2008 Ford Taurus Problems, Recalls & Reliability
240 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2008 Ford Taurus, alongside 1 recall campaign and 1 defect investigation. It scores 13/100 on the trouble index — one of this model's quieter years. Transmission & drivetrain leads the reports, typically around 83,000 miles.
One of the quieter years. Relative to its siblings, the 2008 Ford Taurus has drawn well-below-average complaint volume with at least four years on the road.
Better year
Where 2008 sits among all Taurus years
What owners report
“Transmission slips into neutral while driving. Same transmission is used in chevrolet and saturn vehicles and has been recalled by gm.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2008 Taurus
“2008 taurus, bought new 11/7/7, 33 miles. 11/12/13 repair ' 31,682 miles ' rack and pinion steering started to fail while driving. Replaced for $889.82, not under warranty; ford covered none of the cost. 1/2/20 repair ' 65,691 miles ' rack and pinion steering failed again immediately after a…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2008 Taurus
“While i was driving on the freeway my car started to idle high and speed gained without me doing it. I tried to push on the brake to slow car down but brake would not work, i got off freeway and pushing as hard as i could on the brake the car slowed somewhat., there was a hill which caused me to…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2008 Taurus
“The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for an inspection, the dealer advised him to stop driving the vehicle due to corrosion of the subframe, caliper, steering arm, brakes, and a hole in the catalytic converter. The vehicle was not…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2008 Taurus
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 216 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 79,341 miles. Half of those reports fall between 36,500 and 114,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (1)
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…
Fix: 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…
Federal defect investigations
Technical service bulletins
17 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on transmission & drivetrain and brakes & stability — are on file for the 2008 Ford Taurus. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
See the 2008 Taurus TSB list →
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2008 Ford Taurus reliable?
The 2008 Ford Taurus drew 240 complaints in federal safety records — one of this model's quieter years. Its trouble index is 13/100, scored against the model's worst year (1993).
What are the most common 2008 Ford Taurus problems?
The top reported problems for the 2008 Ford Taurus are transmission & drivetrain (44 complaints), steering (36), and speed control (32).
At what mileage do 2008 Ford Taurus problems show up?
Owners most often report 2008 Ford Taurus problems around 79,341 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 36,500 and 114,000 miles.
Does the 2008 Ford Taurus have recalls?
1 recall campaign applies to the 2008 Ford Taurus. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.