1997 Ford Taurus Sho: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 25 complaints
25
Total Complaints
76,260mi
Median Mileage
Engine
Top Issue
0
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

64,000 25th Percentile
76,260 Median Mileage
100,640 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Engine
11
Gasoline
4
Engine And Engine Cooling
3
Foundation Components
1
Automatic Transmission
1
Rear
1
Exhaust System
1
Cooling System
1
Hoses, Lines/Piping, And Fittings
1
Coil Springs
1

Severity Assessment

0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE DRIVING AND WHEN DEPRESSING BRAKES, VEHICLE CONTINUES TO TRAVEL. VEHICLE WAS SERVICED AND TECHNICIAN STATED ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *AK CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THAT THE ENGINE WAS DEFECTIVE AND IT CAUSED THE OIL PUMP TO NOT TAKE PRESSURE. VEHICLE EXPERIENCED BRAKE, REAR END, AND TRANSMI..."
"WHILE DRIVING AND WHEN DEPRESSING BRAKES, VEHICLE CONTINUES TO TRAVEL. VEHICLE WAS SERVICED AND TECHNICIAN STATED ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *AK CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THAT THE ENGINE WAS DEFECTIVE AND IT CAUSED THE OIL PUMP TO NOT TAKE PRESSURE. VEHICLE EXPERIENCED BRAKE, REAR END, AND TRANSMI..."
"WHILE DRIVING AND WHEN DEPRESSING BRAKES, VEHICLE CONTINUES TO TRAVEL. VEHICLE WAS SERVICED AND TECHNICIAN STATED ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *AK CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THAT THE ENGINE WAS DEFECTIVE AND IT CAUSED THE OIL PUMP TO NOT TAKE PRESSURE. VEHICLE EXPERIENCED BRAKE, REAR END, AND TRANSMI..."

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

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Engine 11 complaints
25th: 63,900 mi Median: 73,000 mi 75th: 97,540 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

AL: 5 IL: 3 FL: 2 PA: 2 OH: 2 OK: 1 NM: 1 GA: 1 IN: 1 NY: 1

Who Files Complaints?

8%
Original Owners
92%
Second+ Owners

Ford Taurus Sho — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
1993293
1996311
1999222

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