Five problems related to engine and engine cooling have been reported for the 1998 Ford Taurus. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
This is the scariest thing I have ever seen while driving my teenage son's vehicle. His vehicle would not decrease in speed. While taking off from a stop, without touching the pedal, the vehicle accelerated on its own. I have never seen a vehicle accelerate without hitting the gas pedal. This is a serious safety concern especially since its a teenagers vehicle. I see that newer Taurus's had a recall for the exact same issue. Many were reporting the vehicle accelerating on its own, this is exactly what my son's did tonight. Also, when I placed his vehicle in park, the vehicle revved up to 4000 rpm's like someone was hitting the gas. I had to shut the car off before it blew the engine. It was nerve racking. This is likely to cause a serious injury of death to my child.
After driving about a mile, the air conditioning stopped and black smoke came out of the hood. Stopped the car and thought of opening the hood but saw flames. Three adults and two children (5 and 2 yrs old) got out of the car. Called police and fire service. By the time they arrive, the car was in flames. The engine and front row seats were totally burnt. The car was a total loss. There was no way to determine the reason for the (mysterious) fire. This happened in miami, florida.
The contact owns a 1998 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle and turning it off, it would not start again. The failure occurred intermittently. No warning lights illuminated on the instrumental panel. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer and they informed her that they were unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 142,000.
Head gasket and head had to be replaced due to overheating, total cost of job was 1400. Dollars.
Design flaw in the engine block that allows coolant to settle and accumulate in certain spots in the engine block. Twelve months after the coolant system was flushed, the vehicle began exhibiting a lost of heat and that was when the consumer was told of the problems with the engine that would eventually cause rust and sediment to accumulate over time if the coolant remained in the engine block.