This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
While traveling at 45 mph and without any warning, vehicle stalled. Consumer states the vehicle completely lost power, timing chain broke destroying the camshaft, 8 valves, upper gasket, head bolts and causing the cam sproket to fail.
My 96 Taurus sho had severe engine failure at 66,682 miles. The engine (camshaft) should not fail on well cared for vehicle with only 66,682 miles on it. There is a design flaw in the sho engine that is casuing hunderds of consumers to pay hunderds of thousands of dollars. Why isn't anyone causing Ford to address this. There ought to be greater consumer protection against a manufacturer of a defective auto. Please assist. Thanks!
The car began making a ticking sound from the valve train area. This noise became much louder over a period of weeks. I took it to the dealer who diagnosed it as a loose sprocket on the rear bank intake camshaft. As a member of the V8sho organization (www.V8sho.com), I am aware of this problem and it's many occurrences. There are now over 30 reports of this exact problem (with occurrences on any one of the 4 cams), and 14 reported failures in the month of October, 2001 alone! this is a design flaw as the sprocket is merely "pressed" onto the camshaft with no other means of attachment. Over time, the connection works loose causing the offending camshaft to spin freely, thus allowing the valves to come in contact with the pistons, causing complete engine failure. Fortunately, I was able to catch this on my engine prior to complete failure. Myself and numerous others have contacted Ford directly with little success on their owning up to the problem. The dealer's fix is usually to replace the camshaft(s) at a cost of $1080 ea., for parts alone! that is a temporary solution as the owner is still left with a design flaw, regardless of the fact that it's a new camshaft. My bill will be in the neighborhood of $2000+ and that's without the sprocket actually coming loose! Ford needs to be held accountable for this grossly negligent design flaw!
A ticking noise was heard in engine compartment. Took vehicle to Ford dealer for diagnosis. While at dealer, cam gear sprocekt had complete failure, causing the valves to imapct head, resulting in complete engine failure.
On December 16, 2000 we were traveling to phila. Via I95 from wilmington for a xmas party. As we approached the restaurant my engined ceased as we turned on to the street near the restaurant. Fortunately we were able to drift into a parking space. Car was towed to home that evening and then to dealer the following day. Dealer did diagnostic test and reported no compression to two valves. Never offered to investigate further, but recommended new engine, approximate cost $10,814, dealer was unfamiliar with what could have caused the problem. Contacted Ford, whose customer service rep did not know of this model Taurus. As car was out of warranty, Ford offered no assistance and said that car should be traded as 85K was high mileage. Transferred car to winner, newark de, where engine was taken apart. Mechanic found 4 bent cylinders but could not explain why it happened only that it appeared that sprocket teeth had snapped, releasing chain and causing damage to camshafts. Repairs took approximately 4 months due to parts and lack of tech's knowledge of engine. Car has been back to service 5 times for additional repairs, I.e. replace imrc, iac motor, gasket seal. Car has valve tap and engine oil pressure warning when drive for more than 15 minutes at high speeds. Dealer has reported problem is above their head. This car is a street prototype of nascar racing cars, while I drove 50 rt miles on backroads/day it has a top end speed of 131+, adherence to Ford maintenance schedules and use of Ford certified techs are mandatory to maintain the car. My problem has now surfaced on many shos and is now a documentable defect. This engine could have ceased on I95 while doing 85mph. Cost to repair to date, $3200, and is still a danger to drive and Ford cannot recommend where and how to fix.
- Wilmington, DE, USA
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Camshaft failure. This seems to be happening more and more often on these cars. I have spoke to many that this has happened to. Ford is doing nothing for the victims of this problem. What more can we do to get a recall or reimbursment?
The 1996 Ford Taurus shos are a 3.4L 4 cam V8. On the left bank of the V8, the exhast camshaft broke. The dealer reporting the damage to me said that this camshft is driven as a slave camshft to the intake camshaft which is driven off the timing chain. It is possible that in other cases that the damage could be on the right side cylinder bank. They are identical in design, meaning one camshaft is driven off of a slave chain from the other camshaft, which is in turn driven off the timing chain. It appears that the camshafts in these V8 shos are an achilles heel. There have been many reported failures. Please see information in www.V8sho.com or www.V8sho.com/sho/camshaftsprocketfailure.htm, and www.V8sho.com/sho/camsprocketautopsy.htm, and www.V8sho.com/sho/camsprocket2.htm as well as your own database. I called Ford's customer relations line at 1-800-392-3673 to report this damage. Ford is not willing to cover any part of the damage at this time. I believe that 105,348 miles is very early in a car's life for such a failure. I have looked through the ntsa's records and I see many other complaints regarding this same issue. I believe that Ford is aware of the design flaw and these failures. Would you please review your records and encourage Ford to repair the failures or reimburse owners for repair costs. Also, it appears Ford dealers are replacing camshafts with replacement units that have the same design flaw in them! therefore, is a customer ever free from the fear that the camshafts could break again to the tume of $2,000 to $12,000 damage as some people have reported? the estimate for my vehicle's repairs is $5,500 or greater (more inspection is being done at this time at crestwood Ford) not including sales taxes! I hold Ford responsible for this issue not the dealers. Personally, if Ford provided the parts free of charge and shared some of the labor, I believe many people, including myself, would accept those terms. Thank you.
Ticking noise from top of motor diagnosed as camshaft sprocket failure by Ford technician on my 1996 Ford Taurus sho, 3.4L, 207 ci V8. Dealership reccommends replacement of the entire motor as parts may take up to 5 months to arrive. I've heard that this is now becomming a common problem on these cars with more reports of them being made known on the internet.
Camshaft failure on interference engine in '1996 Taurus loss of power steering/ power brakes. What could happen in this auto with such a failure at highway speed?
Consumer was traveling about 55mph on highway and vehicle shut off without prior warning. Vehicle stalls at anytime on highway. Dealership is aware of problem.
While traveling at approximately 30 mph in city traffic vehicle lost all power when engine stalled. Dealership examined vehicle, and determined that head gasket needed to be replaced at consumers expense of $1400.
Engine and coolant system failed. Head gasket blew. Koons Ford of annapplis, md said I need a replacement engine for $4,500. Called Ford service rep. He said the problem is not a product defect and Ford will not help with repairs.
Heat gauge went up and down. Took vehicle to dealer who flushed coolant and found coolant had broken down and damaged engine. Vehicle still at dealer at this time. Blown head gasket.
I brought my car to my local mechanic when I noticed antifreeze leaking from the car in my driveway. Due to complete corrosion of coolant system, this resulted in the replacement of freeze plugs, water pump, radiator, head gaskets, thermostat and heater core. I will have to bring it back in April for another radiator flushing. I later learned from a radio talk show that there had been a recall on the coolant system for this auto. When I contacted Ford, they told me there was an owner notification sent, but I never received it and it expired August 1999. Ford or the dealer refuse to do anything so I don't know if the recall has been fixed by my repairs or not and will this happen again. Ford has also refused to reimburse me for any of the costs. I would appreciate any assistance
Vehicle would overheat while traveling. Notice coolant coming from left side of vehicle engine. Notified dealer / manufacturer, and both informed consumer that vehicle was not covered under recall or extended warranty. Please feel free to provide any further details on this matter.
We contacted Mr. Samson (id #3104) and told him that our vehicle was preforming the same promblems as the 3.6L 95 Taurus. We also told him we had the car diagnosed about 4 months before the engine block cracked at a Ford dealer and they told use that we needed to replace the ignition coil. We replaced the ignition coil but that did not fix the problem. He told us about a radiator flush recall that would have saved our engine but the Ford dealer knew nothing of this recall. We asked if Ford could do anything even pay half he (Mr. Samson) said Ford would not do anything. We then asled who was above him so we could talk to them he advised us that there was no one above him.
My car was running hot. The service engine soon light was on. I took my car in to be service. When they diagnoised the car, I was told it was freeze plugs and that the charge was $1,575. I told them to fix my car. When I picked up my car it was shaking. I told them that the car was shaking. They told me to drive the car. It took my husband 2 months to get the money in order to get the car. Iwas told twice to drive the car. When I finally brought the back in the next day because the service soon light was back on, I was told the I had a blown head gasket, and they wanted another $495 from my husband and me to fix my car.
Head gasket was never any good. I have spent approxiamately $2500 on repair costs and survived two winters without heat in the vehicle. Ford company knew about the problem with the vehicle and did nothing.
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- West Gloom Field, MI, USA