2012 Ford Taurus problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Steering (15) · Structure:body (13) · Exterior Lighting (10)
🧭 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
51 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (5)
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.
Steering:electric Power Assist System 2015-06-02 · campaign 15V340000 · 393,623 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Ford Fusion vehicles without a 3.5L engine and Lincoln MKZ hybrid electric vehicles, 2011 Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with a 3.5L GTDI engine and 2013 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with any available engine. The affected vehicles have electric power steering assist systems that may shut down as a result of a ste
Risk: If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will check the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM) for Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC). If dealers find any loss of steering assist DTCs, the steering gear will be replaced, free of charge. If, no codes are found during the PSCM inspection, the PSCM software will be updated, free of charge. The recall began on July 21, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S18.
Structure:body:door 2015-01-28 · campaign 15V040000 · 194,889 vehicles
Defect: 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.
Risk: 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.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect all four of the interior door handles and either repair or replace them, free of charge. The recall began March 23, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S02.
Exterior Lighting 2014-05-29 · campaign 14V285000 · 183,425 vehicles
Defect: 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
Risk: This corrosion may result in a short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the license plate lamp assemblies, free of charge. The recall began on July 26, 2014. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-800-392-3673. Ford's number for this recall is 14S08. Note: Under program 14R01, Ford will notify owners in non-corrosion states, and, at the customer's request, dealers will replace the license plate lamp assembly.
Fuel System, Gasoline:storage:tank Assembly 2013-03-27 · campaign 13V109000 · 3,037 vehicles
Defect: Ford is recalling certain model year 2012 Taurus, Lincoln MKS, and model year 2013 Explorer vehicles manufactured July 19, 2011, through March 15, 2012. In the affected vehicles, the fuel tanks may have a marginally sealed seam in the side of the tank. As a result, the fuel tanks may not provide the expected strength in the event of an impact. The tanks may also leak.
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source may result in a fire.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the fuel tanks and replace them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 9, 2013. Ford's recall campaign number is 13S03. Owners may contact Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center at 1-866-436-7332.
Service bulletins (53)
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.
Unknown Or Other 2026-02-24 · SSM 54601 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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 accessory wireless keypad master code cannot be retrieved from the
Unknown Or Other 2024-10-10 · SSM 53040 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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.
Equipment 2024-04-24 · SSM 52476 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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 vehicle s owner during initial delivery. unlike the integrated (wired) factory keypad,
Engine And Engine Cooling 2020-09-25 · SSM 49210 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2009-2020 ford and lincoln vehicles equipped with turbochargers may exhibit an oil leak from the turbocharger oil supply or return tubes, o-rings or 6.7l pedestal gasket. although oil may collect on the turbocharger, it is very rare for a turbocharger to leak oil. to isolate the source of the l
Electrical System 2019-08-07 · SSM 48123 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
for ford and lincoln vehicles that require positive or negative battery terminal replacement, it is not necessary to replace the complete battery cable harness (14300 and 14301) for this concern. positive battery cable clamp bt4z-14450-aa and negative battery cable clamp bt4z-14450-ba are available
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
Showing the 6 most recent of 53 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-09-24 · Steering“complete power steering failure p07ae:09-c8 after recall complete 6/29/26…”
2025-04-19 · Steering“my steering all of a sudden was stiff and i can barely turn at low speeds. not safe due to uncontrolled steering. i replaced the pump thinking that would fix it, and it did not. i’m taking it to a dealer after the holiday weekend. no warnings at all. …”
2024-02-05 · Steering“the steering shut down and i could not steer the vehicle in a holiday parking lot and i almost hit a pedestrian. my engine and oil light came on. i had to shut the car off and turn it back on and it worked again. this is the second time this has happened to me!…”
2023-06-23 · Steering · 93,000 mi“the contact owns a 2012 ford taurus. the contact stated that while driving at a slow speed, the vehicle was extremely difficult to steer. no warning lights were illuminated prior to the failure. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who found that the power steering pressure was low. the vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred.…”
2023-03-28 · Electrical System · 200,000 mi“the contact owns a 2012 ford taurus. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, several different warning lights were intermittently flashing on the instrument panel. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where she was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. the manufacturer was also notified of the failure, and the contact wa…”
2023-02-23 · Vehicle Speed Control“driving on the highway, when the car lights, radio, air conditioner, steering wheel, speed all goes out. the car wouldn’t crank back up and theft system keep coming on.…”
2023-02-07 · Steering · 144,027 mi“the contact owns a 2012 ford taurus. the contact stated while driving approximately 15 mph and slowing to make a turn at a traffic signal, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. the contact stated that the steering fault, power steering assists off, and the stability track warning lights were illuminated. the contact stated that he drove th…”
2022-11-29 · Steering“started car and power steering assist fault light came on making the wheel hard to steer. turned off the car and restarted it and the same issue, power steering assist fault light has been on for 2 days now…”
2022-10-02 · Lane Departure: Blind Spot Detection“the rear backup camera is showing upside down. it is very difficult to see the blind spot area just to the rear of the vehicle when backing without the camera on this 2012 ford taurus. i consider it a safety issue in which i have had several close calls backing since the camera shows pointing upward toward the sky more than it did and upside down. …”
2022-06-03 · Steering · 90,000 mi“the contact owns a 2012 ford taurus. the contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the power steering malfunctioned and the steering wheel was very difficult to turn in either direction. during the failure, the power steering assist fault and service tire mobility kit messages were displayed. the contact indicated that the failure was intermi…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.