Ford cooling system problems
Across all Ford models in NHTSA's complaint database, 2,083 complaints involve cooling system. The Taurus accounts for the largest share (24%). The single worst model year is the 1995 Windstar with 138 cooling system complaints.
At a glance
- Complaints
- 2,083 about cooling system, all Ford models
- Most affected
- Taurus 25% of these complaints
- Typical mileage
- 68,000 miles 620 complaints with mileage
- Crashes and fires
- 16 and 83
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Which Ford models
| Model | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Taurus | 510 | 25% |
| Explorer | 253 | 12% |
| Windstar | 195 | 9% |
| Contour | 192 | 9% |
| Mustang | 181 | 9% |
| F-150 | 89 | 4% |
| Thunderbird | 61 | 3% |
| Escape | 60 | 3% |
| Focus | 52 | 3% |
| Crown Victoria | 44 | 2% |
Worst model years for cooling system
- 1995 Ford Windstar138 complaints
- 1995 Ford Taurus114 complaints
- 1993 Ford Taurus111 complaints
- 1995 Ford Mustang109 complaints
- 1995 Ford Contour103 complaints
Cooling system complaints by model year
View the numbers
| Model year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 25 |
| 1991 | 54 |
| 1992 | 68 |
| 1993 | 167 |
| 1994 | 127 |
| 1995 | 512 |
| 1996 | 223 |
| 1997 | 178 |
| 1998 | 117 |
| 1999 | 63 |
| 2000 | 49 |
| 2001 | 47 |
| 2002 | 43 |
| 2003 | 43 |
| 2004 | 22 |
| 2005 | 27 |
| 2006 | 126 |
| 2007 | 18 |
| 2008 | 45 |
| 2009 | 3 |
| 2010 | 8 |
| 2011 | 7 |
| 2012 | 3 |
| 2013 | 21 |
| 2014 | 27 |
| 2015 | 8 |
| 2016 | 17 |
| 2017 | 18 |
| 2018 | 11 |
| 2019 | 3 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 2 |
Among the 620 of these complaints that report mileage, the median is about 68,000 miles.
Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many vehicles each brand sells, so large brands naturally have more complaints.