1998 Ford Taurus Recalls, Complaints & Specs

2 safety recalls list the 1998 Ford Taurus, and owners have filed 545 complaints with NHTSA. Check your own VIN below.

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2 safety recalls for the 1998 Ford Taurus

Most recent first. Recall repairs are free at any authorised dealer. Click a recall for the full defect, consequence and remedy text.

1. Anchorage (seat belts)

   NHTSA 98V198000 Reported August 25, 1998 7,000 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with manual seat tracks. The front seat belt buckle attaching stud may have been improperly heat treated. This heat treatment may have resulted in cracks developing in the stud.

   Remedy: Dealers will replace the seat belt buckle mounting bracket and stud assembly.

2. Headlights (exterior lighting)

   NHTSA 98V028000 Reported February 10, 1998 571,800 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The text and/or graphics for the vehicle headlamp aiming instructions provided in the owner guides are not sufficiently clear. This does not meet the requirements of FMVSS no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."

   Remedy: Owner guides containing revised aiming instructions will be mailed to owners of these vehicles.

545 owner complaints filed with NHTSA

Owners of the 1998 Ford Taurus have filed 545 complaints with NHTSA; 61 describe a crash and 14 describe a fire. Reports cite 64 injuries and 4 deaths. The average mileage at failure in those reports is 92,563 miles. Complaints peaked in 2000 with 97 filed that year.

Most-reported components

• Vehicle speed control86
• Power train: automatic transmission47
• Service brakes, hydraulic: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip31
• Suspension: coil springs31
• Air bags: frontal28
• Engine and engine cooling: gasoline21
• Engine and engine cooling: engine17
• Interior lighting15

What owners are reporting

“This car only has 73k milrs on it i am the 3rd owner. The power steering and the rack and pinion failed on this car. I was driving west on Columbus Drive in East Chicago three weeks ago when my steeri”

Owner complaint to NHTSA, August 20, 2022 · Steering

“Tl* the contact owns a 1998 ford taurus. The contact stated that all four seat belts in the vehicle malfunctioned and failed to retract, which left the occupants unsecured. The vehicle was taken to ba”

Owner complaint to NHTSA, March 30, 2018 · Seat belts

Fuel economy and specs

EPA ratings for the 1998 Ford Taurus (Taurus SHO, Taurus Wagon). Ranges cover every tested configuration.

Compare Ford Taurus model years

Recall and complaint counts for every Ford Taurus model year in NHTSA's database.

Checking a specific 1998 Ford Taurus

Other Ford models

• F-15037,961 complaints
• Explorer34,566 complaints
• Escape27,430 complaints
• Fusion22,405 complaints
• Focus22,096 complaints
• Windstar14,158 complaints
• Edge14,065 complaints
• Expedition9,359 complaints

Source: NHTSA recall and complaint databases and EPA fuel economy data, October 2026. Complaint counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. Recall counts are safety campaigns that list this model year; whether a particular car was already repaired depends on its VIN. How this data is compiled.