Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||||
| 03181 | 09/15/2003 | 10004027 | Remote keyless entry (rke) - service tips. *tt | 11/14/2003 | |
| 99B05 | 03/01/1999 | 604856 | Information on replacing generic electronic module (gem). *tt | 05/17/1999 | |
| 98246 | 12/07/1998 | 604059 | Ford motor company has released a new electrical grease ( f8az - 19g208-aa ) to reduce the possibility of moisture corrosion at the terminals. *yc | 03/16/1999 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||||
| 0245 | 03/04/2002 | 636065 | Information regarding discharged battery charging service tips and guidelines. *tt | 11/05/2002 | |
| 11803 | 08/01/1998 | 615301 | Some vehicles with manual locks built between 4/7/98 and 7/17/98 may have a concern of excessive power drain or dead battery. *tt | 01/12/2001 | |
| 4695 | 08/01/1998 | 615233 | Some vehicles with manual locks built between 4/7/98 and 7/17/98 may have a concern of excessive power drain or dead battery. *tt | 01/08/2001 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - ANTI-THEFT CONTROLLER | |||||
| 0162 | 04/02/2001 | 619266 | Vehicles equipped with passive anti-theft system (pats) may not start or crank. *tt | 05/22/2001 | |
| 99-6193 | 05/01/1999 | 607010 | Information on resetting the passive anti-theft system (pats). *tt | 11/03/2000 | |
| 12154 | 11/01/1998 | 613173 | Some vehicles equipped with pats (securilock) except certain models now have availability of fleet keys through rotunda. *mjs | 06/19/2000 | |
| 983566 | 01/01/1998 | 607837 | Information on programming / diagnosing any passive anti-theft system (pats) related issues. *tt | 10/13/1999 | |
| 983566 | 01/19/1998 | 607484 | Information regarding programming / diagnosing passive anti-theft system (pats) related issues. *tt | 09/23/1999 | |
| 98110 | 01/19/1998 | 605570 | Subject regarding passive anti theft system (pats) diagnostic service tips. *tt | 07/09/1999 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - SWITCH | |||||
| 012113 | 10/29/2001 | 627774 | Some ignition switch lock cylinder assemblies may exhibit rougness and / or excess effort in turning, key does not fully return from start, a malfunction indicator lamp may illuminate with p0500, p1502 and u1039 stored in powertrian control | 02/22/2002 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING | |||||
| 99222 | 10/18/1999 | 6089681 | Subject on a wire harness terminal repair kit available for repairing electrical wiring harnesses. *tt | 02/11/2000 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - INTERIOR/UNDER DASH | |||||
| 8016 | 04/01/2000 | 613611 | Some vehicles may exhibit an intermittent loss of integrated control panel (icp) illumination. **mr** | 07/26/2000 | |
| 996040 | 05/01/1999 | 606955 | Subject regarding electronic crash sensor (ecs) module location. *tt | 09/08/1999 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 01/30/2010 | |||
| Tl-the contact owns a 1998 ford taurus. while driving 35 mph the vehicle anti theft device (pats) came on and shut the vehicle off in traffic. the contact coasted the vehicle off the road to a local store. the contact stated she went into the store and restarted the vehicle when she came out and the vehicle started as normal. the failure has occured approximately 6 times. the vehicle has been taken to the dealer twice. the contact stated the dealer has replaced the battery cable, a metal wire to the battery, and they reprogrammed and replaced the key. the contact did not know the name of the wire piece. the failure happen again, the contact stated the failure was intermittent. the vehicle has not been repaired. the failure mileage was unknown the current mileage was 158,273. vwb | |||
| 03/11/2006 | 133000 | 300 | 02/01/2001 |
| The door adjar sensor light stays on. all doors are shut but light stays on.when this light is on the interior lights stay on and also the automatic door locks will not lock. this problem causes the battery to run down and also for children to be able to open car doors when moving because the doors will not lock. i have taken the bulbs from the interior out to prevent running battery down. have not been able to replace sensors in doors. *tr | |||
| 03/05/2005 | 58598 | 3 | 08/04/2004 |
| 1998 ford taurus station wagon began low power acelerating at stop times 2. a third incident occured from a complete stop with foot on brakes an this time it could not be stopped with both feet on breaks. it ran for about 75 feet and then quit on its own. took to local ford delears ship and they could find nothing wrong with my car. i asked if this were common and was told they never heard of such thing. keep car two days i contacted the taurus club of americal at their web line and it seems there have been many incidents such as this and they called it surging. *ak | |||
| 10/27/2004 | 159350 | 5 | |
| I'm not sure why this problem is happening. whenever i push the button to let my windows up, turn off my read defrost, or hold any buttons too long the battery light will flash. i was driving down the highway and i turned off my rear defrost and my battery light flashed, then my head lights went out and my car almost shut down, then the lights came back on. the next day, it was night time, and i saw another taurus do the same thing. being that time is changing and i need my head lights, i would hate to have an accident due to the fact i cant see. i have had my car checked to see if the alternator or battery was going out, but all the checks were good. please help with this problem. *jb | |||
| 10/14/2003 | 1 | 10/14/2003 | |
| Turn signals would only work at times. sometimes they would start to blink/illuminate. then, stop before the turn was complete, and sometimes they will not blink at all. this was a very common problem on many late 1990 fords. *ak | |||
| 03/12/2003 | 1 | ||
| While driving and with no warning the door ajar light comes on intermittently. consumer has made contact with the dealership. *ak | |||
| 05/07/2003 | |||
| The headlights remained on at all times, even when the fuse was removed. dealer notified. *nlm | |||
| The interior lights stayed on after the motor was turned off. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that there would be a charge to look at the vehicle. the consumer had to disconnect the lights so the battery won't go dead. *nlm | |||
| 03/22/2003 | 7 | 03/15/2000 | |
| Interior lights remain on when driving (over head and rear compartment plus the courtesy lights on the floor), locks do not automatically lock. *nlm | |||
| 02/15/2003 | 1 | ||
| When the hazard lights were turned on, all the lights failed.*jb | |||
| 03/16/2001 | 2 | 04/02/1999 | |
| Dome and door lights continuously stay on. *ak dealer replaced driver door switch. but problem reoccured in addition to the warning bell chiming when keys are in ignition with the doors closed. dealer notified. *tt | |||
| 11/01/1998 | |||
| We connected the immersionblock heater at 9:00, mar 2. at about 8:30. mar 3, wwe discovered our car had caught fire and burned, the front end being demolished: the engine burned th rough, much of the front end being melted. roen ford personnel state the cuase to be unidentified but suggest the cause might be a short in the electrical system, perhaps the block heater. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||
| 07/07/2000 | 3 | 01/17/2000 | |
| Rotor service on front end of vehicle once every year for the last two years. dealer has been notified, however unable to remedy the problem.*ak the consumer experienced tires shaking, clunking noise in front wheels when turning, and squeaking noise in rear end when braking. the heater and defroster make a buzzing noise, the brakes pulsate. the rear right brake and rotors failed. the service engine soon light came on. engine makes a buzzing noise when start. the vehicle is not shift correctly. the driver door does not close properly. the vehicle would not start due to battery failure. *yh | |||
| 05/01/2098 | |||
| After sitting for 3 days the battery is dead, vehicle has been to 2 dealers, one dealer replaced a module and it still goes dead. this has happened since new. *ak | |||
| 06/06/2000 | 3 | 05/01/1999 | |
| Intermittent battery discharge...battery replaced 3 times in the last year...unsatisfactory fuel economy -only 9 mph. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS | |||
| 10/10/1999 | 5 | ||
| The fuse box is located too close to the brake pedal . every time brakes are applied, foot would hit the fuse box. this would cause the cover of the fuse box to come off. then the fuses were knocked out & would cause vehicle not have brake lights. has taken vehicleto dealer & so far the mechanic has repaired it 5 times. *ak | |||
| 11/27/1998 | |||
| While driving electronic parts are not responding properly, the panel lights will blink, as well as the headlights. sometimes consumer can't get the headlights to come on at all. dealer has been contacted. vehicle has been in to dealer three tims and they still have not found the problem. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - MODULE | |||
| 03/06/2000 | 4 | 08/01/1999 | |
| When in bumper to bumper traffic with normal acceleration car seems to surge at any given time .you never know when your in that kin of traffic that the car will do the same thing and surge.the only thing that will slow the car down is putting your foot on the brake.you never know when the car will surge. dealership put a new trans , replaced air by pass valve,replace some computer chip, reprogrammed pcm. car has been in 4 times it still surges dealership states can not duplicate problem after keepin car for almost two weeks. . | |||
| 02/01/1998 | 1 | 01/22/1998 | |
| Needs service warning light illuminating, computer chip malfunction. mjs | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - SWITCH | |||
| 09/15/2004 | 1 | ||
| While placing the key inside of the ignition switch it failed to turn or and start. the consumer was not able to start or turn the steering wheel. the consumer will contact the dealer in the morning for an appointment to bring it in for inspection and repair. please fill in additional information. *jb | |||
| 09/01/1999 | 5 | 08/01/1999 | |
| When turning the key in ignition vehicle does not start. dealer has seen vehicle several times, but cannot find the problem. *ak *ml | |||
| 5 | 08/01/1999 | ||
| When putting key into the ignition vehicle did not start. had to be towed to dealer. dealer has seen several vehicles for same problem , and cannot find solution. *ak *ml | |||
| 06/04/1999 | |||
| Passenger's side air bag deployed unexpectedly, causing the vehicle not to respond to any of its function. also, brakes and transmission shifter failed; and key was stuck in the ignition, causing the vehicle to coast into a tree and then flip over. dealer has been contacted. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - STARTER ASSEMBLY | |||
| 08/18/1998 | 1 | ||
| Design location of the starter is directly below the oil filter resulting in fire when changing oil filter, electrical short from tool burned filter housing and ignited the oil stream. mjs | |||
| 08/18/1998 | 01/01/1998 | ||
| The design location in which a starter is directly below the oil filter is a potential safety hazard. yh | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING | |||
| 09/11/2004 | 97000 | 1 | |
| While driving consumer noticed smoke coming out of the air vents on the dashboard. consumer pulled over and exited the vehicle. the entire vehicle went up in flames within seconds. no warning lights came on prior to the smoke and flames. *ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| Electrical short in power door prevented door from locking. *ak *nlm | |||
| 05/19/2002 | 1 | 02/01/2002 | |
| Fire inspector and private inspector unable to determine exact cause of fire although location determined to be near firewall, center rear of engine compartment.*ak | |||
| 01/29/2000 | |||
| Door ajar light and the dome light stay on. also, doors do not lock when releasing the brake. at night the driver is not able to see the road clearly. the dealer was called about the problem. an appointment has been made for the dealer to look at the vehicle. please provide any further information. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - FRONT UNDERHOOD | |||
| 01/28/2005 | 60000 | 1 | 07/31/1997 |
| Consumer turned the vehicle on and let the engine idle while parked in the driveway. approximately 15 minutes later the vehicle caught on fire under the hood. local fire department arrived to extinguish the fire. the fire damageed total the vehicle. how the fire started? was not determined.*ak | |||
| 04/25/2000 | 07/13/1998 | ||
| Whle driving consumer noticed smoke coming underneath driver's side, and from underneath hood. consumer pulled over, and within minutes vehicle had caught on fire. vehicle was a total loss. investigator advises fire caused by faulty fuel lines. damage too excessive to have been electrical. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - INTERIOR/UNDER DASH | |||
| 12/01/2002 | 103000 | 10 | 11/19/2002 |
| Gear shifter does not line up correctly when in any gear. ajar door light and inside dome light stay on and the driverside door will not lock when this happens. also, when getting in or out of the car each passanger gets shocked if you touch one another or the doors. this has been happening for about 3 months now. this happens on a regular bases. | |||
| 10/10/2002 | |||
| Consumer states that while driving the lights under the dashboard will stay on and the consumer is unable to turn off the lights unless vehicle is shut off. dealer notified. mr | |||
| 06/12/2001 | 12 | 06/01/1999 | |
| Vehicle can be in drive and moving, or in park and sitting still, the engine will begin to hesitate after running for 10-15 minutes. the dashboard instruments get extremely hot, the lighting will dim on its own. all electronics (i.e. radio, air conditioning etc...) will fail. the car will then cut off without warning. vehicle also lunges forward if in park or stopped while in drive, if it has been running for 10-15 minutes or more. | |||