Four problems related to automatic transmission have been reported for the 2002 Ford Taurus. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2002 Ford Taurus based on all problems reported for the 2002 Taurus.
I was stopped at a red light, when the light turned green I tried to drive forward; the car then jerked and the drive gear(s) became completely inoperable. The car had to be towed to my home. On 4/10/2006 I called the dealership and they said "sorry, your warranty is over, but we can look at it for you" they then gave me the 800 number to call for Ford. The car was purchased 12/31/2002, it was a demo with 7,838 miles. It currently has only 55,000 miles. The entire transmission needs replacement at a cost of $1600. 00 (plus) which is entirely my expense with no assistance from Ford or the dealership. A call was made to the consumer line at Ford, 1-800-392-3673, and they registered the complaint and said there was nothing they could do to correct or assist with the problem.
While vehicle was running driver got out to wipe off the windows and transmission unexpectedly shifted to reverse. Driver attempted to stop vehicle, and was run over. Driver sustained leg, chest, and arm injuries. The vehicle ran into a boat trailer. A friend of the consumer's took the vehicle to the dealer. The dealer indicated that the vehicle was fine.
While driving at normal speed, the vehicle switched from drive into neutral on its own.
While driving at any speed the vehicle lunged and or accelerated suddenly. There was a burning odor that would be present along with the hesitating and jerking. The consumer was informed that the problem may have been due to a leak on the gasket onto the transmission.