2008 Ford Taurus AWD

Puckrobber · Mar 27, 2019

Anyone have experience with one of these?

Due to having to move back to my father's home to take care of him, I had to downsize my vehicle harem, which included getting something he could get in & out of easily. So, I traded in my Tahoe and my 300ZX for a an '08 Taurus Limited AWD. Very well taken care of with 115,000 miles, 6-disc CD, NAV, heated seats, etc. Kinda reminds me of a pimp-mobile. (No offense to any pimps reading this.

) Also noticed it's a 5W-20 flavor in the 3.5L V6. I'm assuming either that or 5w30 is OK for those engines?

Thanks for the comments!

oilpsi2high · Mar 27, 2019

Good reviews from consumers on Edmunds.

double vanos · Mar 27, 2019

At 115k miles it ought to digest 5w30 with no problem at all.

aquariuscsm · Mar 27, 2019

Originally Posted by Puckrobber
300ZX

I would've definitely taken that car off your hands :^)

dishdude · Mar 27, 2019

I had a FWD same year as a company car. It was very solid, nothing but oil changes, tires and a set of brakes. Biggest trunk I've ever seen in a car. Easy to drive, comfortable, nice ride, a ton of power and easy to get in and out of.

14Accent · Mar 27, 2019

The rear differential on those can be finicky. You should do a fluid service by the book, just to be safe. Often it's the pump that goes bad, sometimes taking out the control module with it. Other than that, they're solid cars. The engine torque mount likes to tear, but it's not awful to replace, and it will probably need struts and mounts at some point soon.

Puckrobber · Mar 28, 2019

Appreciate the info, folks. Haven't owned too many Fords in my life. Last "newish" one (before the Explorer) was a 2000 Contour I bought in 2005. Well before all these fancy-schmancy electronics and different flavored oils became popular.

Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
Originally Posted by Puckrobber
300ZX

I would've definitely taken that car off your hands :^)

I thought of you when I debated about giving it up. However, I didn't think you wanted to travel all the way up here.

However, I do have 4 oil filters from RockAuto for it, if you ever need any.

earlyre · Mar 28, 2019

did you get any kind of maintenance records? (I recently traded in my 2009 Sable)
the waterpump in those engines can go out at anytime after 90k mi, and if it does, it dumps all your coolant into the oil sump.(internal pump, in the valley between the heads, for packaging reasons. ) replacement can cost up to $2k. if you don't end up needing to replace the engine.

Rear drive unit is a Haldex, when my sister had to replace hers a few years back, it was over $1k

HangFire · Mar 28, 2019

According to this link, the rear of a 2008 Taurus is a Ford AWD system, not a Haldex. From the tone of the thread, that's not any better.

https://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11573

I have no personal opinions on the 2008 Taurus AWD. My FWD 99 Taurus was a lemon, but that discussion is not really relevant here.

Sluggo0018 · Mar 28, 2019

I purchased my company car, a 2008 Ford Taurus AWD at roughly 90,000 miles. It now has 200,000 miles. I've replaced the rear wheel bearings twice as they seem to last exactly 100,000 miles per set. It also had a leak at the transmission cooler. Everything else has been normal maintenance. Runs good, but it's kind of boring.

Good luck.

kkreit01 · Mar 28, 2019

My parents had an 07 Mercury Montego AWD (CVT) for over 100k. It served them well.

earlyre · Mar 28, 2019

Originally Posted by HangFire
According to this link, the rear of a 2008 Taurus is a Ford AWD system, not a Haldex. From the tone of the thread, that's not any better.

https://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1157

Haven't looked at that thread, but:
1)When they pulled the original unit from my sister's car, it was quite clearly marked with Volvo logos, as well as Ford..( granted, hers was an '05 freestyle ( the wagon version of the five hundred)but the main difference between the 05-07 five hundred (etc), and the 08-08 Taurus (etc), was the engine and transmission.

2) I'm sure the Ford AWD system is different from haldex, in the same way the Asin built HF20, and the "clean sheet"Ford designed and built HF35 are completely different.... Meaning, the kept the design, tweaked it to be JUST different enough they could legally call it their own design, and move production in house...
(skip to 12:00-12:20ish)

Puckrobber · Mar 28, 2019

Thanks for all the opinions. As to maintenance records, nothing but the CarFax was shown. However, it had lots of dealer services listed on it. First owner had it for only about 10,000 miles (3 years or so), but, changed oil, filter & wipers at least 3 times in that span. 2nd owner was religious about fluid changes and inspections for the rest of the time (100,000+ miles). Didn't see any major repairs or replacements listed, although they could have been done elsewhere.

JOD · Mar 29, 2019

Just for some clarity here.. The AWD system in this is completely different than the '07 (I have an 07 Freestyle). They have nothing in common at all. The Jtekt system in these cars is less complex and doesn't seem to work quite as well, but seems pretty robust.

I have zero use for large sedans, but I always kinda like the Getaway Car. If I were robbing a bank, I'd totally use one of these, because no one would ever detect me. Ubiquitous "car". As a result, I think they're a great value if you're looking for a large sedan (just recommended this same car to a friend of mine).

It's built on the Volvo P2/Ford D3 platform from the Folvo days--which is a good thing. Parts for it or dirt cheap, and it's easy to work on (except for the rear plugs).

I know nothing about the water pump failure--my 3.0 did not have this feature, so you may want to see if it's worth proactively swapping the pump. The only common fault I know of is a leaky front transfer case (PTU). There was a TSB with a new seal or something--so I'd poke around there for wet spots. What I absolutely would do it service the front PTU fluid and rear differential, along with the power steering fluid. Folks typically ignore all of these. One early units, you had to suck the PTU fluid out with a vacuum pump, on later ones they added a drain plug (I'll bet an '08 doesn't have that). Overall, I think they're really solid cars and a great deal.

Puckrobber · Mar 30, 2019

Originally Posted by JOD
Just for some clarity here.. The AWD system in this is completely different than the '07 (I have an 07 Freestyle). They have nothing in common at all. The Jtekt system in these cars is less complex and doesn't seem to work quite as well, but seems pretty robust.

I have zero use for large sedans, but I always kinda like the Getaway Car. If I were robbing a bank, I'd totally use one of these, because no one would ever detect me. Ubiquitous "car". As a result, I think they're a great value if you're looking for a large sedan (just recommended this same car to a friend of mine).

It's built on the Volvo P2/Ford D3 platform from the Folvo days--which is a good thing. Parts for it or dirt cheap, and it's easy to work on (except for the rear plugs).

I know nothing about the water pump failure--my 3.0 did not have this feature, so you may want to see if it's worth proactively swapping the pump. The only common fault I know of is a leaky front transfer case (PTU). There was a TSB with a new seal or something--so I'd poke around there for wet spots. What I absolutely would do it service the front PTU fluid and rear differential, along with the power steering fluid. Folks typically ignore all of these. One early units, you had to suck the PTU fluid out with a vacuum pump, on later ones they added a drain plug (I'll bet an '08 doesn't have that). Overall, I think they're really solid cars and a great deal.

Thanks for the info. I'll look into all of this, once I get moved to Dad's this week.

2008 Ford Taurus AWD

Similar threads