1996 FORD TAURUS — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 801 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (174 complaints · 21.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 68
  • Fires 12
  • Injuries 69
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 1995 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ENGINE appears in 174 of 801 owner complaints (21.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 174 complaints, 21.7% of reports ENGINE 174 · 21.7% · 3 crash reports 4 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 150 complaints, 18.7% of reports POWER TRAIN 150 · 18.7% · 4 crash reports STEERING: 75 complaints, 9.4% of reports STEERING 75 · 9.4% · 3 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 51 complaints, 6.4% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 51 · 6.4% · 5 crash reports SUSPENSION: 44 complaints, 5.5% of reports SUSPENSION 44 · 5.5% · 2 crash reports VISIBILITY: 44 complaints, 5.5% of reports VISIBILITY 44 · 5.5% AIR BAGS: 43 complaints, 5.4% of reports AIR BAGS 43 · 5.4% · 32 crash reports 1 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 43 complaints, 5.4% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 43 · 5.4% · 1 crash reports 3 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 36 complaints, 4.5% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 36 · 4.5% · 8 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 629 complaints, 78.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 629 · 78.5% · 52 crash reports 12 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ENGINE 174 21.7% 3 crashes · 4 fires
POWER TRAIN 150 18.7% 4 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 75 9.4% 3 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 51 6.4% 5 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 44 5.5% 2 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 44 5.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 43 5.4% 32 crashes · 1 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 43 5.4% 1 crashes · 3 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 36 4.5% 8 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 629 78.5% 52 crashes · 12 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 1995. 1995-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 1996-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 1996-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 1996-Q3: 26 owner reports 26 1996-Q4: 27 owner reports 27 1997-Q1: 29 owner reports 29 1997-Q2: 22 owner reports 22 1997-Q3: 35 owner reports 35 1997-Q4: 22 owner reports 22 1998-Q1: 16 owner reports 16 1998-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 1998-Q3: 26 owner reports 26 1998-Q4: 25 owner reports 25 1999-Q1: 24 owner reports 24 1999-Q2: 24 owner reports 24 1999-Q3: 32 owner reports 32 1999-Q4: 36 owner reports 36 2000-Q1: 28 owner reports 28 2000-Q2: 26 owner reports 26 2000-Q3: 39 owner reports 39 2000-Q4: 31 owner reports 31 2001-Q1: 42 owner reports 42 2001-Q2: 22 owner reports 22 2001-Q3: 22 owner reports 22 2001-Q4: 23 owner reports 23 2002-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2002-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2002-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2002-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2003-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2003-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2003-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2003-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q1: 15 owner reports 15 2004-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2004-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2005-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2005-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2008-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2010-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 1995 Jan 2016
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q4 Owner reports 3
1996-Q1 Owner reports 6
1996-Q2 Owner reports 13
1996-Q3 Owner reports 26
1996-Q4 Owner reports 27
1997-Q1 Owner reports 29
1997-Q2 Owner reports 22
1997-Q3 Owner reports 35
1997-Q4 Owner reports 22
1998-Q1 Owner reports 16
1998-Q2 Owner reports 11
1998-Q3 Owner reports 26
1998-Q4 Owner reports 25
1999-Q1 Owner reports 24
1999-Q2 Owner reports 24
1999-Q3 Owner reports 32
1999-Q4 Owner reports 36
2000-Q1 Owner reports 28
2000-Q2 Owner reports 26
2000-Q3 Owner reports 39
2000-Q4 Owner reports 31
2001-Q1 Owner reports 42
2001-Q2 Owner reports 22
2001-Q3 Owner reports 22
2001-Q4 Owner reports 23
2002-Q1 Owner reports 14
2002-Q2 Owner reports 11
2002-Q3 Owner reports 16
2002-Q4 Owner reports 11
2003-Q1 Owner reports 11
2003-Q2 Owner reports 13
2003-Q3 Owner reports 12
2003-Q4 Owner reports 5
2004-Q1 Owner reports 15
2004-Q2 Owner reports 6
2004-Q3 Owner reports 12
2004-Q4 Owner reports 7
2005-Q1 Owner reports 8
2005-Q2 Owner reports 4
2005-Q3 Owner reports 5
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
2006-Q1 Owner reports 2
2006-Q2 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 2
2006-Q4 Owner reports 3
2007-Q1 Owner reports 2
2007-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q1 Owner reports 2
2008-Q2 Owner reports 2
2008-Q3 Owner reports 4
2008-Q4 Owner reports 2
2009-Q1 Owner reports 3
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 1
2010-Q2 Owner reports 3
2010-Q3 Owner reports 1
2010-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 2
2011-Q2 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
2012-Q2 Owner reports 1
2012-Q4 Owner reports 1
2013-Q1 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 1
2016-Q1 Owner reports 1
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 801 complaints · page 1 of 33

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources