I have a 1997 Ford Taurus which has been a great car but recently I moved from Southern California to Albany New York and my car has begun to give me problems. When I drive my car below 50 mph nothing seems to happen all is fine but when I speed up to 50mph the car does something very odd. When I go to stop at a light or slow down the car begins to do a jerking forward and sometimes will cut off. When the car is in park all is well. I currently have it at the dealership and they thought it might be the vacuum but nothing is wrong there. Can someone help? Angie

I own a 2000 Taurus, with a 3.0L Duratec engine and AX4N transaxle, and it's a great car. These are relatively easy cars to properly maintain. Here's what I would recommend that you do:

1. Replace the platinum spark plugs with the exact Motorcraft plugs that came in the car. Ford recommends doing this every 100,000 miles; however, I recommend doing it every 50,000 miles.
2. Replace the fuel filter. Do this every 30,000 miles, just like Ford recommends.
3. Attach a scan tool to the data link connector and check for any codes. Autozone will do this for free.
4. Change the transmission fluid and filter. Be sure and do this every 30,000 miles, just like Ford recommends. I recommend you use Mobil 1 Synthetic Multi-Vehicle ATF and not just conventional Mercon V ATF. The automatic transaxles on these cars can cause problems, if not taken care of properly. In fact, problems with the transaxle can appear to be problems with the engine. Both the automatic transaxle and the engine are tied into the computer. That's why I suggest you drop and clean the pan, change the filter, and refill with Mobil 1 ATF (7 qts).

In the future, I suggest you also use 5W-30 Mobil 1 synthetic engine oil in your Taurus. Change it, along with the filter, every 6,000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. Using the Mobil 1 products will particularly help your performance, gas mileage, and protection in the cold, New York winters.

Sounds to me that it's an EGR valve issue. Yes, vacuum related. If the valve doesn't see completely closed, then symptoms like yours could develop.

Go to ford dealer and let them figure it out . Ford is to sensitive for just any old joe to work on. Trust me My wife is taking me to work tomorrow in our 92 plymouth voyager
Which runs great because our 98 ford escort is a piece of crarp,, because of ford.