NHTSA Complaint #10000760 — 1997 FORD TAURUS SHO

MY HUSBAND AND I PURCHASED A 1997 FORD TAURUS V8 SHO IN 2000. WE HAD MAINTENANCE AND OIL CHANGES PERFORMED ON A REGULAR BASIS AND NEVER EXPERIENCED ANY PROBLEMS UNTIL THE END OF DECEMBER, 2002. (THE TOTAL MILEAGE ON THE CAR IS APPROXIMATELY 64,000 MILES). IN LATE DECEMBER, 2002, THE CAR STARTED TICKING VERY LOUDLY SO WE TOOK IT TO A LOCAL MECHANIC ON JANUARY 3, 2003, WHO WASN'T SURE WHY THE CAR WAS TICKING BUT HE PERFORMED AN OIL CHANGE AND FLUSHED THE ENGINE. ON SUNDAY EVENING, JANUARY 5, 2003, I WAS DRIVING THE CAR AND THE ENGINE JUST DIED. IT LOCKED UP AS IF IT WERE OUT OF GAS AND I HAD TO MANUALLY STEER IT TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. ONCE THE CAR WAS INSPECTED BY OUR LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP WE WERE INFORMED THAT THE ENGINE PROBLEMS ARE DUE TO A CAM SPROCKET FAILURE. IT IS OUR UNDERSTANDING THERE ARE MANY OF THESE FAILURES ON 1996-1999 FORD TAURUS SHO'S. I BELIEVE FORD SHOULD REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE ENGINES BEFORE SOMEONE IS HURT IN A ROAD ACCIDENT.