2004 FORD TAURUS — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 371 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL (132 complaints · 35.6%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 36
  • Fires 13
  • Injuries 24
  • Deaths 2
Compare with 2003 →
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 132 of 371 owner complaints (35.6%) in this vehicle snapshot. VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 132 complaints, 35.6% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 132 · 35.6% · 10 crash reports 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 64 complaints, 17.3% of reports POWER TRAIN 64 · 17.3% · 4 crash reports ENGINE: 27 complaints, 7.3% of reports ENGINE 27 · 7.3% · 1 crash reports 3 fire reports AIR BAGS: 17 complaints, 4.6% of reports AIR BAGS 17 · 4.6% · 14 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 17 complaints, 4.6% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 17 · 4.6% · 3 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 16 complaints, 4.3% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 16 · 4.3% · 1 crash reports STEERING: 12 complaints, 3.2% of reports STEERING 12 · 3.2% · 3 crash reports 1 fire reports STRUCTURE: 12 complaints, 3.2% of reports STRUCTURE 12 · 3.2% · 1 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 10 complaints, 2.7% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 10 · 2.7% · 1 fire reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 114 complaints, 30.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 114 · 30.7% · 13 crash reports 6 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 132 35.6% 10 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 64 17.3% 4 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 27 7.3% 1 crashes · 3 fires
AIR BAGS 17 4.6% 14 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 17 4.6% 0 crashes · 3 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 16 4.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 12 3.2% 3 crashes · 1 fires
STRUCTURE 12 3.2% 0 crashes · 1 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 10 2.7% 0 crashes · 1 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 114 30.7% 13 crashes · 6 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 Apr 2004. 2004-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2005-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2005-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2005-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2005-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2007-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2007-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2008-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2009-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2009-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2009-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2010-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2010-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2010-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2011-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2011-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2011-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2011-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q1: 39 owner reports 39 2012-Q2: 19 owner reports 19 2012-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 2012-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 2013-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2013-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2013-Q3: 18 owner reports 18 2013-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2014-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2014-Q2: 15 owner reports 15 2014-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2014-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2015-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2015-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2015-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2016-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2016-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2017-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Apr 2004 Jan 2026 Investigation DP06005 ● Investigation DP06005 Investigation PE12005 ● Investigation PE12005
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2004-Q2 Owner reports 3
2004-Q3 Owner reports 5
2004-Q4 Owner reports 6
2005-Q1 Owner reports 6
2005-Q2 Owner reports 5
2005-Q3 Owner reports 6
2005-Q4 Owner reports 5
2006-Q1 Owner reports 2
2006-Q2 Owner reports 5
2006-Q3 Owner reports 2
2006-Q4 Owner reports 2
2007-Q1 Owner reports 4
2007-Q2 Owner reports 4
2007-Q3 Owner reports 2
2007-Q4 Owner reports 2
2008-Q1 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 5
2008-Q3 Owner reports 2
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q1 Owner reports 5
2009-Q2 Owner reports 3
2009-Q3 Owner reports 4
2009-Q4 Owner reports 2
2010-Q1 Owner reports 4
2010-Q2 Owner reports 5
2010-Q3 Owner reports 9
2010-Q4 Owner reports 6
2011-Q1 Owner reports 10
2011-Q2 Owner reports 7
2011-Q3 Owner reports 7
2011-Q4 Owner reports 1
2012-Q1 Owner reports 39
2012-Q2 Owner reports 19
2012-Q3 Owner reports 15
2012-Q4 Owner reports 16
2013-Q1 Owner reports 7
2013-Q2 Owner reports 10
2013-Q3 Owner reports 18
2013-Q4 Owner reports 5
2014-Q1 Owner reports 8
2014-Q2 Owner reports 15
2014-Q3 Owner reports 12
2014-Q4 Owner reports 9
2015-Q1 Owner reports 7
2015-Q2 Owner reports 3
2015-Q3 Owner reports 4
2015-Q4 Owner reports 2
2016-Q1 Owner reports 2
2016-Q2 Owner reports 5
2016-Q3 Owner reports 10
2016-Q4 Owner reports 4
2017-Q1 Owner reports 3
2017-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q3 Owner reports 3
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 5
2018-Q2 Owner reports 3
2018-Q4 Owner reports 2
2019-Q2 Owner reports 2
2019-Q3 Owner reports 3
2019-Q4 Owner reports 1
2020-Q1 Owner reports 1
2020-Q3 Owner reports 1
2020-Q4 Owner reports 2
2024-Q3 Owner reports 1
2026-Q1 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 DP06005
Defect investigation 1 PE12005
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 371 complaints · page 1 of 15

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