1997 Ford Taurus: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 1003 complaints
1003
Total Complaints
81,540mi
Median Mileage
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Top Issue
73
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

50,000 25th Percentile
81,540 Median Mileage
119,500 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
171
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
46
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
44
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
43
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM
39
STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
28
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
26
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
23
INTERIOR LIGHTING
23
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
21

Severity Assessment

73
Crashes
16
Fires
58
Injuries
4
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE A GLARE REFLECTS FROM WINDSHIELD, CAUSING VISION PROBLEMS. *AK *JB"
"WHILE DRIVING, NOTICED OVERDRIVE LIGHT FLASHING, THEN LOSS OF POWER, ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING, BUT VEHICLE STOPPED MOVING AT APPROX. 60MPH, FOUND ALL TRANSMISSION FLUID HAD SPILLED OUT OVER HWY, DLR INDICATES TRANS. HOSE CAME LOOSE, CAUSED FLUID TO LEAK. *AK"
"VEHICLE WILL STALL WITHOUT WARNING, COMPUTER MODULE FAILURE, BUT DEALERSHIP DOES NOT HOW TO REPROGRAM THE FAILURE. *AK"

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