2012 Ford Taurus reliability

Is it reliable?

The 2012 Ford Taurus has 78 complaints with NHTSA after 15 years, or 6 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Taurus years here — over the median of the other years, which is 4. NHTSA has 5 recalls on file, including Frontal, Electric power steering, and Door.

2010 Ford Taurus SE sedan — Photo by MercurySable99, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0

Complaints

Per year

Recalls

Years on the road

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Steering (16 of 78), then Structure (16) and Electrical system (15). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 41,493 miles, and the middle half falls between 14,326 and 96,500 miles. Those filings include 1 that reports a crash and 3 that report a fire.

Next to 2013

The 2013 Taurus has 589 complaints, 18 per year. The 2012 has fewer complaints per year than the 2013.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2012 Ford Taurus. How we count. Data as of 2026-10-16.

Recalls (5)

Recall air bags, frontal 2016-04-26 · NHTSA campaign 16V247000

Summary 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."

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.

Vehicles affected 695

Recall Electric power steering 2015-06-02 · NHTSA campaign 15V340000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Ford Fusion vehicles without a 3.5L engine and Lincoln MKZ hybrid electric vehicles, 2011 Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with a 3.5L GTDI engine and 2013 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with any available engine. The affected vehicles have electric power steering assist systems that may shut down as a result of a steering motor sensor fault.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will check the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM) for Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC). If dealers find any loss of steering assist DTCs, the steering gear will be replaced, free of charge. If, no codes are found during the PSCM inspection, the PSCM software will be updated, free of charge. The recall began on July 21, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S18.

Vehicles affected 393,623

Recall structure, body, door 2015-01-28 · NHTSA campaign 15V040000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2010-2013 Ford Taurus vehicles manufactured December 1, 2009, to July 31, 2010, and 2011-2013 Lincoln MKS vehicles manufactured June 1, 2011, to October 31, 2011. In the affected vehicles, the interior door handle return spring may unseat, resulting in interior door handle that does not return to the fully stowed position after actuation.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect all four of the interior door handles and either repair or replace them, free of charge. The recall began March 23, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S02.

Vehicles affected 194,889

Recall Exterior lighting 2014-05-29 · NHTSA campaign 14V285000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Taurus vehicles manufactured November 24, 2008, through February 28, 2014, originally sold in, or currently registered in, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. When used in areas that use road salt, the license plate lamp assembly may experience an electro-chemical reaction and corrosion as a result of water intrusion.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the license plate lamp assemblies, free of charge. The recall began on July 26, 2014. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-800-392-3673. Ford's number for this recall is 14S08. Note: Under program 14R01, Ford will notify owners in non-corrosion states, and, at the customer's request, dealers will replace the license plate lamp assembly.

Vehicles affected 183,425

Recall gasoline fuel system, storage, tank 2013-03-27 · NHTSA campaign 13V109000

Summary Ford is recalling certain model year 2012 Taurus, Lincoln MKS, and model year 2013 Explorer vehicles manufactured July 19, 2011, through March 15, 2012. In the affected vehicles, the fuel tanks may have a marginally sealed seam in the side of the tank. As a result, the fuel tanks may not provide the expected strength in the event of an impact. The tanks may also leak.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the fuel tanks and replace them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 9, 2013. Ford's recall campaign number is 13S03. Owners may contact Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center at 1-866-436-7332.

Vehicles affected 3,037

NHTSA's count is every vehicle in that campaign. A campaign can cover other model years and other models.

Complaints by component (78 total)

Steering

Structure

Electrical system

Exterior lighting

Engine

Service brakes

Speed control

Air bags

Engine and engine cooling

Fuel and propulsion system

Powertrain

Seats

Back-over prevention

Lane departure

Traction control

Visibility

Visibility and wipers

Show 9 more Show less

Crash-flagged

Fire-flagged

Injury reports

Death reports

Of the 51 complaints that include an odometer reading, the median is 41,493 miles. The middle half fall between 14,326 and 96,500 miles.

Complaints filed per year

Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings

"My steering all of a sudden was stiff and I can barely turn at low speeds. Not safe due to uncontrolled steering. I replaced the pump thinking that would fix it, and it did not. I’m taking it to a dealer after the…"
Steering · filed 2025-04-19
"The steering shut down and I could not steer the vehicle in a Holiday parking lot and I almost hit a pedestrian. My engine and oil light came on. I had to shut the car off and turn it back on and it worked again. This…"
Steering · filed 2024-02-05
"The contact owns a 2012 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving at a slow speed, the vehicle was extremely difficult to steer. No warning lights were illuminated prior to the failure. The vehicle was taken to…"
Steering · filed 2023-06-23
"The contact owns a 2012 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, several different warning lights were intermittently flashing on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer…"
Electrical system · filed 2023-03-28

NHTSA crash ratings

Version	Overall	Front	Side	Rollover
2012 Ford Taurus 4 DR AWD	4 stars	4 stars	5 stars	4 stars
2012 Ford Taurus 4 DR FWD	4 stars	4 stars	5 stars	4 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim	Engine	Transmission	Drive	City	Hwy	Combined	Annual fuel cost
Taurus all-wheel drive	3.5L, 6-cyl	Automatic (6-speed)	All-wheel drive	17	25	20 MPG	$3250
Taurus all-wheel drive	3.5L, 6-cyl	Automatic (6-speed)	All-wheel drive	17	24	20 MPG	$3250
Taurus front-wheel drive	3.5L, 6-cyl	Automatic (6-speed)	Front-wheel drive	18	27	21 MPG	$3100
Taurus front-wheel drive	3.5L, 6-cyl	Automatic 6-speed	Front-wheel drive	18	28	22 MPG	$2950

Specs and fitment

6th generation, 2010–2019

Body styles Sedan

Oil 5W-20 (3.5L, most trims); 5W-30 (2.0L EcoBoost; 3.5L EcoBoost SHO) , 6 qt capacity

Tire size 235/60R17 (SE), 235/55R18 or 255/45R19 (SEL), 255/45R19 or 245/45R20 (Limited), 245/45R20 (SHO)

Towing capacity 1,000 lbs

Known issues for this generation

2011-2013 Taurus sedans built between September 7, 2010 and February 28, 2012 are covered by Ford's 2015 nationwide electric power-assist steering (EPAS) recall, NHTSA campaign 15V-340 (Ford reference 15S18); among 2011 and 2012 cars only those with the 3.5L GTDI engine are included, while all 2013 cars in the build range are. A motor position sensor encoder fault could remove power steering assist, sharply increasing steering effort, though Ford reported that drivers are informed of the change in steering system status by an audible chime and a power steering assist fault message in the instrument cluster. Ford's no-charge remedy had dealers check the power steering control module for diagnostic trouble codes: cars with no loss-of-assist codes received a module software update, and cars with those codes had the steering gear replaced. Ford also extended coverage so that an owner whose car received the software update and later loses power steering assist can have the steering gear replaced within 10 years of the warranty start date or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first.

Compare

Next year 2013 Ford Taurus See every Ford Taurus model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2012 Ford Taurus reliable?

What are common problems with a 2012 Ford Taurus?

Is the 2012 Ford Taurus more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2013 Taurus has 589 complaints, 18 per year. The 2012 has fewer complaints per year than the 2013.

Has the 2012 Ford Taurus been recalled?

The 2012 Ford Taurus has 5 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2012 Ford Taurus?

Owners have filed 78 complaints about the 2012 Ford Taurus with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2012 Ford Taurus get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2012 Ford Taurus is 20.8 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What generation is the 2016 Ford Taurus?

6th generation (2010-2019), the last Taurus generation sold in the US.

Can a Ford Taurus tow a trailer?

Most 2010-2019 Taurus trims are rated for up to 1,000 lbs per Ford's official towing guide; the high-performance SHO trim is not rated for trailer towing.