2008 Ford Taurus problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Vehicle Speed Control (32) · Steering (30) · Power Train (25)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Ford Taurus model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
162 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (1)
Air Bags:frontal 2016-04-26 · campaign 16V247000 · 695 vehicles
Defect: 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."
Risk: An improperly inflated air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the driver's frontal air bag module, as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on June 13, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C06.
Service bulletins (17)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Equipment:appliance:air Conditioner 2019-07-02 · SSM 48070 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2009-2017 expedition/navigator, 2009-2014 f-150/mustang, 2008-2009 sable, 2008-2019 taurus/flex/mkt, 2013-2019 police interceptor sedan/utility, and 2011-2019 explorer vehicles may exhibit inoperative or intermittent hvac blower motor function at various fan speed settings. this may be due to a
Equipment 2018-03-30 · SSM 47201 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
replacing the original equipment sync/navigation system with either an aftermarket sync/navigation kit or modifying original sync/navigation parts to provide additional features is not recommended nor supported on any ford, mercury or lincoln vehicle. only approved genuine ford accessories or origin
Equipment:electrical 2018-01-10 · SSM 47009 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the accessory (wireless) keyless entry keypad can only be used with vehicles that are factory built with remote keyless entry (rke). the master code for the accessory (wireless) keyless entry keypad can be retrieved from fmcdealer - parts and service - parts product line information - keys/entry dev
Equipment:electrical 2018-01-10 · SSM 47009 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the accessory (wireless) keyless entry keypad can only be used with vehicles that are factory built with remote keyless entry (rke). the master code for the accessory (wireless) keyless entry keypad can be retrieved from fmcdealer - parts and service - parts product line information - keys/entry dev
Power Train:driveline 2017-02-27 · SSM 46412 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2007-2016 edge/mkx/flex/mkt/mkz/mks/taurus/taurus police/explorer/explorer police equipped with all wheel drive (awd) and built on or before 30-jun-2016 may exhibit a ticking and/or knocking noise coming from the driveline area. to identify this noise, refer to workshop manual (wsm), section 10
Equipment 2017-01-24 · SSM 46332 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
replacing the original equipment sync/navigation system with either an aftermarket sync/navigation kit or modifying original sync/navigation parts to provide additional features is not recommended nor supported on any ford, mercury or lincoln vehicle. only approved genuine ford accessories or origin
Showing the 6 most recent of 17 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-01-30 · Vehicle Speed Control · 142,000 mi · 💥 crash“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 air bags did not deploy. the c…”
2023-12-10 · Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings · 💥 crash“my son was in an accident to where the whole front end was smashed and neither airbag deployed…”
2023-11-16 · Power Train · 85,367 mi“the contact owns a 2008 ford taurus. the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and making a turn, the vehicle became inoperable. the contact shifted into park and restarted the vehicle. the contact stated while reversing, she heard an abnormal sound. the check engine and several other unknown warning lights illuminated. the vehicle h…”
2022-10-18 · Suspension:subframe/Mounting Bracket · 36,000 mi“the contact owns a 2008 ford taurus. the contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for an inspection, the dealer advised him to stop driving the vehicle due to corrosion of the subframe, caliper, steering arm, brakes, and a hole in the catalytic converter. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failur…”
2022-09-02 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 170,000 mi“the contact owns a 2008 ford taurus. the contact stated while driving approximately 45 mph, the vehicle stalled however, she was able to pull over and stop the vehicle. the contact stated that she noticed that the check engine warning light was illuminated. additionally, the engine temperature gauge was indicating that the engine was overheating. t…”
2022-04-16 · Unknown Or Other · 🔥 fire“only regular maintenence < drove to desination and parked car and car set on fire , at first it was smoking so we called the fire department and by the time they got there the flames were 10 ft high and the whole front was burnt and melted my car ia junk now , before this all gauges worked jst fine and nothing un-ordinary stuff going on…”
2021-07-09 · Structure:frame And Members:underbody Shields“the contact owns a 2008 ford taurus. the contact stated that the subframe was completely rusted through. the vehicle was towed and diagnosed but was not repaired. the manufacturer was not informed of the failure. the failure mileage was unavailable.…”
2021-03-25 · Suspension · 110,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford taurus. the contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle swayed. there were no warning lights illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. the local dealer was not contacted. the vehicle was not dia…”
2020-10-16 · Vehicle Speed Control · 157,087 mi“this has happened about 3 times in the last 2 yrs but while sitting at a light my car suddenly went forward. it didn't go.to far. maybe a ft or 2 but was enough to scare me. my foot was on the brake. it will also get stuck in gears and lose power on the road. no check engine light is on as of now. one light did come on today while sitting…”
2020-07-16 · Unknown Or Other“the car looses power. the rpm go up but speedometer doesn't move. dash shows dashes. when you stop and cut the car off and turn it back on it slams into gear. after waiting a few minutes the car drives fine…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.