NHTSA Complaint #738713 — 1993 FORD TAURUS

WHILE DRIVING HOME FROM CO TO IL, HOT LITE CAME ON. ENGINE TURNED OFF AND PULLED TO SIDE OF ROAD (INT76).2YR OLD, 10YR OLD, 2 ADULTS ON SIDE OF HIWAY - CARS PASSING @70MPH & ABOVE. FORTUNATELY HAD A CELL PHONE - STILL SAT ON SIDE FOR 2+HOURS. NEW ENGINE, TRANS, WATER PUMP INSTALLED 9/99. HEAD GASKET LEAK DETECTED 12/2000 AFTER BLOWING RADIATOR. RADIATOR REPLACED BY A NON-FORD GARAGE. DEALER SAID IT WAS A BAD RADIATOR (NEW RADIATOR HAD BEEN INSTALLED 2 WEEKS PRIOR-SEAMS BURST NOT RUSTED). PACKEY WEBB NOW REPAIRING HEAD GASKET & WATER PUMP (FAILURE PROBABLY CAUSED BY GASKET LEAK SAME AS THE RADIATOR). FORD WILL COVER THE PARTS BUT NOT THE LABOR AND WILL NOT COVER THE RADIATOR. VEHICLE HAD BEEN IN TO A DIFFERENT DEALER (JOE MADDEN - DOWNERS GROVE, IL) SEVERAL TIMES FOR "ROUGH RUNNING" PROBLEMS DURING THE FULL WARRANTY PERIOD (OF THE REPLACEMENT ENGINE) AND CHARGED $115 EACH TIME FOR "DIAGNOSIS". "COULDN'T DUPLICATE CUSTOMER'S CONCERN" FORD HAS ACKNOWLEDGED A PROBLEM WITH THIS ENGINE IN '94 AND '95 TAURUS' BUT REFUSES TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE '93. WE WERE FORTUNATE TO NOT BE ON THE HIGHWAY IN DANGEROUSLY COLD WEATHER WITH THE CURRENT HEAD GASKET PROBLEM