1997 Ford Taurus problems
Owners have filed 1,003 complaints with NHTSA about the 1997 Ford Taurus. Transmission is the most reported problem area, at 19% of complaints. Next are engine (13%) and brakes (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 1,003 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Transmission 19% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 73 and 16
- Injuries and deaths
- 58 and 4
- Typical mileage
- 82,000 miles 175 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 | 15 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 15 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 24 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 27 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 33 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 17 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 23 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 12 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 6 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 175 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 82,000 miles. For transmission specifically, the median reported mileage is about 82,000 miles (24 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 73 complaints mention a crash; 16 complaints mention a fire; 58 injuries reported; 4 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 29 model years of the Ford Taurus with enough data (624 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
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.
While driving at 50-55 MPH, consumer's vehicle was hit on the passenger side front near the fender head light. Upon impact, the air bags deployed. The air bags contained chemicals that burned both passenger/and owner on the face, and the others on their upper chest area. *scc
The drivers side seat belt failed approximately 6 inches above the anchor bolt, at the "b" pillar post. This information is being provided by officer r.l. Mcedward, (9359), california highway patrol per c.h.p. Policy.
Car is in shop having 2 cracked heads replaced. Mechanic was advised to keep all parts for further investigation. The ford taurus 3.8 engine has an extended warranty because of head gasket failure. The ford company told me that the 3.0 engine was built in atlanta ga. And there were no recalls on it.the alldata service bulletin 97-24-16 issued 11-24-94 said to simply extrapolate the 3.8l engine for the warranty extension on the 3.0.
On 4/3/2015 my mother in law pulled into the driveway after a 10 mile trip to town. Upon pulling in the driveway the car started on fire immediately, at first she thought the car was overheating (white smoke) then realized the car was actually on fire (black smoke). She had to be helped by an idaho power employee who was driving by. A total of two 15lb fire extinguishers and garden hose were used to keep the fire at bay until the fire department arrived. The car was destroyed from the dash panel forward.
All lights, brake lights, hi-low beams and running lights work! All panel lights and interior lights work. Turning signals & emergency flashers do not work at all! It is as though the wires in the steering column were disconnected from both the turning stick (switch) and the emergency switch? Checked every fuse in fuse box under hood and they all look ok. Assume no bulb problem because there was and is no fast blink...