1992 Ford Taurus problems & reliability
681 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1992 Ford Taurus. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
38 complaints report injuries (49 injured, 2 deaths reported).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 217 | 32% |
| Power Train | 105 | 15% |
| Electrical System | 70 | 10% |
| Structure | 67 | 10% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 60 | 9% |
| Steering | 56 | 8% |
| Air Bags | 49 | 7% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 49 | 7% |
| Suspension | 48 | 7% |
| Visibility | 43 | 6% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 101,377 miles (middle 50% between 66,000 and 137,105 miles), based on 27 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“A car ran a stop sign, t-boned me on front pass-side pushing me off the road to the left. Seatbelt did not restrain me, both airbags deployed, left bag blew shrapnel cutting my face and injuring my right eye.”
Seat Belts · filed Jun 30, 2017
“Tl* the contact owns a 1992 ford taurus with gillette silver bear (205/65r/15) tires (dot e2urmyc2003). The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 mph the rear passenger side tire blew out. The driver stopped the vehicle on the shoulder of the road and replaced the tire with the spare tire. The driver…”
Tires · filed Oct 31, 2012
“Tl*the contact owns a 1992 ford taurus. While the contact was driving approximately 5 mph, he heard a loud noise and the rear corners of the subframe fell off of the vehicle. The subframe bolts on the rear end of the vehicle were covered with rust which caused the steering wheel to become unstable. The contact…”
Structure · filed Apr 26, 2010
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- FRONT SUSPENSION SPRING BREAKAGE
Recall Query RQ98016 · opened Sep 29, 1998 · closed Jan 12, 1999 · led to recall 98V094000
- DEFECTIVE AIR BAG CRASH SENSOR
Defect Petition DP96014 · opened Nov 14, 1996 · open
- ENGINE COOLING FAN FIRES
Engineering Analysis EA96024 · opened Sep 30, 1996 · closed Apr 15, 1997 · led to recall 97V019000
- HEADLIGHT FAILURE
Engineering Analysis EA96019 · opened Jul 31, 1996 · closed Jan 26, 1998 · led to recall 98V009000
- ENGINE COOLING FAN FIRES
Preliminary Evaluation PE96033 · opened May 2, 1996 · closed Sep 30, 1996 · led to recall 97V019000
- ALLEGED DEFECTIVE TIE RODS
Defect Petition DP95004 · opened Aug 8, 1995 · closed Aug 30, 1995
- PLASTIC TRIM PANEL SEPARATION
Preliminary Evaluation PE95026 · opened May 1, 1995 · closed Aug 31, 1995
- BROKEN TIE RODS
Engineering Analysis EA94008 · opened Feb 16, 1994 · closed Feb 27, 1995
Technical service bulletins
83 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1992 Ford Taurus. The 10 most recent:
New transmission cooler flusher - service tips. 2003 escort and super duty f series included. *tt
03148 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 21, 2003
Climate control a/c service tech tips. *eh
02208 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 14, 2002
Lamp-brake-invadvertent disabling of brake shift interlock. *mj
02176 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 2, 2002
Transfer service tips for the front wiper motor mount bracket and depressed park output arm. *tt
02107 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 27, 2002
Some engine assemblies with aluminum cylinder heads repaired in-vehile have been found to leak coolant and/or oil from the cylinder head gasket area. *tt
0214 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 21, 2002
Brake shift interlock.*jb
01181 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 17, 2001
Information regarding transmission fluid usage charts. *slc
01157 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 6, 2001
Some vehicles may exhibit heater core leaks. *slc
01156 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 6, 2001
On some vehicles, engine oil may continue to leak from the engine oil pan gasket area after an engine oil pan gasket repair has been performed. *tt
01124 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 25, 2001
This information is a supplement to the wiper system service information provided in the workshop manuals. This service information is intended as an aid to assist in diagnosis and repair of erratic wiper system…
011201 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 25, 2001
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
No NHTSA recall campaigns name the 1992 Ford Taurus in our current data. Recalls may apply only to certain VIN ranges — always confirm with a VIN check.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 1992 Ford Taurus?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 101,377 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.