NHTSA vehicle safety data

2008 Ford Taurus Recalls, Ratings & Complaints

The 2008 Ford Taurus has 1 NHTSA recall campaign and 175 owner complaints on file as of November 3, 2026. Recall repairs are usually free at an authorized Ford dealer.

NHTSA recall and complaint data for the 2008 Ford Taurus, plus NCAP crash-test ratings. Recall data is refreshed daily from NHTSA.

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2008 Ford Taurus owner complaints

Owners have filed 175 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Ford Taurus, describing incidents dated November 13, 2007 to November 30, 2025.

Most-cited components

Power Train 44 complaints
Steering 35 complaints
Vehicle Speed Control 32 complaints
Engine 30 complaints
Air Bags 15 complaints
Service Brakes 15 complaints

Of the 175 complaints on file, 19 report a crash and 7 a fire; across all 175 complaints, owners report 13 injuries (owner-reported, not verified by NHTSA).

Newest complaints

ODI #11714414 · Filed January 30, 2026
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the front driver's side seat belt had failed to unbuckle and was previously repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously rear-ended on several…
ODI #11559353 · Filed December 10, 2023
My son was in an accident to where the whole front end was smashed and neither airbag deployed
ODI #11555476 · Filed November 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and making a turn, the vehicle became inoperable. The contact shifted into park and restarted the vehicle. The contact stated while reversing, she heard an abnormal sound. The check engine and several other…

Read all 175 complaints

Owner-reported

2008 Ford Taurus mileage at failure

162 of the 175 complaints on file for the 2008 Ford Taurus give the vehicle's mileage when the problem happened.

Mileage at failure by component, from owners' complaints to NHTSA
Component	Median	Middle half	Based on
Power Train	Median 80,000 miles	Middle half 35,000–110,000 miles	Based on 43 complaints
Steering	Median 45,000 miles	Middle half 35,000–75,000 miles	Based on 33 complaints
Vehicle Speed Control	Median 55,000 miles	Middle half 30,000–95,000 miles	Based on 30 complaints

A component's median is its 50th percentile, and its middle half runs from its 25th to its 75th percentile.

Owners give the mileage themselves, often as a round number, and NHTSA doesn't check it. A complaint that names several components counts under each one, and mileages that can't be right, such as 999,999, or 50 miles on a five-year-old car, are left out.

These figures describe the complaints owners filed. They don't predict when a particular vehicle will have a problem, and vehicles that never had one aren't counted.

Mileage from NHTSA's complaints file of October 31, 2026. How these figures are worked out

NHTSA defect investigations

NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2008 Ford Taurus in 1 investigation. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.

Preliminary Evaluation PE08-060: TIRE VALVE CRACKING
Closed April 9, 2009

Open and recently closed NHTSA defect investigations

Air Bag Second Stage may not Inflate Properly

NHTSA #16V247000 · Air Bags — Frontal · NHTSA notice

Reported April 26, 2016 · Ford Motor Company

Potentially affected: 695 vehicles

Repair completion: 84.32% (latest rate the manufacturer reported to NHTSA; dataset updated November 3, 2026)

Ford campaign 16C06 · Owners notified June 9, 2016 · Vehicles built May 14, 2007 – August 11, 2008 (per NHTSA)

Defect description

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."

Safety consequence

An improperly inflated air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Manufacturer remedy

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.

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

2008 Ford Taurus 4-DR. w/SAB

—

out of 5

Overall Safety Rating

Not Rated

Frontal Crash

Not Rated

Driver: 5, Passenger: 5

Side Crash

Not Rated

Driver: 5, Passenger: 5

Side Pole

Not Rated

Rollover

11% rollover risk

Safety Technology

1 investigation

175 owner complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 2008 Ford Taurus.

Air Bags; Seat Belts; Vehicle Speed Control

ODI #11714414

Crash 1 injury

Incident: November 30, 2025 · Filed: January 30, 2026

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the front driver's side seat belt had failed to unbuckle and was previously repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously rear-ended on several occasions, and the air bags did not deploy. The contact had sustained severe back injuries that had become permanent. The contact had received medical assistance. A police report was filed. The vehicle was able to be driven from the scene on each occasion. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at 5 MPH, the vehicle experienced sudden and unintended acceleration. The contact depressed the brake pedal, and the vehicle responded as intended. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 142,000.

Air Bags; Forward Collision Avoidance

ODI #11559353

Crash

Incident: December 9, 2023 · Filed: December 10, 2023

My son was in an accident to where the whole front end was smashed and neither airbag deployed

Power Train

ODI #11555476

Incident: October 29, 2023 · Filed: November 16, 2023

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and making a turn, the vehicle became inoperable. The contact shifted into park and restarted the vehicle. The contact stated while reversing, she heard an abnormal sound. The check engine and several other unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle had been diagnosed by an independent mechanic. The contact was informed that the failure was due to the power train not being connected to the solenoids. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 85,367.

Service Brakes, Hydraulic; Engine and Engine Cooling; Suspension

ODI #11489738

Incident: October 13, 2022 · Filed: October 18, 2022

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for an inspection, the dealer advised him to stop driving the vehicle due to corrosion of the subframe, caliper, steering arm, brakes, and a hole in the catalytic converter. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.

Engine and Engine Cooling; Engine

ODI #11482680

Incident: March 6, 2022 · Filed: September 2, 2022

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled however, she was able to pull over and stop the vehicle. The contact stated that she noticed that the check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the engine temperature gauge was indicating that the engine was overheating. The contact observed that white smoke was coming out from under the hood. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle and had the vehicle towed to her residence. An independent mechanic went to the residence to diagnose the vehicle. The independent mechanic determined that the head gasket had blown and the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

Unknown or Other

ODI #11461029

Fire

Incident: April 11, 2022 · Filed: April 16, 2022

only regular maintenence < drove to desination and parked car and car set on fire , at first it was smoking so we called the fire department and by the time they got there the flames were 10 ft high and the whole front was burnt and melted my car ia junk now , before this all gauges worked jst fine and nothing un-ordinary stuff going on

Structure

ODI #11424072

Incident: June 6, 2020 · Filed: July 9, 2021

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the subframe was completely rusted through. The vehicle was towed and diagnosed but was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.

Suspension

ODI #11404900

Incident: February 2, 2021 · Filed: March 25, 2021

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD TAURUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE VEHICLE SWAYED. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE RACK AND PINION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE LOCAL DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 110,000.

Power Train; Vehicle Speed Control; Unknown or Other

ODI #11364758

Incident: October 16, 2020 · Filed: October 16, 2020

THIS HAS HAPPENED ABOUT 3 TIMES IN THE LAST 2 YRS BUT WHILE SITTING AT A LIGHT MY CAR SUDDENLY WENT FORWARD. IT DIDN'T GO.TO FAR. MAYBE A FT OR 2 BUT WAS ENOUGH TO SCARE ME. MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE. IT WILL ALSO GET STUCK IN GEARS AND LOSE POWER ON THE ROAD. NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON AS OF NOW. ONE LIGHT DID COME ON TODAY WHILE SITTING AT A LIGHT AND WITHOUT NOTICE MY CAR WOULD NOT GO. IT WAS THE POWER THROTTLE/TRANSMISSION LIGHT. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND THEN BACK ON AND IT DROVE FINE ALL THE WAY HOME. IT DID JERK ONCE. THE GEAR SHIFTING AND LOSS OF POWER HAPPENS WHEN I AM DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY.

Unknown or Other

ODI #11339837

Incident: May 13, 2020 · Filed: July 16, 2020

THE CAR LOOSES POWER. THE RPM GO UP BUT SPEEDOMETER DOESN'T MOVE. DASH SHOWS DASHES. WHEN YOU STOP AND CUT THE CAR OFF AND TURN IT BACK ON IT SLAMS INTO GEAR. AFTER WAITING A FEW MINUTES THE CAR DRIVES FINE

Other Ford Taurus model years

Check your 2008 Ford Taurus VIN

Not every recall applies to every VIN in a given year. Enter the 17-character VIN from your Ford Taurus at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether your specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.

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