Ford Taurus 1996–2019

Summary

24 model years in 4 generations, 11,791 owner complaints in total.
Within their own generation, 2000 drew the most complaints in the first three years.
These are complaint counts, not failure rates: they are not divided by how many cars were sold, because no public source reports U.S. sales by model year.
Half of the complaints that give a mileage were filed by 78,500 miles (7,427 of them give one).
Owners reported 811 crashes, 179 fires, 701 injuries and 29 deaths across these model years.
50 recalls and 14 federal investigations cover these model years.

1996–1999

Each year is counted over the same span: complaints received up to two calendar years after its model year. A year is compared only when that span is over and it holds at least 50 complaints. Median of the comparable years: 242.

Model year	All complaints	First three years	Most reported system
1996	850	266	Engine
1997	800	225	Powertrain
1998	559	214	Accelerator & Cruise Control
1999	903	259	Suspension

Engine is the largest group in 1 of the 4 compared years.

2000–2007

Model year	All complaints	First three years	Most reported system	Note
2000	1,195	340	Suspension	most complaints
2001	1,037	214	Suspension
2002	1,426	143	Suspension
2003	1,223	130	Powertrain
2004	375	48	Accelerator & Cruise Control	not compared
2005	774	47	Accelerator & Cruise Control	not compared
2006	318	33	Accelerator & Cruise Control	not compared
2007	149	25	Accelerator & Cruise Control	not compared

Suspension is the largest group in 3 of the 4 compared years.

2008–2009

Model year	All complaints	First three years	Most reported system	Note
2008	328	61	Powertrain
2009	75	33	Engine	not compared

2010–2019

Model year	All complaints	First three years	Most reported system	Note
2010	204	62	Engine
2011	187	47	Electrical System	not compared
2012	79	18	Steering	not compared
2013	591	53	Steering
2014	235	33	Fuel & Propulsion	not compared
2015	283	35	Fuel & Propulsion	not compared
2016	86	10	Driver Assistance	not compared
2017	44	12	Electrical System	not compared
2018	52	6	Driver Assistance	not compared
2019	18	2	Driver Assistance	not compared

Every model year

A model year gets its own page when four sources cover it, it holds at least 50 complaints, and it either compares with the other years of its generation or shows one system in 40% or more of the complaints that name a component. The rest are listed here with their figures.

Model year	Complaints	Recalls	Investigations	Bulletins	Combined MPG	Page
1996	850	9	0	292	18–21	yes
1997	800	6	0	263	18–21	yes
1998	559	5	0	211	18–20	yes
1999	903	8	2	208	18–20	yes
2000	1,195	8	9	184	19–20	yes
2001	1,037	10	8	110	19–20	yes
2002	1,426	4	4	96	19–21	yes
2003	1,223	4	4	64	19–21	yes
2004	375	2	2	55	19–20	yes
2005	774	1	2	31	19–20	yes
2006	318	3	1	13	20	yes
2007	149	1	1	8	20	listed here
2008	328	1	1	27	18–22	listed here
2009	75	1	0	21	18–21	listed here
2010	204	3	0	38	20–22	listed here
2011	187	4	0	49	20–22	listed here
2012	79	5	0	53	20–22	listed here
2013	591	9	0	99	20–25	yes
2014	235	5	0	88	20–26	listed here
2015	283	6	0	83	20–26	listed here
2016	86	4	0	111	19–23	yes
2017	44	4	0	102	19–23	listed here
2018	52	4	0	75	19–21	listed here
2019	18	2	0	55	19–21	listed here

What owners report across all years

System	Complaints	Share	Median mileage
Suspension	2,684	23%	80,000 mi
Accelerator & Cruise Control	1,748	15%	94,000 mi
Powertrain	1,559	13%	80,000 mi
Engine	1,462	13%	76,000 mi
Steering	1,008	9%	85,000 mi

Shares are over complaints that name a component; a complaint naming several systems is counted under each.

Suspension

Owner report Components Involved: Engine Block Mounting Boss, Intermediate Shaft Bracket (Service Part # DB5Z-3K305-CA), Factory Bolt (OEM # W500131-S437) Incident Overview: During a low-speed (about 5mph) lateral impact to the front-right wheel against a curb, expected sacrificial suspension damage occurred (snapped CV axle, sepa…

Owner report Bushing of the driver side rear toe link (aka lateral link, toe arm, etc.) separated, causing the rest of the toe link to disconnect from the tire. Images are available but the original part has been taken by the mechanic. Bushing likely failed from corrosion, though this vehicle only spent 4 of its 10 years in a heavi…

Accelerator & Cruise Control

Owner report The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the front driver's side seat belt had failed to unbuckle and was previously repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously rear-ended on several occasions, and the …

Owner report Unknown. Car was going 100 mph. Driver, my son , was killed in this car accident. This year make AND model is known for throttle acceleration issues with brake afail override non existent until later models. Case number [XXX] sterling heights police department INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATIO…

Powertrain

Owner report The contact owns a 2015 Ford Taurus. The contact received notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to complete the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the rearview camera image was blank or inverted while reversing. The contact stated that the manufa…

Owner report The contact owns a 2018 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that upon parking the vehicle on a slightly inclined parking lot, the vehicle started rolling backwards. The contact engaged the electric parking brake, and the vehicle responded as intended. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while parking the…

Largest recalls

Campaign	Component	Filed	Vehicles
25V695000	BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA	2025-10-13	1,448,655
01V258000	VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:MOTOR	2001-08-08	1,083,000
04V106000	EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH	2004-03-02	938,789
04V332000	SUSPENSION:FRONT:SPRINGS:COIL SPRINGS	2004-07-15	899,060
98V028000	EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS	1998-02-10	571,800

Whether a recall has been done on a specific car depends on its VIN; check it at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Open investigations

None open.

Service bulletins

Ford issued 2,336 service bulletins covering these model years, most often about engine and engine cooling.

A bulletin tells dealers how to fix a known condition. It is not a recall and not a defect finding. Most bulletins cover several model years at once, so a bulletin listed here may not be specific to one year. The number of bulletins tracks how long and how widely a model was sold, so it is not a measure of reliability.

Date	Component	Summary
2026-09-30	POWER TRAIN	25E10-S1 Owner letter
2026-07-02	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	NEW VEHICLE DELIVERY HOLD - Emissions Recall 25E10 - Supplement #1 Certain 2018-2020 Model Year F-150 Vehicles With 3.3L Engines and 2016-2019 Model Year Explorer, Taurus, and Flex Vehicles With 3.5L Engines Powertrain Control Module (PCM) …
2026-03-25	BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING	Advance Notice – Customer Satisfaction Program 25N17 Certain 2015-2025 Model Year Multiple Vehicle Lines Rear View Camera Replacement If Required After Dealer Evaluation
2026-02-24	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	Ford and Lincoln vehicles equipped with wired keyless entry keypad systems and accessory wireless keyless entry keypad systems may or may not come with a wallet card containing the master code. Unlike the integrated wired keypad, the access…
2025-11-26	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	This article supersedes TSB 24-2165 to update the TSB Service Procedure. Some vehicles listed in the Model statement above may exhibit various SYNC performance related concerns including but not limited to: Display operation concerns Na…
2025-11-12	POWER TRAIN	Some 2015-2021 Ford and Lincoln vehicles may exhibit an illuminated MIL with diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) P0011, P0012, P0014, P0015, P0016, P0017, P0018, P0019, P0021, P0022, P0024 and/or P0025. Pinpoint test HK in the Powertrain Contro…
2024-10-10	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	While performing a transmission repair on some 2012-2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles, a transmission seal kit may be on backorder due to supply chain interruptions. …
2024-05-27	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	This article supersedes TSB 21-2175 to update the TSB Service Procedure. Some 2016 MKS, 2016-2017 Navigator, 2016-2018 F-150/Focus/C-MAX/Edge/Fiesta/MKX/Transit Connect/Mustang, 2017-2018 Continental/Fusion/MKZ, 2017-2019 Explorer, 2016-201…
2024-04-24	EQUIPMENT	All accessory stick-on keyless entry keypads come with a wallet card containing the master code. If the accessory keypad was factory installed, this card will be placed in the glove box and should be handed to the vehicles owner during ini…
2024-04-03	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	Various vehicles have had pinpoint tests, guided routines and the Warranty and Policy Manual recentlyupdated for diagnostics and repairs on SYNC generation 3 and later applications. When performingdiagnostics and repairs on SYNC Gen 3 or la…

How to read this page

Complaint counts are not failure rates. A model that sells more cars draws more complaints, and owners file more after news coverage or a recall. That is why years are compared only with other years of the same generation, over the same span, and never with other models.

Sources

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation: complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer communications (data as of 2026-10-28).
U.S. EPA / DOE fueleconomy.gov: engines and fuel economy.

This page summarises public records; it is not a mechanical inspection.