Reliable Auto DB

2016 Ford Taurus reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 81 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Ford Taurus over 11 years — 3 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Taurus years here — under the median of the other years, which is 6. NHTSA has 4 recalls on file, including Camera, Exterior trim, and Rear.

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

81

Per year

3

Recalls

4

Years on the road

11

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Back-over prevention (26 of 81), then Engine (12) and Steering (9). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 56,483 miles, and the middle half falls between 28,475 and 83,000 miles. Those filings include 4 that report a crash, 1 that reports a fire, and 3 that report an injury.

Next to 2015 and 2017

The 2015 Taurus has 277 complaints, 12 per year, and the 2017 has 44 complaints, 4 per year. The 2016 has fewer complaints per year than the 2015. The 2016 has fewer complaints per year than the 2017.

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 2016 Ford Taurus. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (4)

Recall back-over prevention, sensing system, camera 2025-10-13 · NHTSA campaign 25V695000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Flex, 2015 Explorer, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKZ, 2015-2016 C-Max, Escape, Taurus, 2016 Fusion, 2018-2019 Taurus, 2019 Lincoln MKT, Fiesta, and 2020 Mustang vehicles. The rearview camera may display a distorted, intermittent, or blank image when the vehicle is in reverse.
Remedy Dealers will inspect and replace the rearview camera as necessary, free of charge. This will be a phased campaign, with the remedy becoming available in different phases based on model and model years. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on October 25, 2025. Additional letters will be mailed once the final remedy is available on each phase. Mustang owner notification letters were mailed January 2, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SA9. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on October 14, 2025.
Vehicles affected 1,448,655
Recall Exterior trim 2025-09-12 · NHTSA campaign 25V611000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2019 Taurus vehicles. The driver and front passenger B-Pillar door trim may detach while driving.
Remedy Dealers will repair or replace the B-pillar trim as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 20, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S91.
Vehicles affected 101,944
Recall suspension, rear 2020-02-10 · NHTSA campaign 20V072000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Lincoln MKT and Ford Flex and Taurus vehicles with the Police Interceptor or SHO Performance Pack. The rear suspension toe links may fracture due to stress on the rear suspension.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links, free of charge. Remedy parts are not currently available. Owners were notified about the recall on March 3, 2020. A second notice will be mailed when remedy parts become available, which is currently expected to be the end of September 2020. The recall began October 28, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 or Lincoln customer service at 1-800-521-4140. Ford's number for this recall is 20S04.
Vehicles affected 211,207
Recall engine and cooling, engine, gasoline, turbocharger 2016-12-22 · NHTSA campaign 16V925000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2016 Ford Taurus, 2016-2017 Ford Flex, Lincoln MKT, 2017 Ford Explorer and Ford Explorer Police Interceptor Utility vehicles equipped with 3.5L GTDI engines. Improperly brazed turbocharger oil supply tubes may leak oil on engine components.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, and if necessary, replace the turbocharger oil supply tubes, free of charge. The recall began on January 31, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S46.
Vehicles affected 1,163

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

Complaints by component (81 total)

Back-over prevention
26
Engine
12
Steering
9
Fuel and propulsion system
7
Electrical system
6
Structure
6
Suspension
5
Air bags
4
Service brakes
4
Powertrain
3
Seat belts
3
Engine and engine cooling
2
Exterior lighting
1
Lane departure
1
Seats
1
Show 7 more Show less
Crash-flagged

4

Fire-flagged

1

Injury reports

3

Death reports

0

Of the 46 complaints that include an odometer reading, the median is 56,483 miles. The middle half fall between 28,475 and 83,000 miles.

Complaints filed per year

420162201742018420196202042021720227202332024192025212026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "The rear-view camera on my 2016 Ford Taurus Limited intermittently malfunctions when the vehicle is placed in reverse. The displayed image flickers and sometimes appears upside down/inverted. The vehicle also sometimes…"
    Back-over prevention · filed 2026-09-17
  • "The contact owns a 2016 Ford Taurus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that…"
    Back-over prevention · filed 2026-08-26
  • "I own a 2016 Ford Taurus Limited that is covered under Ford Safety Recall 25SA9 / NHTSA Recall 25V-695 for the rearview camera. I received the recall notification in October 2025 stating that a remedy was not yet…"
    Unknown or other · filed 2026-08-10
  • "The contact owns a 2016 Ford Taurus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V611000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while…"
    Structure · filed 2026-07-27
  • "My backup camera rarely works and sometimes is upside down. It cuts in and out while backing up. There is a recall from Oct 2025 but still no fix."
    Unknown or other · filed 2026-07-16

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2016 Ford Taurus 4 DR AWD 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars
2016 Ford Taurus 4 DR FWD 5 stars 5 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 16 24 19 MPG $3400
Taurus all-wheel drive 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic (6-speed) All-wheel drive 17 24 19 MPG $3400
Taurus all-wheel drive flex-fuel 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic (6-speed) All-wheel drive 17 24 19 MPG $3400
Taurus front-wheel drive 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 20 29 23 MPG $2800
Taurus front-wheel drive 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 18 27 21 MPG $3100
Taurus front-wheel drive flex-fuel 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 18 27 21 MPG $3100

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

Previous year 2015 Ford Taurus Next year 2017 Ford Taurus See every Ford Taurus model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2016 Ford Taurus reliable?

Owners have filed 81 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Ford Taurus over 11 years — 3 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Taurus years here — under the median of the other years, which is 6. NHTSA has 4 recalls on file, including Camera, Exterior trim, and Rear.

What are common problems with a 2016 Ford Taurus?

The complaints owners file most often name Back-over prevention (26 of 81), then Engine (12) and Steering (9). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 56,483 miles, and the middle half falls between 28,475 and 83,000 miles. Those filings include 4 that report a crash, 1 that reports a fire, and 3 that report an injury.

Is the 2016 Ford Taurus more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2015 Taurus has 277 complaints, 12 per year, and the 2017 has 44 complaints, 4 per year. The 2016 has fewer complaints per year than the 2015. The 2016 has fewer complaints per year than the 2017.

Has the 2016 Ford Taurus been recalled?

The 2016 Ford Taurus has 4 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 2016 Ford Taurus?

Owners have filed 81 complaints about the 2016 Ford Taurus with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2016 Ford Taurus get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2016 Ford Taurus is 20.3 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.