Ford Taurus: which model years to avoid
Complaint and recall totals for every Ford Taurus model year we track, ranked by severity.
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls | Crashes | Fires | Severity | Most-reported system |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 78 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 28.2 Low | STEERING |
| 2013 | 587 | 9 | 20 | 6 | 53.8 Medium | STEERING |
| 2014 | 234 | 5 | 13 | 1 | 55.6 Medium | STEERING |
| 2015 | 258 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 38.0 Medium | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM |
| 2016 | 77 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 59.7 Medium | BACK OVER PREVENTION |
| 2017 | 43 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 27.9 Low | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2018 | 45 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 146.7 High | BACK OVER PREVENTION |
| 2019 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 100.0 High | BACK OVER PREVENTION |
Across 8 model years, the 2018 Ford Taurus carries the highest severity index (146.7, driven by back over prevention), while the 2017 is the cleanest at 27.9.
Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs. Complaint counts are not normalised by units sold; a high-volume seller will attract more filings than a rare trim.