NHTSA Complaint #10119962 — 1995 FORD TAURUS

WAS DRIVING VEHICLE WHEN I EXPERIENCED AX EXTREME OVERHEATING CONDITION. OVER COURSE OF LESS THAN 2 MINUTES TIME MY VEHICLES TEMPERATURE GUAGUE PROGRESSED FROM THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE NORMAL RANGE ALL THE WAY UP PAST THE RED ZONE ABOVE NORMAL. AT TIME OF OCCURENCE IT WAS A COLD DAY OUTSIDE AND I WAS LESS THEN 5 MILES FROM MY HOUSE HAVING DRIVEN VEHICLE LESS THAN 10 MINUTES SO I WAS FAIRLY CERTAIN EXTERNAL FACTORS COULD NOT HAVE EXPLAINED THIS DEGREE OF RAPID ENGINE OVERHEATING. THIS OVERHEATING WAS ACCOMPANIED BY EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF THICK WHITE BILLOWING SMOKE EXITING FROM MY EXHAUST PIPE (SEVERE TO THE POINT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE OUT MY REARVIEW MIRROR. UPON GETTING THE CAR BACK TO MY HOUSE AND ALLOWING IT TO COOL OFF I INSPECTED THE RADIATOR AND FOUND IT TOTALLY VOID OF COOLANT AND PRECEEDED TO REFILL IT WITH OVER 6 LITERS OF REPLACEMENT FLUID. UPON INSPECTING THE UNDERSIDE OF THE ENGINE I WAS ABLE TO ASCERTAIN THAT NO COOLANT HAD LEAKED FROM MY VEHICLE AND FINALLY UPON INSPECTING THE OIL WITHIN THE VEHICLE I NOTED THE ENGINE OIL WAS CONTAMINATED WITH COOLANT/WATER RESULTING IN A THICK WHITISH MILKY APPEARANCE. UPON CONSULTING A MECHANIC AND HAVE SOMEONE COME TO MY HOUSE TO LOOK AT THE CAR IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE HEAD GASKET FAILED. AT THIS TIME I AM UNCERTAIN AS TO THE EXTENT OF DAMAGE TO THE CORE ENGINE ITSELF.