I have a 2003 Taurus that runs fine until I stop at a traffic light and then has a misfire about every 5-10 seconds. This diminishes greatly if I put the car in neutral or park while I wait. I have had the spark plugs changed twice without any help. It seems to be more severe in hotter weather. When I was visiting LA, I noticed my cab driver who was driving a 2003 Taurus always put his car into neutral at stop lights as well and when I asked him it turned out that he and all of the other 2003s in their fleet had the same problem. Does anyone have an idea what is wrong? Thanks. MAG
It may be the coil pack going. Its the black box on top of the engine with the spark plug wires coming out of it. Basically it is a set of individual spark coils, one per cylinder. It will eventually set a code. A careful person with just a few tools can replace this for around 75$. The coils are heat sensitive due to their electrical bits. Did you replace the wires at all?
Your favorite auto supply store should be able to test the coil pack off of the car. The plug wires and their respective holes are numbered on the original parts. Be sure before you start pulling the wires, or label them yourself. You can test the plug wires yourself if you have an ohm meter. They should measure 5K to 15K ohms from end to end. Have they ever been replaced?