Steering Rack And Pinion problems of the 1999 Ford Taurus - part 1

My 1999 Ford Taurus has power steering rack and pinion issuses. The car makes whining noises when turning, the steering gets tight after a few minutes of driving. The fluid ozzes out of pump out of cap. Can cause a crash it jerks the wheel a little bit also. Ive looked this problem up on internet and theres alot of the same issue with their cars. There should be a recall notice for so many of the same issues.

Rack and pinion power steering pump failure.

Car "bouncing" a lot, brother in law said it sounded like a bubble in the tire. Had the tires changed and my husband was called over by mechanic. The mechanic told my husband we had a serious problem and showed him that the rods for steering were loose but that the lug nuts were tight. He said it was the rack pinion. I went online to see if there was a recall or where I could have it fixed and came across 0 recalls yet hundreds of complaints of the same issue in a 1999 Ford Taurus.

The vehicle lost power assistance while driving 45 mph, the vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer informed consumer that the rack & pinion needed to be replaced. Please provide any further information.

The "rack and pinion" on my 1999 Ford Taurus needs replacing. I think this is too soon under "normal" city driving. The car is still under the 6 yr. -75,000mi. Warranty.

Rack and pinion seal leaks fluid into the right hand boot and then the ground, causing the power steering not to function properly and failure to the power steering pump. I can't believe Ford doesn't care about the safty and loyalty of their customers and take steps to correct this consistant defect quite common in this model.

Just out of the blue, I started having difficulty with my steering. For a couple of weeks, I had to constantly replace power steering fluid. What really scared me was when I had to travel out of state to get back home. I put in power steering fluid and it just disappeared right in front of my eyes. It was at that time I took it to a mechanic and he was amazed when he saw my power steering fluid leaking out of the rack. The seal had broken badly. He informed me that the rack pinion had to be replaced. I expect I would eventually have car problems as with anyone else but I almost fell to ground when I was told how much it was going to take to repair the problem. I am just really disappointed with Ford. I have always spoke very highly of Ford and I am sure I still will and I am sure my next vehicle will be a Ford. I just found it so hard to believe that I had to pay for something this major so soon. Sad thing is, I feel even worse after learning there are so many other consumers who has had the same problem. I was amazed to find there was so many others. Even now, my car does not feel the same. I have got to take it back to the mechanics because the wheel has started to tighten up again.

Consumer states rack and pinion steering was installed incorrectly, causing steering to fail. Dealer notified.

I bought the car new and it has never been wrecked. At 44,000 miles the rack and pinion seals began leaking power steering fluid into the cv boots. The first symptom was loss of power steering fluid, pump noise, and pump overheating. The rack and pinion is going to get replaced and the service manager at the dealership is going to try to get Ford to pay for part of the repair. The car is out of warranty.

Rack and pinion steering failed while driving, causing loss of vehicle control. Upon repair, mechanic advised that rack and pinion had been previously replaced.

Rack and pinion went out at 84k miles - $750-$800 for repair. After reading the 30+ other complaints, I'd figured I would add mine as well.

While driving and without warning the rack and pinion snapped and caused the consumer to lose steering control. .

Power steering failed due to broken seal in steering rack. Spent $711 to replace. Appears to be frequent occurrence on many Fords. Should recall.

Consumer states this second time the rack and pinion is broke. Dealer notified nothing they can't do. Please provide further information.

Power sterring went out at 72,000 miles. Had to replace the rack and pinion. Still doesn't feel natural. Power sterring fluid keft overflowing, eventually leaking into the boots. At high speed 65-70mph it feels very unstable.

Intially diagnosed as power steering fluid leak - turns out that the problem was a leak in the rack and pinion steering.

Well, well, well. Just yesterday I filed this very same complaint to you. This morning my husband was on the phone w/one of your people who said there was no investigation into this problem at the present time. However, it's inconceivable to me that you have as many complaints as you do of a failed rack and pinion on 1999 Ford Taurus, and here we are getting the breaking news today the gm just recalled thousands of vehicles for a failed lower pinion!!!! don't you look at trends with other domestic vehicles, like years, like defects???? this failure is obviously a trend in the '99 Taurus! how sad that 15 crashes had to occur in the gm vehicles that were most probably linked to their failure. How fortunate that '99 Taurus owners have not experienced the same, at least not that we yet know of. Wouldn't you like to be responsible for saving us from accidents, possibly injuries, and possibly deaths? please issue an investigation! also, you technician told my husband on the phone that if we were to have our rack and pinion replaced, as four separate Ford mechanics have advised. That we should save our receipts and if a recall was issued at a later date we could be reimbursed. However, once again, on your website I researched and read that the manufacturer has no legal responsibility to reimburse us for work already performed. Get your stories straight! I await your response with baded breath. Thank you very much. Dt.

Rack and pinion seal broken, power steering fluid leaking into right boot. In speaking with 3 (three) separate aaa approved repair centers, we were told this is a very common problem with the 1999 Ford Taurus. We checked the automobile club of southern California website and found several hundred complaints on the exact same problem. Ford must do something about this! how fortunate my 2 infant children were not in the car with me when this happened, I barely made it home!!! this is an accident waiting to happen. Obviously there is a faulty seal, and Ford gouging their customers for an additional $800-$1000 repair is an atrocity!!! dt.

Power steering fluid leaking thru the gear into the left tire boot. Dt.

Power steering failed while vehicle was being driven due to rack and pinion failure. Consumer stated that the vehicle was very noisy and hard to steer.

Vehicle had become hard to steer, mechanic determined rack and pinion was leaking fluid.

Rack and pinion had to be replaced at 43000 miles because of leak.

Vehicle was losing power steering fluid, vehicle was taken to dealer, and dealer informed consumer that rack and pinion steering had to be replaced. The first steering rack was defective and replaced with another steering rack and the second one also failed.

No summary listed for above vehicle.

Vehicle had been to dealer 3 times for problems with the steering, vehicle was hard to steer. Dealer found no problem. Once vehicle was out of warranty dealer determined the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. Rack and pinion is being replaced for the third time in 8 months. Nlmjlg.

I lost the power steering on my 1999 Ford Taurus station wagon. When it stopped working, I had a very difficult time turning around corners. I had a very difficult time making a left turn into my driveway. I then became afraid to drive it as I did not have the strength to make a turn. I had to have a male friend who is far stronger than me, drive the car to the dealer for repairs. My car only has 41,000 miles on it. This is not a part that should wear out. I was advised by the dealer that the rack and pinion seals had leaked and that the whole rack and pinion steering had to be replaced for a total bill of $734. 51. I feel that this part itself is defective and it also could be quite dangerous when a driver is not able to negotiate a turn as expected. I would appreciate all you could do to investigate the power steering equipment used on the 1999 Ford Taurus. The incident date is Jan. 2, 2003 but your computer system only goes to 2002.

Rack and pinion steering is not working properly. Vehicle is making a growling noise, and has to continously put power steering fluid in vehicle. Contacted a mechanic, and they stated rack and pinion needed to be replaced.

After talking with Ford Taurus owners and local Ford dealers this seem's to be a major system failure. This problem need's to be investigated and solved before someone get's hurt or killed. No safety defect mentioned.

They said they will not fix it. No safety defect mentioned.

After driving 60000 mainly freeway miles a seal failed on the rack. By the mechanic's description, the seal was not worn. The rack was replaced by the dealership.

Dealer stated steering rack and pinion leaking fluid due to failed seals.

No summary listed for abov evehicle. ( dot number: 025811/92t tire size: p205/65r15 ).

Replaced the first one, 30,000 miles later it went out again. Dt.

I was told by Ford dealer, the rack & pinion needs to be replaced at a cost of $700. Mileage is only 32,500.

The driver has to use excessive force in order to turn and steer the vehicle. Vehicle has power steering. Dealer says it's normal.