2012 Ford Taurus Recalls, Complaints & Specs

5 safety recalls list the 2012 Ford Taurus, and owners have filed 79 complaints with NHTSA. Check your own VIN below.

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5 safety recalls for the 2012 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. Air bags: frontal

   NHTSA 16V247000 Reported April 26, 2016 695 vehicles potentially affected Ford Motor Company

   Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2009-2012 Ford Flex, 2008 and 2010-2012 Ford Taurus, 2008-2009 Ford Taurus X, 2008 Mercury Sable, 2009 and 2011 Lincoln MKS vehicles. The driver frontal air bag may improperly inflate during second-stage deployment in the event of a high speed crash. As such, these vehicles fail…

   Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the driver's frontal air bag module, as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on June 13, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer…

2. Electric power assist system (steering)

   NHTSA 15V340000 Reported June 2, 2015 393,623 vehicles potentially affected Ford Motor Company

   Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Ford Fusion vehicles without a 3.5L engine and Lincoln MKZ hybrid electric vehicles, 2011 Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with a 3.5L GTDI engine and 2013 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and…

   Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will check the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM) for Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC). If dealers find any loss of steering assist DTCs, the steering gear will be replaced, free of…

3. Door (structure)

   NHTSA 15V040000 Reported January 28, 2015 194,889 vehicles potentially affected Ford Motor Company

   Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2010-2013 Ford Taurus vehicles manufactured December 1, 2009, to July 31, 2010, and 2011-2013 Lincoln MKS vehicles manufactured June 1, 2011, to October 31, 2011. In the affected vehicles, the interior door handle return spring may unseat, resulting in interior door handle that…

   Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect all four of the interior door handles and either repair or replace them, free of charge. The recall began March 23, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at…

4. Exterior lighting

   NHTSA 14V285000 Reported May 29, 2014 183,425 vehicles potentially affected Ford Motor Company

   Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Taurus vehicles manufactured November 24, 2008, through February 28, 2014, originally sold in, or currently registered in, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,…

   Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the license plate lamp assemblies, free of charge. The recall began on July 26, 2014. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-800-392-3673. Ford's number for this…

5. Tank assembly (fuel system)

   NHTSA 13V109000 Reported March 27, 2013 3,037 vehicles potentially affected Ford Motor Company

   Ford is recalling certain model year 2012 Taurus, Lincoln MKS, and model year 2013 Explorer vehicles manufactured July 19, 2011, through March 15, 2012. In the affected vehicles, the fuel tanks may have a marginally sealed seam in the side of the tank. As a result, the fuel tanks may not provide the expected strength in the event of an…

   Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the fuel tanks and replace them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 9, 2013. Ford's recall campaign number is 13S03. Owners may contact Ford Motor…

79 owner complaints filed with NHTSA

Owners of the 2012 Ford Taurus have filed 79 complaints with NHTSA; 1 describe a crash and 3 describe a fire. The average mileage at failure in those reports is 60,772 miles. Complaints peaked in 2015 with 19 filed that year.

Most-reported components

• Steering17
• Electrical system16
• Structure: body13
• Engine11
• Exterior lighting11
• Unknown or other6
• Service brakes4
• Vehicle speed control4

What owners are reporting

“Complete power steering failure p07ae:09-c8 after recall complete 6/29/26”

Owner complaint to NHTSA, September 24, 2026 · Electrical system

“My steering all of a sudden was stiff and I can barely turn at low speeds. Not safe due to uncontrolled steering. I replaced the pump thinking that would fix it, and it did not. I’m taking it to a dea”

Owner complaint to NHTSA, April 19, 2025 · Steering

Fuel economy and specs

EPA ratings for the 2012 Ford Taurus (Taurus AWD, Taurus FWD). 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 2012 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.