1999 Ford Taurus cruise control, horn not working

PRAMEYA

MEMBER
1999 FORD TAURUS

1999 Ford Taurus 6 cyl 140000 miles

I bought a used 1999 ford taurus about 3 months ago.

It is my first car and I don't know much about it so only after I bought it did I find all the things that were wrong with it.

I had 1 tire replaced, and it passed inspection at a garage the old owner used to frequent.

So, I am guessing he didn't even check everything.

Here are the list of problems,

1) When braking in high speed the steering wheel vibrates (the seller said he had the brakes replaced by his friend, and the garage person says the brakes needs to be replaced and would cost me $400) I have not yet fixed that, because I found that I could not trust the garage guy...

2) The horn does not work, the alarm and the key sounds work, so i guess they must have different sound makers?

3) cruise control does not work, the on light does not even turn on when i press on. Also it does not light when i turn the car key on. I saw this from your site (http://www.2carpros.com/forum/1999-ford-taurus--cruise-control-trouble-vt209102.html) and tried to run the test... when I turn the key it blinks but there is no blinks after that...

3) The car drives really rough... as if there is no shocks at all... does this mean i have to replace the struts...?? that's what the garage guy said... again the price tag was like $600...

4) the heater does not work, i tried to change the thermostat but i could not get all the bolts open... i plan to take the car to the shop for this...

5) the ABS light keeps coming on... and off on random.. the seller said it might be dead... and I should not worry since the brake works... and that i should just be careful

** Now since, the horn, abs, and cruise control don't work I dunno if the air bags works and it scares me... can you please tell me how much it SHOULD cost for me to replace each thing? Like if I had to replace the cruise control computer or something? I dunno if there is even such a thing.. but please advise something...

2 Replies

PRAMEYA

MEMBER
2 POSTS

I will donate much more after I see some real answer. I was scammed before. So just being careful. Sorry no offense :)

btw. Happy holidays and a happy new year to all!

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Tuesday, December 30th, 2008 AT 5:55 PM

RACEFAN966

MECHANIC
5,029 POSTS

Ok first off with what you are discribing about the vibration it may be worped front brake rotors but first you should lift the front of the car and check the inner and outer tie rods as if there is any play it will do that too. So lift one front tire off the ground and shake it like you are trying to turn it from left to right and see if there is a lot of movement. Now if all it tight then check the brake pads if they look new then put on rotors they are very easy to do really. Also do your self a favor get a repair manual for you car weather you buy one from a parts store or borrow one from the library it will help a bunch so you can do your own repairs ok.
Now on the ride issues with what you are discribing you are in need of struts and shocks. Now this is another repair you can do yourself call the local parts stores and find one that rents strut spring compressor and buy your parts there and do you own work just make sure you schedule an aligment to be done right after you have replaced them as the alignment will change.
Now the horn it is the same horn weather you push on the horn button or use you PATS system. So we need to figure out why the button wont activate it. It will probably be the horn pad but with air bags you must deactivate the air bags in order to replace this so this may be something to have the shop check when they do the thermostat.
As for the heat let me know what happens when you have the thermostat replaced and we go from there if we need to.
As for the ABS light hopefully it has set a code. So call around to the parts stores in your area and see if one does a free scan and get me any codes that may be there.
As for the cruise not working that may tied to your abs problem so once again get me any codes and lets see where that takes us. It could also be the steering wheel pad the buttons may be bad so lets take it as we can. Get back to me with what you can and we take it a problem at a time it is much easier to make a list then check it off as we go ok. Thanks and Happy New Year.