What breaks most · 1990 to 2019 model years
Ford Taurus problems by year
Owners have filed 16,877 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Ford Taurus across model years 1990 to 2019. Three years stand out: 1993 for engine and cooling complaints, 2002 for suspension complaints and 2003 for powertrain and transmission complaints. The quietest years are 2017, 2009 and 2012.
- Years to check closely: 1993, 2002, 2003
- Fewest complaints: 2017, 2009, 2012
- Complaints on file
- 168771990 to 2019, all trims
- Worst year
- 19931557 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 1087367 fires · 938 injuries · 39 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 80kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 142Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 381 | 29 | 8 | Engine and cooling (78) | |
| 649 | 43 | 5 | Powertrain and transmission (260) | |
| 681 | 52 | 6 | Engine and cooling (217) | |
| 1557 | 54 | 8 | Engine and cooling (638) | |
| 923 | 51 | 5 | Engine and cooling (289) | |
| 1205 | 61 | 6 | Powertrain and transmission (394) | |
| 825 | 69 | 8 | Engine and cooling (214) | |
| 770 | 64 | 5 | Powertrain and transmission (214) | |
| 545 | 61 | 4 | Speed control and throttle (111) | |
| 874 | 61 | 7 | Suspension (180) | |
| 1195 | 102 | 8 | Suspension (443) | |
| 1037 | 92 | 10 | Suspension (515) | |
| 1426 | 75 | 4 | Suspension (962) | |
| 1223 | 56 | 4 | Powertrain and transmission (316) | |
| 375 | 36 | 2 | Speed control and throttle (164) | |
| 774 | 40 | 1 | Speed control and throttle (529) | |
| 318 | 19 | 3 | Speed control and throttle (176) | |
| 149 | 8 | 1 | Speed control and throttle (55) | |
| 175 | 19 | 1 | Powertrain and transmission (44) | |
| 64 | 9 | 0 | Engine and cooling (18) | |
| 204 | 17 | 3 | Steering (41) | |
| 187 | 14 | 4 | Electrical system (47) | |
| 78 | 1 | 5 | Body and structure (16) | |
| 583 | 20 | 9 | Steering (295) | |
| 228 | 13 | 5 | Steering (64) | |
| 268 | 12 | 6 | Fuel system (53) | |
| 80 | 4 | 4 | Backup camera and sensors (25) | |
| 44 | 1 | 4 | Electrical system (11) | |
| 48 | 3 | 4 | Backup camera and sensors (11) | |
| 15 | 1 | 2 | Backup camera and sensors (6) |
What fails on the 1993 Ford Taurus
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 41% |
638 | 3 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 1993 Ford Taurus |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 11% |
174 | 2 | Shop powertrain and transmission parts for the 1993 Ford Taurus |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 11% |
164 | 1 | Shop suspension parts for the 1993 Ford Taurus |
| VisibilityMirrors and glass | 10% |
157 | 1 | Shop visibility parts for the 1993 Ford Taurus |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 10% |
156 | 1 | Shop electrical system parts for the 1993 Ford Taurus |
| Exterior lightingHeadlights, tail lights and bulbs | 9% |
140 | 0 | Shop exterior lighting parts for the 1993 Ford Taurus |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 7% |
107 | 4 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 1993 Ford Taurus |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 4% |
69 | 0 | Shop body and structure parts for the 1993 Ford Taurus |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
The heat from the engine comes inside my car...making it hotter on the inside than outside..driving it yesterday the a/c fan froze up causing it to smoke and was undrivable. Just had it in for a major tune up a week ago yet still this problems occurs..
-
The car has experienced 2 failures of the right front strut spring resulting in destruction of the tire. First at 75,000 miles second at 100000 mi. Both tires flattened at between 30 & 50 mph
-
Had to replace my torque converter for $1,300 which is ridiculous considering there is only 87,000 miles. There has been thousands of complaints. FORD needs to fix this! Wouldn't leave park, had it towed out of my driveway.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Ford Taurus years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 1993, 2002, 2003 carry the most filings on the Ford Taurus. The 1993 alone has 1557 complaints, led by engine and cooling.
What is the most common Ford Taurus problem?
On the 1993 model year, the most-reported component is engine and cooling with 638 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Ford Taurus problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Ford Taurus complaints that include mileage is about 80,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.