that wouldn’t usually be picked up on from a test ride.
I like the idea of the size of the car and having a 6-speed manual (drool). I may test drive one.
those have been used since the original 6.9 liter IDI engines starting in 1983.
It’s showing up in 4 and 6 cylinder engines.
carsurvey.org is a good site to get info on people who have the same make, model and year of car you are looking at.
In my personal experience I got a 1999 ford ranger in 2001, and it worked fine until a few months ago. Metal shards built up in the transmission and clogged it. The mechanic told me I need a rebuild, but I just used friktiontek additive and it seems to run (I’ve put another thousand miles on it).
It had 60k when I got it, it has 150k now. I seriously doubt it’ll go to 200k miles w/o a new transmission.
But that is the ranger, they are known for transmission problems.
I am trying to find a new car due to the transmission problems & bad mpg. the ranger requires 93 octane gas and gets 16/23 mpg. If I got a sedan that got 35mpg on 87 octane I’d save nearly a thousand a year in gas.
Yes, it’s a valid point. However, Toyota and Honda sell a substantial number of cars in the US (Toyota sold about as many as Ford last year), but they are under-represented on the list compared to Ford.