"How reliable is the 1990 Ford Taurus?"

"Based on 542 NHTSA complaints, the 1990 Ford Taurus has a median complaint mileage of 100000 miles. The most common issue is STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS."

"What are common problems with the 1990 Ford Taurus?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1990 Ford Taurus is STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS, accounting for a significant portion of the 542 total complaints filed."

1990 Ford Taurus: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 542 complaints

542

Total Complaints

100,000mi

Median Mileage

STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

70,000 25th Percentile

100,000 Median Mileage

119,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY

AIR BAGS

EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"AIRBAG INTERIOR LIGHT FLASHES WHEN DRIVING VEHICLE DUE TO DEFECTIVE RETAINER RING OR AIRBAG. TT"

"HAVE HAD TO HAVE TWO MOTOR MOUNTS PUT ON AND THE VEHICLE IS ONLY 5 YEARS OLD. TT"

"WHEN CAR IS ON THERE IS SMOKE COMING FROM THE VENTILATION. TT"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28