2004 Ford Taurus: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 482 complaints
482
Total Complaints
95,000mi
Median Mileage
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Top Issue
48
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

63,319 25th Percentile
95,000 Median Mileage
130,901 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
159
POWER TRAIN
43
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
26
ENGINE
25
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
23
SERVICE BRAKES
18
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
14
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
13
STEERING
13
AIR BAGS
12

Severity Assessment

48
Crashes
17
Fires
36
Injuries
2
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"MY 2003 FORD TAURUS SE; HAS HAD A ROUGH IDLE AND ROUGH RUNNING WHEN SLOWING DOWN TO STOP AND WHEN STOPPED. THE ENGINE WILL ACT LIKE IT IS RUNNING OUT OF FUEL, SOME TIMES IT WILL JUST SHUTDOWN WITH NO WARNING. USUALLY HAPPENS UNDER 40 MPH.*AK VEHICLE IS MAINTAINED BY A FORD DEALER, AND HAS ALL FILTE..."
"CONTINUALLY "CHIRPING" NOISE WHILE CAR IS MOVING. DEALERSHIP STATED THAT IT WAS IN THE WHEELS. WAS TOLD THAT THIS CAN NOT BE CORRECTED BECAUSE THE MANUFACTURER HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM. COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN FILED TO FORD AND THEY GENERATED A LETTER TO DEALERS TELLING THEM NOT TO R..."
"CONTINUALLY "CHIRPING" NOISE WHILE CAR IS MOVING. DEALERSHIP STATED THAT IT WAS IN THE WHEELS. WAS TOLD THAT THIS CAN NOT BE CORRECTED BECAUSE THE MANUFACTURER HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM. COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN FILED TO FORD AND THEY GENERATED A LETTER TO DEALERS TELLING THEM NOT TO R..."

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