1997 Ford Taurus

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 FORD TAURUS. THE CONTACT NOTICED A STRONG GASOLINE SMELL AND NOTICED GASOLINE ON THE GROUND UNDER THE VEHICLE. THE MECHANIC STATED THAT THREE FAILURES WERE PRESENT: THE FUEL TANK, A COOLANT LEAK, AND BRAKE LINE CORROSION. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS PRIOR TO THE FAILURES. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE CONTACT WOULD LIKE FORD TO REIMBURSE HIM FOR THE COST OF THE REPAIRS, BUT THEY REFUSED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 123,100 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 123,900. UPDATED 04/02/08. *LJ

I HAVE TWO ESSENTIALLY IDENTICAL 19'97 FORD AUTOMOBILES; A TAURUS AND A SABLE. ON THE TAURUS I JUST HAD THE GAS TANK REPLACED BECAUSE THE MECHANIC SAID AND SHOWED ME THAT IT WAS LEAKING AT THE SEAMS. I NOT ICE NOW A GASOLINE SMELL COMING FROM THE SABLE.. BASED ON TWO OUT OF TWO VEHICLES, I BELIEVE THAT THERE MIGHT BE A GENERAL PROBLEM WITH FORD GAS TANKS LEAKING. *AK

19'97 TAURUS, LIKE MANY OF THE FORD & OTHER PRODUCT LINES, HAVE THE GAS FILLER PIPE ON THE STARBOARD SIDE. WITH THE FUEL DELIVERY SYSTEM ALMOST COMPLETELY GONE TO SELF-SERVE, THIS ?!@#$% ARRANGEMENT GENERATES CONFUSION IN BUSY SERVICE STATIONS LEADING TO A GREAT POTENTIAL FOR FUEL SPILLS AND FIRES. ALL CARS, EVEN IF THEY THINK THE EUROPEAN LOCATION IS "CUTE" SHOULD BE MANDATED TO HAVE FUEL FILL PIPE LOCATION ON THE PORT SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. REDUCE CONFUSION. INCREASE SAFETY. *AK

1997 FORD TAURUS WAGON. OVER THE PAST TWO MONTHS, THE VEHICLE STOPPED DEAD IN TRAFFIC 5 TIMES AT VARIOUS SPEEDS WITH NO ADVANCE WARNING. IT WOULD NOT RESTART. THE FUSE TO THE FUEL PUMP REPEATEDLY BLEW, BUT NO OTHER PROBLEMS WERE EVIDENT EACH TIME THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE GARAGE. THE ENGINE WOULD RUN ROUGHLY, STALL, AND SURGE, BUT THE PROBLEM WAS INTERMITTENT, AND GRADUALLY BECAME WORSE. THE MECHANIC SUSPECTED A PROBLEM WITH THE FUEL SYSTEM. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT A WIRE TO THE FUEL PUMP INSIDE THE FUEL TANK HAD ITS INSULATION WORN OFF DOWN TO THE BARE WIRE, AND HAD SHORTED OUT. OTHER WIRES ALSO SHOW SIGNS OF WEAR, BUT ARE NOT YET WORN THROUGH. I HAVE DIGITAL PICTURES OF THE WIRES. THE WIRES WERE DAMAGED DUE TO THE WAY THE FUEL PUMP WAS ASSEMBLED WITHIN THE GAS TANK. THIS IS AN OBVIOUS MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND IS NOT LIMITED TO ONLY OUR CAR. FORD HAS ISSUED 3 TSB'S RELATING TO THIS PROBLEM (98251, 5226, AND 12189) AND I HAVE ALSO FOUND SEVERAL RELATED COMPLAINTS IN THE NHTSA DATABASE (ODI ID 549996, 707889, 713208, 807546, 838030, 853283, 879245, 10018293, AND 8012733). I AM CONCERNED THAT THIS PROBLEM COULD NOT ONLY CAUSE COMPLETE VEHICLE FAILURE (LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND BRAKES) AT ANY SPEED, BUT ALSO THAT THE POSSIBILITY OF A SPARK INSIDE THE GAS TANK IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION. THIS WIRING PROBLEM SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED AS A POSSIBLE CAUSE FOR ANY FORD TAURUS FIRES, OR ACCIDENTS INVOLVING LOSS OF POWER. WE ARE CONVINCED THAT THIS IS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND THAT THE POSSIBILITY OF MORE RELATED ACCIDENTS INCREASES AS CURRENT VEHICLES AGE. FORD EVIDENTLY IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM, OR THEY WOULD NOT HAVE REVISED THE WIRING HARNESS AND GIVEN SPECIAL INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS TO THEIR TECHNICIANS. *NLM

WHILE CONSUMER WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE, IT STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC. CONSUMER HAD TAKEN VEHICLE TO THE MECHANIC, AND THEY FOUND THAT THE FUEL PUMPS POSITIVE WIRE WAS CUT ON A SHARP EDGE INSIDE OF FUEL TANK, WHICH LEFT THE WIRE EXPOSED TO THE FUEL TANK, AND CAUSED IT TO SHORT CIRCUIT.*AK CONSUMER ADDS THAT FORD IS AWARE OF THE DEFECT, AND NOW PLACES A PROTECTIVE COVER ON THE WIRES. *SCC