My daughter’s 2001 Taurus (DOHC engine) with 105K miles is hesitating at times when she accelerates up a hill or on an entrance ramp going on to the interstate. This hesitation is intermittent and does not seem to be related to outside temperature or engine temperature. Apparently the engine “catches” after a couple of seconds and then runs fine. Just a quick hesitation, but a bit dangerous, especially while trying to enter a highway. I’m going to have a chance to drive the car on Saturday and wonder what I should look for. My 2000 Sable (same DOHC engine) does not have this problem. The local repair shop checked the transmission and said there was nothing wrong with it – not sure if we can rule it out or not.
The driver’s door power window was not working, so the local shop replaced the motor, but it still did not work. They checked the switch and said it was fine. They recommend taking it to a place specializing in electrical problems or to the Ford dealer. Any thoughts?
With over 100K miles, we’re wondering about these problems and whether or not she should keep this car.
First suspect, of course, is a dirty fuel filter. The resultant fuel pressure drop could be intermittent.
Check out the fuel system. Do this by attaaching a fuel pressure test gauge to the fuel line, and while running the engine at 2,000 rpm, with transmission in drive, observe and record the fuel pressure for two minuets. The fuel pressure should remain within 5 psi of specifications.
PS: An idle fuel pressure check—“Yeah, it’s fine.”-- isn’t a valid test.
By saying the engine “catches” almost sounds like a slip in the transmission. Even though the shop checked it, check the fluid level. Replace it if its at the recommended replacement interval (as found in the manual). Otherwise, is the check engine light on at all? That would be a good place to start.