1996 Ford Taurus Sho problems
The 1996 Ford Taurus Sho has 31 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (65%) concerns engine. After that come transmission (6%) and air bags (3%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 31 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 65% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 1 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 2 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 97,000 miles 18 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 1 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 2 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 6 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 7 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 18 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 97,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 97,000 miles (12 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 1 complaint mentions a crash; 2 injuries reported.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
The camshaft in my car failed and caused engine failure. It was a 1996 ford taurus sho. It caused a complete power loss around a corner and I was almost involed in a head on collision. This has been happening to many sho owners. The repair costs are running me $5000 dollars. This is nothing compared to what it could have done to my family. Please help this not happen again. Ford knows there is a problem. Some may not be as lucky as me.
Tl*- the contact stated that on 12/19//06 while driving on highway 309, at about 5o MPH on a clear night with good road condition. The air bag on passenger side deployed. The contact stated that there was no one on the passenger side when the air bag deployed. There was no apparent cause for this to happen. He was confused for a minute and then he pulled vehicle over to side of road. The contact noticed smoke coming from air bag but no fire. The contact did call police and does have a report.
While driving 55 MPH heard a ticking sound. Shortly afterwards engine check light came on, and vehicle stalled. Dealer replaced a broken camshaft.
I have a1996 ford taurus sho v-8,it just turned 80,000 miles and has had all regular service and now the camshaft gear has failed on the camshaft and damaged the engine!I work at a ford dealer and see this engine failure often. It seems that this is common on the v-8 sho engine around 75,000-85,000 miles and sometimes there is a ticking noise that is considered a warning sign too get repairs but there was not any warning from my engine.
96 taurus sho v8 3.4l camshaft failure. I have kept my car in perfect shape with tune up and all. It is in mint condition and has no rust. I have nice exhaust system put on by a mechanic and also a cold air intake put on and a new trans in july now with only 3000 miles on it.. I heard ticking from under the hood out of no where. I don't beat on my car and have read that it doesn't matter either way if you beat on it or not the cam failure can still happen.