120K miles 2002 Ford Taurus
I was driving my car on a highway after having unrelated issues repaired by mechanic the week prior.
I hit the gas after I was at stop light and the engine felt like it stalled and immediately the check engine light came on and the yellow exclamation point symbol on the dash started blinking. I pulled into a parking lot and had my car towed home.
Last week my regular mechanic charged me $1100 to replace the timing cover gasket, new water pump, coolant refill, and $55 to check and lubricate chassis. $735 of this $1100 was just in labor costs and the rest was parts and the coolant refill.
I also had a brand new battery put in 3 days ago for $200 from AAA.
I took the car to a different shop closer to my house today and they told me the error code reader said I need to replace the valve cover gasket, oxygen sensor, and transmission. They actually just wrote down the issues on a piece of paper and said "valve cover gasket, oxygen sensor codes, transmission codes".
The shop told me $2000 for the transmission rebuild and $600 minimum for the oxygen sensor codes.
I need my car and I cant afford to buy a used car or finance a car. I am in desperate need of help.
Can I have a mechanic buy a used transmission for $400 or less and then pay another $400 in labor costs to replace it? I can't spend $2000 on this 20 year old car but I need transportation and I am at my wits end. Is it possible that the issue is something easier like cleaning the fuel filter? I don't know what would cause the acceleration to stall when the car stops so I have to assume the mechanic is right about the transmission being bad.
A last note I'll say is that the car seems to drive okay when I get up to 30mph but if I stop at a light, it takes 5 seconds or so after hitting the gas to get the car moving at all.
Thank you for reading this long winded post
I took the car to a different shop closer to my house today and they told me the error code reader said I need to replace the valve cover gasket, oxygen sensor, and transmission.
That's ridiculous. Codes don't tell you what parts to replace, they tell you conditions exist that may have multiple potential causes and further diagnosis is needed. In particular there is of course no "code" related to the valve cover gasket - if they really said that they are lying through their teeth. You need to find an honest mechanic.
I also had a brand new battery put in 3 days ago for $200 from AAA.
You could have gotten a battery from WalMart for about 1/2 that price.
it takes 5 seconds or so after hitting the gas to get the car moving at all.
Is it because the engine doesn't respond, or because the transmission is not engaging? Have you checked the transmission fluid? How old are your air and fuel filters? Have you checked fuel pressure? Spark plugs?
What are the specific codes?
You're spending thousands of dollars with your mechanics yet you don't even know what dtc (codes) are being set.
Why not spend $100 on a BlueDriver Bluetooth Pro scanner and see for yourself?
Between the codes and the Live Data we may be able to figure this out for free.
But a 2002 Taurus makes me wonder about the head gasket because they're great cars but they don't tolerate overheating. So before buying the scanner, maybe buy one of those Combustion Gas Testers (around $30) and rule that out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0U8Iyf0kk4
I checked my transmission fluid and it fills about 30% of the XXX area which indicates to me that it is sufficiently filled.
Did you check it per manufacturer procedure, which usually is at operating temperature in Park or Neutral with the engine idling, on level ground? What does the fluid look like? It should be red, maybe a little dark but not really dirty or gritty.
The best way I can describe it is that every time the car is stopped and I have to hit the gas to accelerate after a red light turns green for example, the car barely moves, it is as if the car is in neutral for a good 5 seconds before then accelerating.
Does the engine rev up before the car starts moving? If so then you have a transmission problem. That can be caused by low fluid, but if it's been like that for a while you've been burning up the transmission internals. On the other hand, if the engine is bogging down then you have a different problem.
I do not know how old my air and fuel filters are.
Then they are probably way overdue for replacement in a car that old. Those are regular maintenance items. (The AC filter is NOT the same thing.) If those filters clog up they can cause the engine to bog down or even stop running. It's sounding like that car is suffering from a severe lack of maintenance.
The mechanic really should have given you the codes. We really can't tell what's going on from here without them. If you don't have an OBD2 scanner most auto parts stores will check codes for free, however depending on their equipment transmission codes may not show up.
That's ridiculous. Codes don't tell you what parts to replace, they tell you conditions exist that may have multiple potential causes and further diagnosis is needed. In particular there is of course no "code" related to the valve cover gasket - if they really said that they are lying through their teeth. You need to find an honest mechanic.
Thank you for replying so quickly, I really appreciate the help.
The mechanic wrote down on a piece of paper the issues which reads "valve cover gasket, oxygen sensor codes, transmission codes" and based on this suggested that I scrap the car because he assumed that the transmission would need to be replaced. I think he may have said valve cover gasket because there's a tiny amount of smoke coming out near the right headlight that my regular mechanic did not notice/fix.
Is it because the engine doesn't respond, or because the transmission is not engaging? Have you checked the transmission fluid? How old are your air and fuel filters? Have you checked fuel pressure? Spark plugs?
What are the specific codes?
I am not sure what you mean by "Is it because the engine doesn't respond, or because the transmission is not engaging?" The best way I can describe it is that every time the car is stopped and I have to hit the gas to accelerate after a red light turns green for example, the car barely moves, it is as if the car is in neutral for a good 5 seconds before then accelerating. Once I get up to speed, say 20-30 mph or more, then the car feels like there is no problem at all and it runs smoothly.
I checked my transmission fluid and it fills about 30% of the XXX area which indicates to me that it is sufficiently filled.
I do not know how old my air and fuel filters are. I did have my AC filter changed about one and a half years ago if that is the same thing. I did not check the fuel pressure or spark plugs. To be honest, I am very ignorant of what I should be checking but I will do my best to look into the things you mentioned. In terms of checking these four things, are there any signs I should be looking for which would indicate that they are the culprit?
Thank you for replying, again.
What are the specific codes?
The mechanic who checked the codes did not provide me with them and I do not have a device to check myself, unfortunately 🙁