new 1/27/2004
Thanks for your interest in the Taurus SHO. I have checked with the service manager, and with Ford on any issues or concerns with welding the cams, or if that procedure had been done on this car. Also to see if there were only certain number of vehicles affected or all of them. According to the report from Ford this vehicle does not have any current service field actions, warnings or recalls, nor does it show where a service of that nature would have been done by a dealer. I also spoke with the sales manager, we have not had any issues on any part of any of the SHO Taurus we have sold here in the past, and we have sold a number of them. We also investigated on line to see what the SHO communities had to say, seems like there were about 200 complaints out of 21,000 V-8 powered Taurus produced. Several of the sites have recommended different solutions to be proactive even if the issue never should arise. As for warranty, extended service policies are available through Ford Motor Company at an additional cost depending on the amount and length of coverage. Let me know if there is anything else I can assist with.
Thanks,
George Frantz
Maibach Ford Inc.
www.maibachford.com
From: Lindsey & Debbie Briggs
I was asking about warranty specifically because the deductible on the ESP Ford Warranty is greater than the cost of welding the cams. Do you guarantee the cams will not fail and are not a problem as Ford states?
I personally know there have been 338 SHOs with failed camshafts, several with more than one incident, and these are just from members of the SHO Club web site. I also personally know that Ford will do nothing about this, I am one of the 338. This occurs on average at approximately 75,000 miles, mine was at 60,000 miles.
From: Maibach Ford
Sorry to hear your in the fray of people that have had issues with the cams, I understand how, with a car like this it can be a love hate relationship. I've driven several unique autos and some have their faults but there is just something about them that makes driving them, overtake those concerns. Never the less, I don't have any way of knowing if this one will have that issue or not, but certainly there is no way to guarantee it won't. And as for Fords standing that the cams are a non issue, I really can't answer that question, I don't have a way of knowing, I'm not sure anybody does. The deductibles on the ESPs range, $200 to $0. It looked as if on one of the forums today that to weld the shaft would run $500, but I really have no way of knowing if that would be the cost or not, because we have never had the need to do one. I don't know if that helps or not but you may want to consider a different type of sport sedan, Ford has a new model, the 500 coming out this fall, all wheel drive, 6 speed automatic transmission, duratec style power plant, sounds like it should be a fun car to drive.
Thanks,
George
Any editorial comment just seems so unnecessary, don't you think??
U.L