Bummer...

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JoZmo

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Just found out my wife's car needs a new transmission. It's a 96 Ford Taurus wagon with 65k on it.
This is the second Ford product we've owned that needed a new transmission. The other was a 93 Sable, and that also had a head gasket problem which Ford acknowledged years later.

That's it for me with Fords. I already called my dealer and asked if there were any recalls on this, oh, whad'ya know, no recalls!

I will never recommend a Ford product to anyone. Ya know, I always wanted to buy American, but have been tempted many times to buy a foriegn car after hearing good reports from Toyota, Honda owners etc... but never have, and now this!

Ah, I'm disgusted... I'm gonna go out and buy a frickin horse!
Thanks for listening.


:mad: :rant: :mad: :rant: :mad: :rant: :mad: :rant: :mad: :rant:
 
ford trannies in many of there cars and trucks allways have issues. I must say i,ve never been a ford man. I have a jeep, never gave me problems.
 
Wait a Minute

JoZmo l helped a friend in Canada engine failure Ford van Windstar - my point l researched there was a warranty but this wasn'y told to the customer.

Look look up Lemonaid a site that gives info on how to avoid "lemons" also list secret warranties.
 
I've been working with Honda products sine 1995, and I have never once seen a bad Honda engine, no matter how many miles it has. Never. My last Honda went 195K, now Grump has it over 203K. My 1992 Volvo has 169K on it, and through every Buffalo winter it has yet to rust.

I was USA all the way for many years (my brother works for GM), but the proof is in the putting. I'm just too used to turning the key and having it go forever :p:
 
I had a 67 Mustang that had the tranny go on it. Then about 10 years ago I bought an old Datsun truck from guy that had a nice looking small Ford PU truck. He was telling me how the slave cylinder for the clutch went out and the thing was INSIDE the bell housing. Engineering for failure and needing a professional mechanic (read dealership) sold me on not owning a Ford.
I am sure every auto has some weak point and everyone has horror stories, but I found that a slave cylinder inside a bell housing to be mind boggling to the point of wondering "What the hell else is engineered so that it is basically unfixable and almost impossible to trouble shoot in Fords?".
I have never owned a Honda product but the friends of mine in sales in the wine business (read LOTS of miles) always swore by them. I always have had very good luck with the Nissan products that I have owned and am only driving my 87 Mazda Xtended cab because it was all I could afford to buy. I am reasonably pleased with it mechanically but it handles top heavy. I can haul lots of speakers with it though and the air conditioner is top notch, a must have for me.
The sedan that the other half drives is a Saturn and while I don't care for the lack of power or the handling too much, it has so far been extremely reliable and very low maintenance. All in all I would say that it was worth the price and I have found the Saturn people to be easy to deal with and very informative about the mechanical end of ownership. Of course knowing my way around as far as working on cars is helpful.
 
I go back to the sixties with a deep history in wrenching cars and drag racing at the local strip. I thought my career was going to be in automotive until I thankfully changed directions in my twenties. Having said that... Ford products BITE! Their engineering design has always been far from intelligent. Oh sure, they had some popular body styles etc. (style not mechanics. Gezzz anyone can draw a picture after all) but that's about it. Oh yea they are racing in Nascar and all that crap. Sure the Ford lovers are out there but that's just proof that people will buy anything that is advertised enough. My father had the transmission on his Taurus wagon take a dive. A buddy had the same problem. I just unloaded a Ford Focus that my wife had and damn glad that I did. Dig this...From the factory, since mile one. I go to change the air cleaner for the first time and I find that it is bent out of shape in the air box and there is all this grit and sand in the part of the box that ain't supposed to have grit and sand in it. Know what that translates to?! I'll tell ya....An engine that broke in with sand blowing through it from this desert I live in. You can write off that friggin engine before it's time! I unloaded that car as soon as I saw that. I will NEVER own another F ound O n R oad D ead car again and I will bad mouth them at every chance I get!!!!! :rant: :gigglemad :thumbsdn:
 
Originally posted by botrytis
Kama,

You have been lucky with your Honda - they are known to rust because of the thin metal they use in the body. Honda does not know how to galvenize metal at all.

Actually, if you read the recent J.D. Power's Quality Survey, you will read that Honda has decrease in initial quality rating and so has Toyota.

I actually think that most cars are fairly decent, if you do preventative maintenance. My Honda was expensive that way - every 30K have the valve adjusted, 60K timing belt and at 135K was ready for the scrap heap.

Dave

Honda improved their galvanizing markedly around 1994 or so.....you're right, before then they weren't so rustproof. They always rotted right around the gas door area, and forward of the rear tires.

My civics also have required valve adjustment, fortunately all it takes on those is a feeler gauge, sockets, and about 10 mins work.

And now, the wife drives a 2001 cr-v :)
 
Kam

Go On tell him how much the exaust on your Volvo cost :jawdrop:
With 203.000 miles on my Civic I got Not one thang to complain about. I wil say this. I dont give a crap about rust proofing. If you live in the rust belt they all rust ! :p:
 
Well, I guess I ought to get my 2cents in here. Sorry about your
tranny troubles JoZmo. I've spent the last 23 years working on
rice burners 75% of the time. You should buy American. Get a
Corolla or a Camry. The only thing that qualifies an American car
is 70% American parts. Those two are that and built here by
United Auto Workers. There are others also, but the product
support Toyota gives is second to none. Customers that had
a/t failure even if repaired elsewhere, have gotten reimbursement
checks from Toyota at that mileage. You can still get a cracked exhaust manifold warrantied for a 1977 20R motor! I have worked on many of these with over 300K miles with no major repairs if any at all. Honda stuff is very good too, just not the product support. I'll shut up now. Good Luck!
Carl

'88 Legend LS Coupe
'86 Nissan 720 p/u
 
LOVE MY FORD!!

Well I thought I should kick in here, I've had several Ford products over the years. A 1987 Aeroster that had a hard time keeping the harmonic balancer on ( 3 times ) and one blown transmission. Definitely a POS. Then had a 1990 Cougar v-6 and put 196,000 miles on it. Ran good and strong when I sold it, only had to replace a water pump, VERY dependable. Last year I bought a new 2002 Mustang GT, no problems so far except for seeing alot of fingers from ricers in my rear view. It's a lot of fun for this old man. YMMV

Later.............. Kim
 
Geez must be something with Ford and harmonic balancers!! I've also replaced mine twice on a 94 Tempo. I must give some priase for my Ford though. IT just passed 300,000km( about 180,000 miles) and still has the original exhaust, battery, and alternator. It has required a new starter and the aforementioned harmonic balancers. I did drop about 2K on a whole new front suspension ( the roads here suck) and a new rad. The engine doesn't burn any oil and starts almost as well as the day I bought it. ( I bought it brand new in 93). My Ford is cheap for routine maintanance( brakes, oil changes, filters etc..) and shows no signs of rusting or slowing down. I intend to drive this pig until it will drive no more. It's been paid for since 98 and really owes me nothing. This is my second experience with a Ford product ( I previously owned a 94 Probe GT) and they've both been pretty good products. If I was to buy an import though it'd definitely be a Honda Accord or a Toyota Camry. There's a good reason all the American manufacturers use them as their benchmarks for quality. Honda and Toyota parts cost more but they break much less.

Just my .02

Mike
 
HEAT, HEAT, HEAT, that's the killer of almost every automatic transmission, all cars should include a $35 transmission oil cooler. All my Taurus' go for 200k without a problem, just add a cooler in front of the A/C condenser. Ford just can't get it straight that a cooler is needed!! Also, the fluid and filter should be replaced every 48k no matter what the manual says!! Sometimes they'll pay half if the dealer does the work, that's why the dealer charges double!! Escalate to the zone manager!!! :dammit:
 
All that I have to say is that I've got a 1993 Ford Probe GT sitting in my backyard with a bad tranny. While my 1987 Nissan 300zx has not missed a beat. I'm not against American cars as I own a 93 Seville also, but there is a definite difference in quality and reliability between the US and some of the European and Japanese brands.
 
I've been driving the same '81 Landcruiser Wagon since '83/'84. It's only got 140K or so. Hopefully it won't have any problems after break-in. :bigok:
Brad
 
Toyotas will not die, the body and frame may rust away but you can not kill the motor. I had an old toyota corona 76' or 78' I think as a kid and my friends dad had a small toyota PU that when he got rid of it had like 400K miles on it and still ran great.

How tough are toyota motors? Mine didn't have enough antifreeze in it and as a kid I could'nt afford any, every morning I in the winter I would wake up and the water in the radiator would be frozen solid. My solution? Start the car and let it run till it overheated then turn it off wait 15 mins and drive away, drove it that way for most of that winter, I know I wasn't very bright as a kid ;) When I parked it in the woods at my mom's house and abandoned it cuz of a broken windshield and no exhaust it had over 200K on it. A couple of years later my mom's Bronco II needed to have the motor replaced. My brother pulled my old Corona outta the woods pumped up the tires , fixed the exhaust and windshield and she drove it for 6 months or so until she could afford to fix her Bronco. She sold the Toyota for $100 I think, it still ran like a champ but it sure wasn't too pretty.
 
YMWV:)
I have a 91 Escort, put on 165,000 miles on it. Second set of brakes, second set of tires, one battery, and the alternator couple of months ago.
Wife had a 94 Escort, traded it in after 63,000 with no problems.
Bought daughter a 97 Escort after college graduation. New shocks, springs, alternator, various front end/suspension parts. Check engine light spends half its life on...replace EGR, O2 sensor, etc. Next time it comes on Goodyear finds something else TU! Has the automatic shoulder belts. Froze. Cost me something like $400.00 to get replaced. !@#$%^&* car was made in Mexico. Ford saved themselves a couple of thousand dollars on the production cost thus increasing their profit. Last Ford. Wife driving a Pontiac now..john
 
Is it just me or does Pontiac make the ugliest cars? Seen that Aztec? The Pacer for the new millenium ;)
 
Sorry to hear about your tranny problems. My experience with Ford products has been quite different. I own a 1997 Mustang Cobra. Believe me when I say that I flog the hell out of this car. It is a blast to drive. Other than an oil cooler, it has been fairly problem free.
 
Ford must make some good pickups cuz the F150 has been the #1 selling truck for like......well I think since they started making pickups ;)
 
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