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2016 Ford Taurus

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Fewer warning signs than most model years

Owner complaints for the 2016 Ford Taurus are lower than the model-year median of 318.

About this comparison →

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

46 reports with mileage · 34 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Back Over Prevention. Review the 25 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 12 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Steering. Review the 9 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

4 crash reports1 fire reports3 injury reports

What owners actually said

80 reports
30,000 miles · Sep 9, 2025
Back Over Prevention

The contact's mother owns a 2016 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while shifted to reverse(R), the back over prevention camera displayed a black image, or showed the radio screen. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent, but was a recurring failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it w…

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The contact's mother owns a 2016 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while shifted to reverse(R), the back over prevention camera displayed a black image, or showed the radio screen. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent, but was a recurring failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the back-over prevention camera needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

NHTSA ODI #11685954

97,125 miles · Aug 6, 2025
Back Over Prevention

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse, the rear-view camera displayed a blank screen. The message camera unavailable was displayed. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed to take the vehicle to the dealer for assista…

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The contact owns a 2016 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse, the rear-view camera displayed a blank screen. The message camera unavailable was displayed. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed to take the vehicle to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the rear-view camera needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V442000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure and opened a case. The failure mileage was 97,125.

NHTSA ODI #11678730

56,000 miles · Jun 25, 2025
Steering

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that there was a loose steering bolt. The dealer performed an undisclosed repair, but t…

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The contact owns a 2016 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that there was a loose steering bolt. The dealer performed an undisclosed repair, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact's son diagnosed the vehicle using a code reader and retrieved a diagnostic trouble code for the power steering control module. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.

NHTSA ODI #11669222

Mileage unknown · Jun 12, 2025
Electrical System

The auxillary for hands free phone calls stopped working the same time the back up camera went out. The camera comes and goes. It works sometimes when it is really cold out. Not sure if this is the wiring.

NHTSA ODI #11666528

63,000 miles · Jun 5, 2025
Steering

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start after several attempts, and the battery was replaced by an independent mechanic. The contact stated that soon after the battery replacement, while attempting to make a U-turn, the steering wheel seized with the “Power Steering Assist" messag…

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The contact owns a 2016 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start after several attempts, and the battery was replaced by an independent mechanic. The contact stated that soon after the battery replacement, while attempting to make a U-turn, the steering wheel seized with the “Power Steering Assist" message displayed on the instrument panel. The contact used excessive force to steer the vehicle into a parking lot. The contact stated that a Mobile mechanic arrived at the scene and the contact was informed that the vehicle needed to be reset after the battery was replaced. The contact stated that five days after the vehicle was reset, the failure recurred. The contact called the same Mobile mechanic who had performed the reset and was informed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 63,000.

NHTSA ODI #11665084

Mileage unknown · Jun 4, 2025
Engine

Engine coolant over temperature

NHTSA ODI #11664766

Mileage unknown · May 1, 2025
Unknown Or Other

My back up camera keep going in and out. Screen turns blue and says backup camera is not available.

NHTSA ODI #11658321

66,500 miles · Apr 14, 2025
Engine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Taurus. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the engine overheated. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road, added coolant to the vehicle, and allowed the engine to cool down. Th…

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The contact owns a 2016 Ford Taurus. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the engine overheated. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road, added coolant to the vehicle, and allowed the engine to cool down. The vehicle was taken to a Walmart, where the contact was informed that coolant was leaking from the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to tow the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing, and Goodwill Assistance could be considered. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the coolant pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer later informed the contact that no assistance would be provided and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 66,500.

NHTSA ODI #11654572

Mileage unknown · Mar 28, 2025
Seat BeltsService BrakesSteeringCrashInjury

Steering didn't work correctly which led to brakes not doing what I needed which led to slamming into a cement edge at a freeway exit or entrance. Seat belts locked up. Air bags did not deploy. Front passenger tire flat. Car towed next day. Ford dealership did NOTHING even when it was discovered Ford sold us a car with a FLAT sp…

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Steering didn't work correctly which led to brakes not doing what I needed which led to slamming into a cement edge at a freeway exit or entrance. Seat belts locked up. Air bags did not deploy. Front passenger tire flat. Car towed next day. Ford dealership did NOTHING even when it was discovered Ford sold us a car with a FLAT spare tire (donut). Dealership said no recalls, but coverup or fixed but not correctly previously? Car purchased used. Ford dealership said to go to body shop. Body shop couldn't do anything unless we paid $6,000.00 to get the seat belts replaced. That's 1/3 the price financed for the car!!!! Safety put at risk: flat spare tire & seat belts locked up. The dealership SAID nothing wrong with brakes & steering according to their electronic diagnosis. Didn't even LOOK at brakes & steering. 2 incidents total so far with brakes & steering. Didn't think anything significant the first time. seat belts locked up confirmed by certified body shop. No it has NOT been inspected by anybody else. No warning lights appeared. I unhooked wife's seat belt so she could exit the car as needed & it slammed into her left breast. See attached picture. It took a week for the bruise to go away. Bruise got worse before it disappeared. Hurt a lot.

NHTSA ODI #11651282

Mileage unknown · Dec 21, 2024
Fuel/propulsion System

Occasionally engine surges when in gear when brake is pressed.Car must be put in neutral and key turned iff. This happens only on occasionaly.I understand Ford has extended Throttle body warranty on this part to ten years on my ModelI visited local dealer who ran my VIN and advised there was no information on an extended warrant…

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Occasionally engine surges when in gear when brake is pressed.Car must be put in neutral and key turned iff. This happens only on occasionaly.I understand Ford has extended Throttle body warranty on this part to ten years on my ModelI visited local dealer who ran my VIN and advised there was no information on an extended warranty in his system.He said take it up with Ford.Ford customer service refered me back to the dealer.Can you assist in confirming Ford has extended the coverage to 10 years and if so how to proceed as Ford has denied any knowledge.

NHTSA ODI #11631938

Official recalls

4

25V695000 · Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera

Oct 13, 2025

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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A rearview camera that fails to properly display an image can reduce the driver’s view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

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.

25V611000 · Structure:exterior Trim

Sep 12, 2025

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2019 Taurus vehicles. The driver and front passenger B-Pillar door trim may detach while driving.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Door trim that detaches while driving can create a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.

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.

20V072000 · Suspension:rear

Feb 10, 2020

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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A fractured rear toe link will cause a sudden change in vehicle handling and increase the risk of a crash.

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.

16V925000 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:gasoline:turbo/supercharger

Dec 22, 2016

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2016 Ford Taurus, 2016-2017 Ford Flex, Lincoln MKT, 2017 Ford Explorer and Ford Explorer Police Interceptor Utility vehicles equipped with 3.5L GTDI engines. Improperly brazed turbocharger oil supply tubes may leak oil on engine components.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An oil leak, in the presence of an ignition source, increases the risk of a fire.

Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, and if necessary, replace the turbocharger oil supply tubes, free of charge. The recall began on January 31, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S46.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.