2010 Ford Taurus

No clear pattern

17.5% of complaints about the 2010 Ford Taurus arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2010 vehicle, but with only 280 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is steering (41 complaints), typically at 8.8 yr or about 103,000 miles.

Complaints: 280
Median age at failure: 5.6 yr
Median mileage: 45,000 n=231
Crash / fire / tow: 12.9% of reports
Safety recalls: 3

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Steering

41 reports · 103,000 mi

8.8 yr

17.1%

Engine

37 reports · 68,000 mi

6.4 yr

8.1%

Power train

36 reports · 14,000 mi

1.8 yr

13.9%

Speed control

25 reports · 29,000 mi

4.9 yr

24%

Service brakes, hydraulic

19 reports · 10,000 mi

1.3 yr

5.3%

Electrical system

19 reports · 41,000 mi

3.6 yr

10.5%

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

16V247000 2016-04-26

Air bags:frontal

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2009-2012 Ford Flex, 2008 and 2010-2012 Ford Taurus, 2008-2009 Ford Taurus X, 2008 Mercury Sable, 2009 and 2011 Lincoln MKS vehicles. The driver frontal air bag may improperly inflate during second-stage deployment in the event of a high speed crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

An improperly inflated air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

15V040000 2015-01-28

Structure:body:door

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2010-2013 Ford Taurus vehicles manufactured December 1, 2009, to July 31, 2010, and 2011-2013 Lincoln MKS vehicles manufactured June 1, 2011, to October 31, 2011. In the affected vehicles, the interior door handle return spring may unseat, resulting in interior door handle that does not return to the fully stowed position after actuation.

If the interior door handle return spring is unseated, the door may unlatch in the event of a side impact crash, increasing the risk of personal injury.

14V285000 2014-05-29

Exterior lighting

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Taurus vehicles manufactured November 24, 2008, through February 28, 2014, originally sold in, or currently registered in, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. When used in areas that use road salt, the license plate lamp assembly may experience an electro-chemical reaction and corrosion as a result of water intrusion.

This corrosion may result in a short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.

In owners’ own words

Power train 1,500 mi 4 mo in service crash / fire / tow

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 FORD TAURUS. THE VEHICLE WAS EQUIPPED WITH A "PUSH START" SWITCH. THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF WITH THE GEAR SHIFT PLACED IN THE "DRIVE" POSITION AND SUDDENLY, THE VEHICLE ROLLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE OCCURRED ON FOUR SEPARATE OCCASIONS. THE CONTACT HAD CONCERNS OF THE POTENTIAL SAFETY HAZARD. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,500. UPDATED 6/1/10 *CN THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE ROLLED FORWARD AND HIT A PARKED VEHICLE, DUE TO THE PARK GEAR NOT ENGAGING AUTOMATICALLY. UPDATED 06/18/10

Power train 1,800 mi 3 mo in service

TL*-THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 FORD TAURUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT SPEEDS ABOVE 50 MPH THE VEHICLE WOULD SUDDENLY DOWNSHIFT AND LOCK INTO FIRST GEAR. THE VEHICLE WOULD REMAIN IN FIRST GEAR UNTIL IT WAS SHUT OFF AND RESTARTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALERSHIP HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED AT THE TIME OF THE COMPLAINT. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 1,800. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 4,260.

Power train 11,300 mi 7 mo in service

TRANSMISSION "CATCHES" WHILE DRIVING AT SPEED CAUSING THE CAR TO HESITATE. FEELS AS THOUGH THE VEHICLE WILL STALL AND CAUSE A REAR END TYPE OF ACCIDENT. *TR

Speed control 3,200 mi 6 mo in service crash / fire / tow

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 FORD TAURUS. WHILE DRIVING 15 MPH THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED WITHOUT WARNING CAUSING THE CONTACT TO CRASH INTO A HILL. THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER WERE INJURED DURING THE CRASH. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED BY THE DEALER AND THERE WERE NO PRIOR WARNINGS. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 3200. UPDATED 5/3/10 *CN UPDATED 06/10/10.*JB

Other Taurus model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.