1999 Ford Taurus problems
Owners have filed 1,100 complaints with NHTSA about the 1999 Ford Taurus. Suspension is the most reported problem area, at 17% of complaints. Next are brakes (11%) and steering (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 1,100 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Suspension 17% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 78 and 22
- Injuries and deaths
- 86 and 4
- Typical mileage
- 70,000 miles 407 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 | 20 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 50 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 97 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 69 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 68 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 39 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 26 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 20 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 12 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 5 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 407 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 70,000 miles. For suspension specifically, the median reported mileage is about 70,000 miles (101 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 78 complaints mention a crash; 22 complaints mention a fire; 86 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 1999 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 29 model years of the Ford Taurus with enough data (689 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 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.
Unsure--but brake failure LED to death of four, cruise control would not disengage, brakes to the floor, emergency pulled and car would not stop, went 320 feet before impact-not sure why, but want to inform others
Vehicle surged forward when vehicle was shifted into park, resulting in vehicle hitting a brick wall. While shifting into park, the engine accelerated to over 3000 RPM which caused the vehicle to jump an eight inch curb and violently hit a brick wall.
Vehicle's engine accelerated to 3000 rpm's resulting in vehicle hitting a brick wall. When the consumer attempted to place the gear in park, the engine accelerated, it was impossible to stop the high RPM rate the engine had attained. The vehicle jumped an eight inch curb crossed a sidewalk and a grassy area of twenty feet and violently hit a brick wall. The consumer was unable to place the gear into park, turn the engine off or pull the key out of the ignition.
Intially diagnosed as power steering fluid leak - turns out that the problem was a leak in the rack and pinion steering.
Has happened three times, the entire electrical system has shut off while driving. Had alternator and battery replaced. Battery light is on and lights dim considerably while driving at night resulting in sometimes shutting down completely. Happens day and night.