Does anyone know if there is a lot of problems with the Torque converter in the Ford Taurus?

Question

Hi,

I have a 2003 Ford Taurus SES, the other day I was in park and my car was on but I could not put it into gear. The tow truck came and took it to Ford motors and they told me that it was my Torque Converter and that it would cost about two thousand dollars to repair. My warranty is up, but I have heard a couple of people say that there has been problems with the torque converters in Fords and I was wondering if this was true, and if this is true could I make Ford pay for the repairs, seeing as it is not an old car at all, and I take excellent care of it.

Answer 1

basically where you went wrong was with buying a ford taurus in the first place. but thats neither here nor there. if your torque convertor is going out and its only a 2003 your either incredibly hard on the transmission or your car lasted just long enough until your warranty was up. either case, if you have any know how of cars you can fix this yourself. Fords are notorious for bda transmissions so it comes as no surprise to me. basically you cant make ford pay for this problem because this problem has been around as long as ford has been making bad transmissions. the best thing you can do is find a good shop to repair it and sell it, or just sell it as is because this is a problem your more than likely going to run into again.

Answer 2

Call a local transmission shop. You can overhaul the whole tranny for $1200-$1400. Taurus' are know for their transmission problems. I have owned several and Ford never seems to get that right.

If you are the original owner and have less than 50,000 miles on it, call 1-800-392-3673. That is the Ford Customer Assistance Center. If you bought it used, forget it.

Tell them you would like a contact opened to your dealer requesting after warranty assistance. You will be expected to pay some, but Ford may pick some up too.

Answer 3

Go to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) web site, where they keep tabs of such things, and do some research. If you are the original owner, you may try the Lemon Law section of the phone book. Years ago, for example, I stumbled on a secret recall that NHTSA was monitoring. As it turned out, all camshafts in 1975-1983 Chevy's were defective, but GM wouldn't admit it publicly. When my 1977 Monte Carlo began to backfire, the dealership tried to sock-it to me for $850 for a cam replacement. They said the car was not cared for properly. So I reached into my pocket and produced the NHTSA secret recall document, and without any fuss at all, they did all the work for the cost of an oil change!!!. Good Luck!!

Answer 4

I've had two Taurus' and loved them both. The first was an '89 GL 3.0 which I drove from 122k to 166k miles. Got rid of it after being rear ended by an 82 year old driver. Second Taurus is an '89 LX with the 3.8, which I bought with 166k miles, and it currently has 186k miles. I've never had a torque converter problem.

Answer 5

located on the valve body. which is just behind the transmission side cover that you see behind the left front wheel. not easy to get to because you have to remove several parts of the engine up top and part of the frame to get to it. also the solenoid very rarely goes on this trans so you might have to have the converter replaced itself they are a problem t/c for these years. ATRA.COM for shop to verify

Answer 6

Tauruses have been long known for tranny problems. No surprises there. Research and find out what other people have done. Maybe Ford will replace it but I doubt it. American car companies don't recall problems like Japanese companies. They only recall when the government mandates it. Love my country; Hate their car companies.

Answer 7

call the service department or go online and look up tech bulletins or service bulletins regarding the torque converter--if there is one , then talk to the service manager. Worst they can say is no.