Automatic Transmission problems of the 1996 Ford Taurus - part 1

The transmission partially shifts between first and second gears intermittently. This has been happening for a couple months and is increasing in occurrence.

: the contact stated the vehicle slipped out of park and almost rolled backwards into a ditch. The vehicle hit a culvert causing damage to the suspension. The driver and infant passenger were not injured. The manufacturer determined the vehicle was not included in NHTSA recall #96v176000 regarding the power train:automatic transmission, due to the VIN.

1996 Ford Taurus purchased by my family in November/December 1996 from hewlett-packard fleet vehicles. We've had intermittent problems with the parking gear (car rolls when in park) since we got the car. I found that there had been 3 "parking pawl" recalls on the Ford Taurus in 1996--all occurring prior to our purchase of the car. Now, Ford is telling me that the recalls don't apply to my vehicle. Seems suspicious since I am experiencing the very problem that was described in the 3 automatic transmission recalls listed at the NHTSA web site. What are my options?.

While driving 5 mph vehicle stalled. Consumer tried to restart vehicle but was unable to do so. Vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that transmission clutch plate needed to be replaced.

My transmission went out while I was going to work out of town. Causing me to have to replace it and call a tow truck. I missed a day of work . Had to rent a car. I hit a ditch and had 2 flats on the right side.

Consumer shifted vehicle to park, but vehicle would actually be in the reverse gear. This would cause a problem for the consumer when trying to park the vehicle. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.

Nhtsa# 96-v-086-000: park pawl shaft was improperly positioned when the roll pin that retains it was installed during transmission assembly. If the shaft was not properly positioned, the roll pin may not have lined up with the groove in the shaft and have been crushed at assembly. Also, a burr could have been raised on the shaft. Consequence this could result in the park pawl occasionally not engaging when the transmission selector lever is placed in the park position. This could result in the vehicle rolling as if in neutral if the vehicle operator does not apply the parking brake. Consumer has the same problem please provide further information.

My Ford Taurus has less that 50,000 miles on it and I treat it like a baby. Brought it in to the local Ford dealership to have it serviced do to the "service engine soon" light coming on. They changed the oil and filter, performed multi-point inspection, changed the engine coolant and reprogrammed the powertrain control module as per TSB 97-8-6. I also had them rotate the tires. There was nothing wrong with this car as far as running (except that the service engine soon light was on). After getting the car back I noticed that when I was at a complete stop and went to accelerate the car was having a hard time "gripping the road". Called Ford dealer. Took in again. They informed that it was the transmission and that it would need to be replaced. Called Ford headquarters no help there. This car was originally a leased car and when it was purchased by us it had low mileage. Not a happy camper!.

Had to replace the transmission in my car 2 times .

Car rolled backward into garage door while parked with transmission in park position on level ground.

Purchased my 1996 Ford Taurus wagon in Nov. 2001. It accelerates at high speeds with cruise going down hill. The gas pedal often gets hung up which leaves me tapping it my foot to get it to go, so that I do not have an accident. The whole car rides very roughly. It also hangs up in passing gear almost every time. And also how do I find out where to check to see if all the recalls were taken care of. Be careful for what u buy.

No summary listed for above vehicle.

With vehicle in park, it rolled backwards. The consumer was found fatally crushed beneath the front driver side rocker panel and tire. The vehicle rolled backwards despite the fact that the transmission indicator was in the park position. The police concluded that the consumer parked on a paved driveway on a uphill incline.

The transmission was rebuilt at 70,000 miles when the original automatic transmission seemed to be malfunctioning; second, at 112000 miles the 4th gear cluster malfunctioned causing the button for overdrive on the automatic gearshift selector to pop off, dealer recommended a new transmission (howard austin has submited this complaint on behalf of his housekeeper) .

My car has been at the Ford place in monroeville,al and it is still not fixed as far as the transmission and the power steering.

Startet with whirring sound when car reached average speed of 50 mph or higher. Searched and checked all fluids. Then began to smoke under car. Took to garage. Transmission needed to be replaced. But mechanic had to replace again because the new one was also cracked in the exact same place. Was told by the mechanic that this was a major problem with the tauras. The mechanic had replaced several with the same problem. Have researched and find that other owners of the vehicle have had similar problems. If transmission has a defect it should be recalled at the manufacturers expense. Ford should be held responsible for this problem.

Transmission is bad.

The pump shaft started to wear very badly causing pieces of metal to be thrown out the transmission, as a result the vehicle would jerk while being driven. Nlm.

Please help me with this defective car. Nom safety defect mentioned.

Rpms increased while consumer was going 60mph. It kept revving without giving any gas. Finally it quit running, and vehicle stalled. Consumer was able to drift in a parking lot. Dealer has replaced transmission twice with rebuild transmissions, and it still was not correct. Dealer only warrantied transmission for 12,000 miles or 12 months. Dealer said they didn't put in new transmissions, they just rebuild them.

The automatic transmission suddenly and totally failed. There was no power available for the car to move. This happened in a low traffic area. If it had happend on a highway it could have disastrous.

Manual lever position sensor failed at ~50,000 miles. At ~75,000 miles, lost overdrive and was informed that the transmission needed to be fully rebuilt including valve body, gaskets, seals, plates, etc. Ford mechanic in melbourne florida (kelly Ford) said they were all badly worn. Charged me $2270 for complete rebuild of transmission.

Vehicle will not shift into overdrive.

Transmission began to make a strange sounds (whirling). Problem originally thought to be a wheel bearing but ended up needing a transmission costing me $3100. Dealer (sloan Ford in downingtown) was incompetent. I ended up replacing transmission again in may of the same year. Got no satisfaction from Ford. Engine was replaced at 30000 miles and transmission at 54000miles. I just found out about a recall on 1996 transmissions (I was never informed of this recall) I am very curious if this could be the reason for the transmission's short life.

Seal blowout and failure of transmission, required complete replacement. Aamco advised me the unit failed internally. I had a Ford dealer replace the unit. Unit has been regularly serviced. I have been advised this is common for Ford Taurus (never had a failure of a transmission in 32 yrs of driving, so this one seems like a hazard to me. ).

Transmission is shifting hard into 1st and 2nd gear.

At 39,500 miles the overdrive in my car's transmission stopped working while I was driving at highway speed with my wife and infant daughter in the car. It was not only dangerous but now it's a major financial burden. Ford has been getting away with making these dangerously, sub-par transmissions for about a decade. Why has nobody stopped them? would somebody please do something?.

Transmission shifts at high rpm during 2-3 shift. Problem continues to worsen. I was told by dealer that he could not duplicate the problem. But that it might be a shift computer problem. Problem increases as temperature of engine increases, such as driving for more than 40 minutes in a warm climate. At engine start, noticing the car lurches forward as engine just starts to motor.

While backing out of parking space and shifting into drive, vehicle would not travel. Dealer stated that cable was broken.

Ford was notified and I was told that the problem was mine and not theirs. No safety defect listed in summary.

Transmission began making whirring sound. Repair estimated at $1400+ to rebuild transmission.

While driving transmission could get real hard to shift gear when switching from park to drive. This will be the third transmission and powertrain control module for this vehicle.

When the vehicle accelerated from a stop, the transmission jerked into gear which caused the vehicle to lurch forward. The same issue occurred when the vehicle decelerated from high speed, the transmission down shifted abruptly. Ph.

Transmssion failed while driving at approximately 25-30 mph. No sign given during malfunction. Incident occurred at 62,990 miles. Asking NHTSA to look into this matter.

The transmission did not shift into overdrive, and the check engine light came on. When it was brought into the garage (not the Ford dealership), they put it on the computer and it showed a $12. 00 prt and it was on the outer part of the transmission. A week later the part had still not come in, it was on back order through Ford and it took 10 days to get here, when the garage went to do the work, it showed that it was quite far into the transmission, because I did not buy the extented warrantee, it is not covered. But this car has only 59. 000 miles.