Reliable Auto DB

2018 Ford Taurus reliability

Is it reliable?

The 2018 Ford Taurus has 49 complaints with NHTSA after 9 years, or 2 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

49

Per year

2

Recalls

4

Years on the road

9

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Back-over prevention (12 of 49), then Structure (11) and Electrical system (7). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 56,000 miles, and the middle half falls between 32,750 and 99,625 miles. Those filings include 3 that report a crash, 1 that reports a fire, and 2 that report an injury.

Next to 2017 and 2019

The 2017 Taurus has 44 complaints, 4 per year, and the 2019 has 15 complaints, 1 per year. The 2018 has fewer complaints per year than the 2017. The 2018 has more complaints per year than the 2019.

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 2018 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 electrical system, ignition 2018-03-01 · NHTSA campaign 18V141000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Ford Taurus vehicles equipped with mechanical key ignition systems. The keys for these vehicles may be able to be removed from the ignition when transmission is not in the PARK position. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection."
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the shifter assembly, free of charge. The recall began May 11, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18C02.
Vehicles affected 2,100

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

Complaints by component (49 total)

Back-over prevention
12
Structure
11
Electrical system
7
Powertrain
7
Suspension
7
Engine and engine cooling
4
Engine
3
Visibility and wipers
2
Air brakes
1
Child seat
1
Exterior lighting
1
Fuel and propulsion system
1
Seat belts
1
Service brakes
1
Steering
1
Show 7 more Show less
Crash-flagged

3

Fire-flagged

1

Injury reports

2

Death reports

0

Of the 32 complaints that include an odometer reading, the median is 56,000 miles. The middle half fall between 32,750 and 99,625 miles.

Complaints filed per year

22018320191202032021220224202322024172025152026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "The contact owns a 2018 Ford Taurus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to perform the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that…"
    Back-over prevention · filed 2026-09-16
  • "The contact owns a 2018 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while entering the vehicle, the passenger’s side B-pillar trim had detached. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over…"
    Structure, Back-over prevention · filed 2026-08-21
  • "Components Involved: Engine Block Mounting Boss, Intermediate Shaft Bracket (Service Part # DB5Z-3K305-CA), Factory Bolt (OEM # W500131-S437) Incident Overview: During a low-speed (about 5mph) lateral impact to the…"
    Suspension, Powertrain · filed 2026-08-18
  • "The contact owns a 2018 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 the…"
    Structure · filed 2026-07-30
  • "The contact owns a 2018 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 upon…"
    Structure · filed 2026-06-22

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2018 Ford Taurus 4 DR AWD 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars
2018 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 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 2017 Ford Taurus Next year 2019 Ford Taurus See every Ford Taurus model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2018 Ford Taurus reliable?

The 2018 Ford Taurus has 49 complaints with NHTSA after 9 years, or 2 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 2018 Ford Taurus?

The complaints owners file most often name Back-over prevention (12 of 49), then Structure (11) and Electrical system (7). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 56,000 miles, and the middle half falls between 32,750 and 99,625 miles. Those filings include 3 that report a crash, 1 that reports a fire, and 2 that report an injury.

Is the 2018 Ford Taurus more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2017 Taurus has 44 complaints, 4 per year, and the 2019 has 15 complaints, 1 per year. The 2018 has fewer complaints per year than the 2017. The 2018 has more complaints per year than the 2019.

Has the 2018 Ford Taurus been recalled?

The 2018 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 2018 Ford Taurus?

Owners have filed 49 complaints about the 2018 Ford Taurus with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2018 Ford Taurus get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2018 Ford Taurus is 19.8 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.