1998 FORD TAURUS — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 538 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL (98 complaints · 18.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 60
  • Fires 14
  • Injuries 59
  • Deaths 4
Compare with 1997 →
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 VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL appears in 98 of 538 owner complaints (18.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 98 complaints, 18.2% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 98 · 18.2% · 15 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 63 complaints, 11.7% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 63 · 11.7% · 7 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 55 complaints, 10.2% of reports POWER TRAIN 55 · 10.2% ENGINE: 52 complaints, 9.7% of reports ENGINE 52 · 9.7% · 3 crash reports 2 fire reports SUSPENSION: 52 complaints, 9.7% of reports SUSPENSION 52 · 9.7% AIR BAGS: 31 complaints, 5.8% of reports AIR BAGS 31 · 5.8% · 25 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 31 complaints, 5.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 31 · 5.8% · 1 crash reports 5 fire reports STEERING: 28 complaints, 5.2% of reports STEERING 28 · 5.2% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports SEAT BELTS: 26 complaints, 4.8% of reports SEAT BELTS 26 · 4.8% · 4 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 394 complaints, 73.2% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 394 · 73.2% · 44 crash reports 14 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)
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 98 18.2% 15 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 63 11.7% 7 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 55 10.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 52 9.7% 3 crashes · 2 fires
SUSPENSION 52 9.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 31 5.8% 25 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 31 5.8% 1 crashes · 5 fires
STEERING 28 5.2% 1 crashes · 1 fires
SEAT BELTS 26 4.8% 4 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 394 73.2% 44 crashes · 14 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 Jan 1998. 1998-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 1998-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 1998-Q4: 17 owner reports 17 1999-Q1: 23 owner reports 23 1999-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 1999-Q3: 19 owner reports 19 1999-Q4: 19 owner reports 19 2000-Q1: 20 owner reports 20 2000-Q2: 27 owner reports 27 2000-Q3: 22 owner reports 22 2000-Q4: 25 owner reports 25 2001-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2001-Q2: 19 owner reports 19 2001-Q3: 14 owner reports 14 2001-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2002-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2002-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2002-Q3: 27 owner reports 27 2002-Q4: 20 owner reports 20 2003-Q1: 15 owner reports 15 2003-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2003-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 2003-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2004-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2004-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2004-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2005-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2005-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2005-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2006-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2006-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2006-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2007-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2008-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2011-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2013-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 1998 Jul 2022
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1998-Q1 Owner reports 2
1998-Q2 Owner reports 6
1998-Q3 Owner reports 16
1998-Q4 Owner reports 17
1999-Q1 Owner reports 23
1999-Q2 Owner reports 13
1999-Q3 Owner reports 19
1999-Q4 Owner reports 19
2000-Q1 Owner reports 20
2000-Q2 Owner reports 27
2000-Q3 Owner reports 22
2000-Q4 Owner reports 25
2001-Q1 Owner reports 18
2001-Q2 Owner reports 19
2001-Q3 Owner reports 14
2001-Q4 Owner reports 9
2002-Q1 Owner reports 13
2002-Q2 Owner reports 18
2002-Q3 Owner reports 27
2002-Q4 Owner reports 20
2003-Q1 Owner reports 15
2003-Q2 Owner reports 13
2003-Q3 Owner reports 15
2003-Q4 Owner reports 12
2004-Q1 Owner reports 13
2004-Q2 Owner reports 10
2004-Q3 Owner reports 6
2004-Q4 Owner reports 5
2005-Q1 Owner reports 17
2005-Q2 Owner reports 9
2005-Q3 Owner reports 3
2005-Q4 Owner reports 4
2006-Q1 Owner reports 1
2006-Q2 Owner reports 8
2006-Q3 Owner reports 4
2006-Q4 Owner reports 3
2007-Q1 Owner reports 3
2007-Q2 Owner reports 4
2007-Q3 Owner reports 4
2008-Q1 Owner reports 2
2008-Q2 Owner reports 2
2008-Q3 Owner reports 1
2008-Q4 Owner reports 2
2009-Q1 Owner reports 2
2009-Q2 Owner reports 1
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 1
2010-Q2 Owner reports 1
2010-Q3 Owner reports 2
2010-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 6
2011-Q3 Owner reports 2
2011-Q4 Owner reports 1
2012-Q2 Owner reports 2
2012-Q3 Owner reports 4
2013-Q1 Owner reports 2
2013-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 2
2014-Q4 Owner reports 2
2015-Q1 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
2022-Q3 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 538 complaints · page 1 of 22

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