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2016 Taurus


ice-capades

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  • 5 months later...

My 2014 Taurus SHO has abysmal gas mileage, about 15-16 mpg in the city and an absolute lifetime max of 23 mpg with 100% highway driving from Southeast Michigan to Grand Rapids. The interior is cramped, I'm 6 feet 150 lb and it is a chore getting into and out of the vehicle, especially more so with the surgery I had. The trunk is good, but not as good as a 1981 Ford Thunderbird. I can fit my golf clubs and a Clic Gear golf cart - and that's about it. Had I known exactly what the Performance Package included (namely the PTU, engine oil, and additional trans oil coolers), I would have ordered it with that package. Instead, the factory order guide, brochure, and sales person just mentioned the suspension changes (basically a thinner front anti-roll bar, springs, shocks, brakes) and some stuff like tires, but I later learned that the brake pads and rotors are the same. The ability to turn off AdvanceTrac is nice, and the 3.16 final drive would have been good as well - but the PTU cooler is by far the single reason to get it. It seems the Police Interceptors with AWD are able to burn out the PTU in 30k-60k miles. The official reason seems to be uneven tire wear from the fronts, causing the PTUs to overheat the 0.5 qt of 75W-140 they use. And the PTU is used across the D3/D4 platform, and Mazda as well - with similar complaints from the Mazda crossovers. There's only a fill plug on the PTU's without the cooler (PTU's with the integrated cooler have a drain plug for regular maintenance) so you have to suck out the 0.5 qt of gear oil, and pump in fresh fluid. The Performance Package essentially gives you the Police Interceptor Sedan AWD 3.5 EcoBoost trim: revised steering knuckles, revised front hubs, revised brake dust shields (for additional cooling), and etc... But no one told me any of this up front. I knew it came with summer racing tires, and I had to pick up the car in January with about 6 inches of ice and snow in the subdivisions.

 

Here's what the Ford Ordering Guide said about the Perf Pkg:

Sport Tuned Suspension

Performance Brake Pads

EPAS Calibrated Steering

ESC Track Mode/True Off

3.16 Final Drive

Alcantara steering wheel

20" wheels with summer tire compound and mobility kit

 

Here's what it actually comes with: stiffer shocks and springs, 27mm front anti-roll bar vs 29mm bar, the pads are the same across the board, the steering is recalibrated, AdvanceTrac can be shut off, the 3.16 final drive and steering wheel cover, summer tires, 20" wheels, revised brake dust shields, revised front knuckles, revised front hubs, 141 mph speed limiter (vs 131 mph, Police is 150-151 mph), unique PTU with integrated cooler and drain plug, engine oil cooler (routes coolant to the oil filter housing, similar to what is found on trucks), an additional transmission oil cooler that sits on the lowest spot behind the grille area. Based on my estimates, the stock trans cooler is 18k GVW (the top portion of the A/C condenser) and the additional cooler provides an added 18k GVW capacity. There is a thermostat unit that opens up the ATF to the coolers at around 180F. So far with ambient temps below 80F, the ATF has never exceeded 180F in normal driving conditions.

 

The battery also died in the car, completely drained. I think it is because of a San Disk USB 3.0 Fit flash drive, so I stopped using a flash drive for music. The trunk is rubbing a hole in the rear fascia and the trunk is rubbed down to bare metal due to contact with the rear fender (trunk misalignment from the factory). The front right fender sticks way up above the hood line. Closer inspection shows that the fender is probably not stamped correctly, and sticks out past the side door and above the front of the hood. The rear of the hood sticks up about 5 mm over the fender. I looked at other SHO's made between 2013-2015 in the parking lot and most of them exhibit similar conditions (also on SEL/Limited) especially with the trunk rubbing.

 

The overall quality is astoundingly terrible, even for a Ford especially one that MSRP's over $40k. I've had cheaper factory ordered Fords that had much better quality. My 2000 Crown Vic after all these years is still running solid.

 

That said, my lease is up in January 2017, but there's absolutely no word on whether a 2017 SHO will be available or a solid last day to order a 2016 SHO. I would order a 2017 SHO with the Performance Package and Navigation, then proceed to add a 3-bar MAP and tune it for more boost, faster shifting, and higher revlimiters/shift points - only if they existed in MY 2017. I am not enamored enough with the 2017 Fusion Sport to consider ordering one, they look too normal and the 2.7L V6 doesn't make enough power. Most of the dyno's I've seen for the 2.7L EcoBoost show the torque is on-spec, but the horsepower is overrated by about 20 hp (engine actually produces about 304-305 hp when it is advertised for 325 hp, the wheel horsepower is about on-par with the 4.6L 3V V8 in the S197 Mustang GTs).

Edited by metroplex
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I can likely pinpoint why your MPG sucks, based on your statements.

 

What confused me though is why on earth you would order another car of the same model that you apparently hate. None of that performance stuff is going to help the cramped interior either.

 

I guess I'm just confused. :headscratch::confused:

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The 100% highway MPG pretty much rules out a lead foot since it was entirely just highway cruising at 70-75 MPH with zero shenanigans. I was able to get 23 MPG during that one trip. The battery died suddenly without warning, and this is a car that was driven every day. One of the cells was completely shot and I wasn't able to revive the battery. I don't know if you were insinuating that I didn't drive the car much, or if I had a lead foot.

 

I could see past the terrible quality issues from the Chicago plant and just change the PTU oil every 20k-30k miles. The cramped interior makes it easy to brace myself during turns. There aren't any other interesting Fords (aside from Mustang) that I could use as a daily driver year-round in Michigan. They won't accept A/D/X/Z plan on the Focus RS or Raptor, so I'm not paying sticker or anything above sticker.

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The 100% highway MPG pretty much rules out a lead foot since it was entirely just highway cruising at 70-75 MPH with zero shenanigans. I was able to get 23 MPG during that one trip. The battery died suddenly without warning, and this is a car that was driven every day. One of the cells was completely shot and I wasn't able to revive the battery. I don't know if you were insinuating that I didn't drive the car much, or if I had a lead foot.

 

I could see past the terrible quality issues from the Chicago plant and just change the PTU oil every 20k-30k miles. The cramped interior makes it easy to brace myself during turns. There aren't any other interesting Fords (aside from Mustang) that I could use as a daily driver year-round in Michigan. They won't accept A/D/X/Z plan on the Focus RS or Raptor, so I'm not paying sticker or anything above sticker.

Wow- guess I'm lucky. I have a 2010 SHO-never been back to dealer since day I picked it up until battery died last year and I could not believe it was the battery as it was a sudden and complete failure. in any case I DON't have the Perf package and I NEVER get under 23 mpg- average mixed driving-mixed to me is rural secondary and 200 mile RT interstate trips. I'm also easy on it- original Eagles made 70,000 with plenty on the wear bars but I was not paying attention and had an alignment issue.

 

I'm 6-2, 205. Is it as comfortable as my 07 CV Sport? Not really-it is cramped! But I'm thinking of looking for a certified pre owned 2014 just for the warranty protection-then again, I know what I have-never beat on it. Just wonder about the "yahoos" that have 365 HP and just have to use it.

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.

Yes...that is definitely Ford's fault...their battery manufacturing process sucks....

 

Speaking of, our Flex just eats batteries. We are on the 5th battery in 7 years, each of the first 3 dying right after its warranty was up. For the fourth, I decided to go with a Motor Craft since they SEEM to last longer than the el cheapos (if $100 is cheap) I buy at the parts store. It lasted 2 months and died. Dead cell. They replaced it under warranty, so we are on #5 now. I've never had a car this bad on batteries before. I just replaced the ORIGINAL batteries in my '08 Super Duty about 3 months ago.

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Speaking of, our Flex just eats batteries. We are on the 5th battery in 7 years, each of the first 3 dying right after its warranty was up. For the fourth, I decided to go with a Motor Craft since they SEEM to last longer than the el cheapos (if $100 is cheap) I buy at the parts store. It lasted 2 months and died. Dead cell. They replaced it under warranty, so we are on #5 now. I've never had a car this bad on batteries before. I just replaced the ORIGINAL batteries in my '08 Super Duty about 3 months ago.

 

If you have a local Catapiller heavy equipment dealer, check out their batteries. They have a better warranty than anyone out there. And they are rated for extreme cold temps. For my Montego, they didn't have an exact match. But one was close. Had no issues installing it and the bar that holds the battery in. I live in ND, cold cranking amps are needed. And I have gone 5 years on just about every battery. One died at 3. Just a thought for your next battery purchase.

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If you have a local Catapiller heavy equipment dealer, check out their batteries. They have a better warranty than anyone out there. And they are rated for extreme cold temps. For my Montego, they didn't have an exact match. But one was close. Had no issues installing it and the bar that holds the battery in. I live in ND, cold cranking amps are needed. And I have gone 5 years on just about every battery. One died at 3. Just a thought for your next battery purchase.

 

Hmmm, I never thought of that. We do have one nearby so I will check them out next time. Thanks for the tip!

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They have one that is a direct fit for the Ford F series trucks. I think my battery is rated at something like 850 CCA, but they rate it at zero F. Not 32 like most makers. You can tell they are a heafty battery by the weight difference. First time I fired the truck up with one of these batteries, it felt like the truck was trying to leap out of the engine bay. You could really tell the amperage difference from the Ford battery I had in it originally.

 

The one in my truck is the one that died before the full warranty was up. But on the good side, I was still in the pro rated warranty zone. So I still got it "half off" of a new battery price. Which was still cheaper than a new battery from Ford if I had to pay full price. I don't recall the warranty periods off the top of my head though.

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Even with the new battery in the Taurus, I kept getting the "System shutting down to save power" message during the winter repeatedly, even after driving the car on a daily basis. I believe it was the San Disk USB 3.0 flash drive that was draining the power, but the original battery died without warning and I had a different San Disk drive in there at the time. I've stopped using the USB ports now.

 

I ran FORScan on a co-worker's Fusion which is about the same age as my Taurus, and he's had the original battery in there. The Ford BMS showed the state of charge at 77% (versus the 35% I was seeing with the replacement battery in my SHO) even with nearly 3 years of service. A note on 2011-up Fords, if you replace the battery, the dealer has to reset the BMS or you can do it using FORScan. Or, you can hook up a charger with the negative attached to chassis (not the negative terminal) and leave the car alone for about 12 hours for the BMS to reset the SOC. The BMS uses a hall effect sensor on the negative cable to monitor the current going in/out of the battery. If you replace the battery without resetting the BMS, it won't charge correctly.

 

What I ended up doing was using a Pulsetech XC100P whenever I wasn't driving the SHO, and using a 5W solar charger panel whenever there was sun outside in the parking lots.

 

I'm pretty sure Caterpillar didn't make those batteries. There are only a few manufacturers that produce batteries in the US under a variety of different brands/labels. I've never had any factory Motorcraft batteries last more than 2-3 years, and the only exception was the one in my 2007 Mustang GT where I had a Tender on it whenever the car wasn't driven. The one time I forgot to put a tender on it for a week, the battery was dead and was 5 years old at the time. I've used a variety of replacement batteries, ranging from Advance Auto's Autocraft Gold, Meijer's Pro Cell Silver (8+ years going on strong), to Sears Die Hard Gold with great success. The OEM Delco factory battery is still in my Cobalt SS Turbo and is about 7 years old (it is labeled as a 6 year battery). I've kept a Tender on it whenever it was in storage, so we'll see how long it lasts.

 

I've also replaced my 800mA Battery Tenders with desulfating chargers like Pulsetech's XC100P (2.5A) and the BatteryMINDer (1.5A) which are all smart chargers but have a pulsing desulfation circuit to help extend the service life. Don't bother with CTEK, NOCO, Battery Tender, or Schumacher other than for basic "smart" charging, because none of them have the full-time desulfation circuitry. NOCO and CTEK claim to have some type of desulfation mode or repair mode, but from what I have researched they either don't work or don't work as well as the Pulsetech and BatteryMINDer.

Edited by metroplex
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I seriously tried to convince my wife she wanted a leftover 2015 Taurus instead of ordering her Mustang. She drove it, said, "Meh. Nice car, but no nicer than my 2011 Malibu." So Mustang it is.

 

Surprised to hear the Taurus appears to be on its last legs.

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Why is the Driver Assist Package not availible when you order the performance package in the SHO? In fact, the DA package should be standard. If this is the last year of this model if all indicators point to, just throw it all together and call it a day.

 

 

Actually its pretty simple..the transmission/PTU cooler on the Performance package doesn't allow for the installation of sensors for the Driver Assist Package...

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