NHTSA Complaint #746487 — 1995 FORD TAURUS

SPEEDOMETER FAILED TWICE IN FOUR YEARS. THE NEEDLE SWINGS WILDLY BACK AND FORTH, ESPECIALLY AT SPEEDS GREATER THAN 45 MPH. THE ORIGINAL UNIT FAILED AT 35,000 MILES (26 MONTHS). A NEW UNIT WAS INSTALLED IN JANUARY, 1998 (43,000 MILES). IT TOO FAILED APPROXIMATELY 24 MONTHS LATER. NOW I NEED A THIRD SPEEDOMETER. THE MANUFACTURER WARRANTY IS FOR TWELVE MONTHS. FORD TELLS ME THAT THE SPEEDO UNIT CANNOT BE REPAIRED. IT MUST BE REPLACED WITH A BRAND NEW UNIT AT A COST OF NEARLY $700 ($500 FOR THE PART, $126 FOR LABOR, PLUS 6% STATE SALES TAX). I CANNOT SPEND $700 KNOWING THAT THIS PART WILL LIKELY FAIL IN TWO YEARS. FORD SHOULD FIX THIS PROBLEM ONCE AND FOR ALL, OR PROVIDE A LIFETIME WARRANTY. SPEEDOMETERS SHOULD NOT BREAK. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. BY NOT KNOWING THE SPEED AT WHICH I AM TRAVELING, I AM PUTTING MYSELF AND OTHER DRIVERS AT RISK. IN ADDITION, THIS IS A DRIVER DISTRACTION BECAUSE THE DRIVER IS CONSTANTLY PREOCCUPIED WITH TRYING TO DETERMINE HIS SPEED. THIS ALSO PUTS LIVES AT RISK SIMILAR TO TALKING ON CELL PHONES AND PLAYING WITH THE RADIO. THIS IS IN NO WAY AN ISSUE WITH MY LOCAL FORD DEALER. THEY ALWAYS PROVIDE EXCELLENT SERVICE. THIS IS AN ISSUE WITH FORD MOTOR COMPANY. *AK