AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT PROMPTLY SHIFT TO SECOND GEAR OR BEYOND. THE FIRST FORWARD GEAR WOULD REMAIN LOCKED. THE TRANSMISSION FINALLY FAILED COMPLETELY.
1994 Ford Taurus complaints
Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 1994 record →
REAR CUT OFF SWITCH FAILED DUE TO CORROSION FROM WATER LEAKAGE, CAUSING INTERIOR LIGHTS TO REMAIN ON CONTINUOUSLY.
CRACK IN FORWARD CLUTCH PISTON ALLOWED INTERNAL CLUTCH LEAKAGE RESULTING IN ENGAGEMENT FAILURE; WHEN RE-ENGAGEMENT OCCURRED VEHICLE LURCHED FORWARD.
HEAD LIGHTS GO OUT UNEXPECTEDLY.
HEADLIGHTS GO OUT UNEXPECTEDLY.
TRANSMISSION FAILURE.
TRANSMISSION FAILURE.
TRANSMISSION FAILURE. IT WOULD SHIFT OUT OF GEAR AT STOPS. THEN DELAY GOING INTO GEAR AND FINALLY LUNGE INTO GEAR VIOLENTLY. SOMETIMES IT WOULD NOT GO INTO GEAR. *AK
BLOWN ENGINE HEAD GASKET.
TRANSMISSION FAILED. IT WOULD SHIFT OUT OF GEAR AT STOPS. THEN DELAY GOING INTO GEAR, AND THEN LUNGE INTO GEAR VIOLENTLY. *AK
WHILE COMING TO A STOP THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR, RUSULTING IN EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO COLLIDE INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE DEALER WILL BE NOTIFIED ABOUT THE ACCIDENT. *AK
HEADLIGHTS: WHEN DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY THE HEADLIGHTS WILL GO OUT FOR APPROXIMATELY 20 SECONDS. THEY WILL COME BACK ON AND STAY FOR A FEW SECONDS AND GO OUT AGAIN. WAS TOLD BY DEALER THERE WAS A SHORT IN THE RELAY SWITCH WHICH WAS CAUSING THE LIGHTS TO COME ON AND OFF. *AK
TRANMISSION IS DOWN SHIFTING ROUGHLY.
WHILE DRIVING 30MPH VEHICLE HIT METAL OBJECT IN ROAD. ARRIVING HOME, WAS TOLD ODOR OF GAS COULD BE SMELLED. LOOKED UNDER VEHICLE & NOTICED LEAK. TOOK TO DEALER & TOLD GAS LINE HAD A HOLE & POTENTIAL FIRE HAZARD. *AK
LOUD CREAKING NOISE EMANATING FROM VEHICLE'S FRONT END WHEN STEERING IS TURNED.
CONSUMER STATES THAT WHEN THE VEHICLE IS PUT INTO DRIVE IT WOULD HESITATE. WHILE DRIVING THE TRANSMISSION WENT COMPLETLY. THE DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK
ABS FAILED AND WHEELS LOCKED.
PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT FRAYED AND FELL OFF.
TRANSMISSION FAILED
TRANSMISSION CLUTCH PISTON BROKE, TRANSMISSION FAILED, TORQUE CONVERTER FAILED.
TRANSMISSION FLUID LEAK. ALSO, REPLACED ENGINE OIL PAN GASKET. *AK
ALUMINUM CLUTCH PISTON CRACKED AND FAILED.
PANEL LIGHTS SURGE AND COME ON AFTER THE KEY HAS BEEN REMOVED AND NO ONE IS IN CAR, CAUSING THE BATTERY TO GO DEAD.
CLUTCH PISTON FAILURE.
FUEL PUMP FAILED. MJS
WINDSHIELD WIPER AND WIRING HARNESS FAILED. NLM
THE VEHICLE'S TRANSMISSION WENT WITHOUT ANY PRIOR WARNING, AND THE VEHICLE ONLY HAS 49,000 MILES ON IT. *AK
AFTER VEHICLE IS AT STAND STILL ,VEHICLE WILL THEN ACCELERATE TO 12 MPH WITHOUT APPLYING GAS PEDAL. ALSO VEHICLE ACCELERATES HIGH IN REVERSE. DEALER FOUND NO PROBLEM. *AK
ENGINE STALLED AND WOULD NOT START AGAIN UNTIL COOL.
TRANSMISSION FAILURE.
WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE ABOUT 60-65 MPH THE HEADLIGHTS SWITCH MALFUNCTIONED,CAUSING HEADLIGHTS TO GO OFF, LEAVING VEHICLE WITHOUT LIGHT IN THE DARK. BUT THE LIGHTS ON THE DASHBOARD ARE ON. THE DEALER WAS CONTACTED, THEY COULD NOT FIND THE PROBLEM. MANUFACTURER NOT CONTACTED. *AK
ENGINE WAS SHAKING SO BAD DUE TO DEFECTIVE ENGINE MOUNTS THAT CAUSED THE AIR CONDITIONER TO FAIL.
TRANSMISSION FAILED .
TRANSMISSION FAILURE.
DRIVE BELT CRACKED. YH
WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE WOULD STALL. OWNER NOTES OF NOISE IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT AREA. WHEN VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEALER, IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT A ROD GASKET/PISTON FAILED. *AK
VEHICLE STALLED WITH NO PRIOR WARNING AND NO ABILITY TO RESTART, VEHICLE RESTARTED THREE HOURS LATER.
CONSUMER HAS HAD TROUBLE WITH VEHICLE STALLING, THE FUEL PUMP HAS BEEN REPLACED, HOWEVER THE PROBLEM IS STILL PRESENT.
TRANSAXLE ASSEMBLY FAILED, CAUSING CAR TO HESITATE.
AIR CONDITIONER BLOWER FAN WAS MAKING NOISES AT LOW SPEED. REPLACED BY DEALER UNDER WARRANTY, THEN AFTER WARRANTY EXPIRED, COMPONENT FAILED AGAIN. ALSO, DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR LATCH FAILED, DOOR WOULD NOT CLOSE AT ALL. *AK
TRANSMISSION OVERHAUL.
WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED, THE VEHICLE ENGINE SHUTS DOWN, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO STALL. PLEASE DESCRIBE DETAILS. *AK
THERE WAS A CRACK OR SMALL PIN HOLE FOUND IN THE CASE OF THE TRANSMISSION, CAUSING TRANSMISSION FLUID TO LEAK AND DRIP ON THE EXHAUST PIPE.
INTERMITTENT RANSMISSION FAILURE. *AK
VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A COLLISION AND THE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. *AK
SAFETY SELT STITCHING SEAMS CAME APART. CONSUMER CLAIMED SEAMS WERE COMING APART AT TIME OF PURCHASE OF VEHICLE. *AK
VEHICLE WOULD NOT START DUE TO FUEL PUMP MALFUNCTIONING. ALSO, FUEL GAUGE FAILED, GAUGE INCORRECTLY SHOWED GAS LEFT IN TANK WHILE IT WAS ACTUALLY EMPTY. *AK
TRANSMISSION FAILED.
VEHICLE WOULD NOT SHIFT OUT OF PARK UNTIL THE IGNITION IS TURNED OFF AND THEN ON AGAIN.
WHEN SHIFTING INTO ANOTHER GEAR, TRANSMISSION TAKES A WHILE BEFORE CATCHING IN GEAR. ITS A CONTINUOUS PROBLEM. TOOK TO DEALER & TOLD WOULD BREAK IT DOWN TO FIND WHAT IS CAUSING PROBLEM. *AK
Reading these
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 1994 Ford Taurus → · Every Taurus year → · How the figures are calculated →