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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
59,661 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2010 Ford Taurus engine problems

engine problem

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2010 Ford Taurus Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #36

Nov 302021

Taurus

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Unknown

- Lake Orion, MI, USA

problem #35

Nov 302021

Taurus

  • miles
Unknown

- Waterford, MI, USA

problem #34

Jan 012024

Taurus

  • miles
Upgrades allowed a low MPG.

- Waterford , MI, USA

problem #33

Jan 012024

Taurus

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

O2 System failed. System checked. The service light is still on. Agents assisted with inspecting.

- Waterford, MI, USA

problem #32

Jan 012024

Taurus

  • miles
O2 System failed. System checked. The service light is still on. Agents assisted with inspecting.

- Waterford, MI, USA

problem #31

Jan 012024

Taurus

  • miles
O2 System failed. System checked. The service light is still on. Agents assisted with inspecting. Dealership had the vehicle non-recall. Seat belt light appeared and Agent was contacted. System is collected for revisiting my claim.

- Waterford, MI, USA

problem #30

Apr 052022

Taurus

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

5 April 2022 my 2010 Taurus SEL 3.5L engine overheated unexpectedly and the temp warning light came on my way home. I let it cool down during a heavy rain before heading home. I left the vehicle at a gas station for a couple of hours and return to bring it home (3 miles). Temp gage remain steady (3 miles) until it was parked on my driveway. The next day, I conducted an assessment to the cooling system. Reservoir was completely empty and my oil deep stick level was higher than normal 1 inch above max range. It showed coolant contamination. I read several reports about a flaw with the internal water pump design. If indeed is a flaw design or pump manufacture defect, why Ford Motor Company hasn't fix the issue or provided a solution to alleviate this flaw? Now I have to incur on major engine repairs or replacement, in which I am not sure if it is cost effective. Current mileage 171,424

- Cumberland, NC, USA

problem #29

Oct 052020

Taurus

  • 82,000 miles
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving, the steering wheel seized while turning causing the vehicle to become difficult to steer. The contact stated that an unknown warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the check engine warning light then illuminated and the vehicle loss motive power and stalled. The contact waited for several minutes, restarted the vehicle and the vehicle operated as designed. The vehicle was taken to rivertown Ford (1680 whittlesey rd, columbus, ga 31904) and diagnosed and test driven however, the mechanic was unable to retrieve a fault code. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.

- Cilumbus, GA, USA

problem #28

Aug 022020

Taurus

  • 120,000 miles
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving the temperature warning light illuminated, the engine was shaking and smoke white smoke was coming from the engine. The contact had shut off the vehicle to extinguished the smoke. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where they diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact stated that he had two other independent mechanic diagnosed the failure and confirmed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #27

Jul 202020

Taurus

  • 142,000 miles
The contact owned a 2010 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving at 40 mph, he noticed smoke coming from under the hood. The contact veered to the shoulder of the road. The interior filled up with smoke, the contact managed to get out the vehicle where in a few moments the vehicle went up in flames. The fire department was contacted and extinguished the flames. A police and fire department report was made. Progressive insurance was contacted, came out and deemed the vehicle a total loss. No dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 142,000.

- Garrettsville, OH, USA

problem #26

May 142018

Taurus

  • 112,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While traveling through a red light on a state route, I began to accelerate. All dash lights came on. Engine sounded choked. Vehicle then would not accelerate traveling up hill. Forcing me to pull over immediately. After being towed to a Ford dealership for repairs, was advised the engine needed replaced. Dealership service stated the water pump failed releasing coolant into the engine, damaging the engine permanently. Traveling this roadway is usually a semi route to a major highway and factories. Semis do not slow down or stop as quickly as a car and could have caused a fatal accident do to the abrupt pull over that was necessary due to the malfunction.

- Canton, OH, USA

problem #25

Feb 112018

Taurus

  • 163,350 miles
On Sunday, 2/11/2018, I was driving East I-26 in columbia, SC heading to worship services and without warning, my car suddenly shutdown causing me to lose my steering ability. I managed to guide the car out of the 60 mph traffic and came to a stop. After I stopped, I saw a puff of what appeared to be steam or smoke coming from the right front passenger side. As I opened the hood, I could not see any leaks or other evidence of a broken hose or anything that produced the smoke. I checked my fluid levels and discovered that my radiator resevoir was low on fluid. I then pulled the engine oil dipstick and discovered a chocolate milky substance on the dipstick. I suspected that the oil and coolant had mixed causing my engine to fail. I called a wrecker service and had the car towed to classic Ford of columbia. On Monday, 2/12/2018, I received a call from dean ray, service professional from classic Ford. Mr. Ray told me that he thought that the internal water pump failed causing the coolant and oil to mix and possible ruined the engine and I needed to replace the engine. After receiving this information, I conducted research and discovered that Ford was aware of the design flaw with the failure of the internal water pump. When failure of the water pump occurs, there is no warning given to the driver the engine shuts down suddenly. This internal water pump was placed in the 3.5 duratec engines in the Taurus, edge, flex, Fusion, and possibly other Ford cars. This failure almost caused me to have a major accident on a major interstate highway. I think Ford should recall these engines. Many auto experts have discovered this issue with the engine. Loss of life is possibly with this dangerous engine malfunction and an estimated $7,300 engine replacement bill. Please take action asap to avoid death and injury to Ford owners. A recall could save lives.

- Irmo, SC, USA

problem #24

Oct 272017

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 121,000 miles
THE WATER PUMP DAMAGED THE ENGINE ON MY 2010 TAURUS BROUGHT IT TO A FORD DEALER NOW DEALER TOLD ME I NEED A NEW ENGINE WITH A COST OF $5000 PLUS LABOR, WATER PUMP IS INSIDE THE ENGINE.WHEN WATER PUMP GOES IT STARTS LEAKING INTO ENGINE. NEEDING TO ENGINE TO BE REPLACE I THINK THIS STUPID [XXX] DESIGN BY FORD.I WAS DRIVING WHEN THIS HAPPEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Springfield, MA, USA

problem #23

Nov 122016

Taurus

  • 132,000 miles
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 70 mph, the check engine waring indicator illuminated and the temperature gauge moved to hot. The contact pulled to the side of the road and turned the vehicle off. The contact open the hood and noticed that it was leaking coolant at the water pump. The vehicle was towed the dealer where it was diagnosed that the water pump needed replacement. The vehicle was towed home and then to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 132,000. The VIN was not available.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #22

Sep 212016

Taurus

  • 99,800 miles
Operating car in normal driving conditions. Check engine light began to blink and engine began to shake. Car continued to operate at 60 mph. Car was driven to dealership for repairs. At dealership learned fuel injector was stuck open dumping raw gas into the engine and exhaust systems. Appears to me to be a very dangerous operating condition.

- South Windsor, CT, USA

problem #21

Aug 282016

Taurus

  • 150,000 miles
While driving the engine overheating display came on and the engine lost most of its power. Upon ispection the radiator coolant tank was empty. Filled the tank with water and drove to the nearest Ford dealer. The dealer said the water pump had failed and leaked the coolant into the crankcase. No leaks were visable outside the engine. The dealer said that the engine got to hot and there is exhaust gases in the coolant and suggests a new engine because of the 150K mileage on the engine. The important part of this is that this is a very poor design by the engine manufacturer. I am a mechanic/supervisor for a company that has been using the Ford Taurus as it's vehicle of choice for the past 25 years. This failure has happened to Taurus' in our fleet four other times in the last four months with catastrophic failure being the outcome. The vehicles were 2010-2012 with 100K -150K miles.because there is no outside leak and the leak is slow so that the coolant degrades the oil and internally damages the engine before a loss of coolant causes the engine to overheat. This has been the case with all but one of our vehicle failures. A water pump replacement before 100K miles should be recommended by Ford and financial assistance by Ford should be offered is a catastrophic engine failure occurs because of this major design flaw.

- Baldwin Park, CA, USA

problem #20

Dec 312015

Taurus

  • 100,000 miles
I own a 2010 Ford Taurus SE. I purchased the car 2 years ago, I begin having problems with the engine approximately 4 months ago. The car begin to run hot while driving so I pulled over to the side of the road and shut the engine off. I cranked the car up again and the gauge read normal. About a week later the same action occurred so I took the car to my local Ford dealership and was informed that I needed a new engine because oil and water was mixing within. I was very unhappy but had to replace the engine out-of-pocket because the warranty had already expired. I then made a promise that I will never ever purchase another Ford in my life because I have always driven GM vehicles and have never replaced anything major on the GM vehicles. I think that Ford should recall these engines because this was a very unpleasant, and inconvenient experience. This action would make at least a few hundred thousand customers whole again. #lessonlearned #gm4life

- Hartsvile, SC, USA

problem #19

Mar 182016

Taurus

  • 85,000 miles
Was inspecting the underside of my 2010 Taurus sho. The LH turbo (front turbo) seems to be covered in oil. Talking with my mechanic this can create a fire hazard. The flash point of 5W-30 is 435^C. during normal engine operation exhaust temperature can get to and exceed 700^C. the exhaust is only a few inches from where the oil return line goes back into the reservoir. There was a tsb for the issues but some owners say that did not resolve the issue. How can owners be expected to pay for installing an updated design when its not their fault" especially when it comes to somthing that could cause a fire? I have been doing some research and other people have experienced issues with the gasket on the oil return line. There have also been reports of fires with these cars that were most likely caused by an oil leak. There are no recalls currently issued for the turbos on this car. I feel that this issue is very serious and should be recalled because of the change of fire. There was a lawsuit filed against Ford for defects with the eco boost motors but nothing ever came of it back in 2013. I have uploaded references: www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2013/05/Ford-sued-over-allegedly-defective-ecoboost-engines.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=jyzbb8cmxa8 www.ecoboostperformanceforum.com/index.php?topic=3760.0 www.ecoboostownerforums.com/index.php?/topic/1202-front-turbo-leaking-again/ www.topix.com/forum/autos/Ford-Taurus-sho/td3J00Q9Q5of94rci www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewtopic.php"T=14855 www.engineeringtoolbox.com/flash-point-fuels-D_937.html

- Grand Rapids, MI, USA

problem #18

Feb 242016

Taurus

  • 103,700 miles
My son was driving this car when it started to make noise and smoke about 10 minutes from our house. He was driving on streets, not highway. He pulled over. We called our mechanic and he advised us not to drive it and get it towed. Upon his inspection, he saw 2 holes in the engine that looked like something shot out of it. The engine had to be replaced. The mechanic said he never saw anything like this and that it must be a manufacturing defect. We took pictures of it. When I contacted Ford, they said there was nothing they could do about it because the warranty had expired a few months earlier. We had to pay for a new engine.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

problem #17

Feb 092016

Taurus

  • 62,930 miles
02/09/2016. I was stationary at a stop light. I lost all electrical power.I lost all power steering functions. The dashboard message said to put the transmission in park. These instructions would have immediately damaged the transmission. You can restart the push button start in neutral only by using the brake pedal first. Had I been in any type of traffic, a rear end collision could have occurred. The car was inspected at a Ford dealer today ( 02/11/2016). The remedy was to change a rfa module related to the key fobs. The theory is this : no key recognition means the computer is telling the car to shut down. The Ford dealer can't explain while the problem is intermittent : ( I drive with the same key fobs at all times). This is probably not the solution. This is the second report filed on the same vehicle. The date of last report was 07/31/2011. NHTSA id number 10416408. The solution last time was replacement of the throttle body assembly. It is pretty obvious the solutions do not match. So basically, Ford has no answer.

- Tinley Park, IL, USA

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