2.3

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
66,102 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.

2008 Ford Taurus X drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2008 Ford Taurus X Owner Comments (Page 2 of 2)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #13

Feb 202013

Taurus X 6-cyl

  • 62,000 miles

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

(my wife) driving vehicle on highway, car violently jerked (jumped) and then dropped in speed dramatically. Coasted off interstate onto exit and waited for wrench light to go off and then made it home (car would not accelerate over 20mph). We called about having it checked but was informed that they needed to have the wrench light on in order to read anything on it. It has happened a few other times and most recent as today (7/29/14) with the car not wanting to accelerate. Prior to this, my son felt the jerk and thought a tire blew. It will not accelerate so you want to hit gas pedal more and it will suddenly jump (accident waiting to happen). This is obviously an issue with all the complaints I have read. I hope this issue is taken care of quickly before a horrific accident happens. God bless.

- Pooler, GA, USA

problem #12

Jan 022013

Taurus X 6-cyl

  • 33,500 miles
Transmission failed (over-rev'ed and then would not function) and required immediate replacement. Due to being on the road, had to have replaced by a national transmission company. The replacement transmission is now exhibiting the same systems with the vehicle at 45,000 miles. Ford would not honor or reimburse for the $3,500 in repairs.

- Germantown, TN, USA

problem #11

Nov 142013

Taurus X 6-cyl

  • 78,000 miles
Less than 80K miles, the car's transmission acts like it lost first gear. The dealership now tells me that this less than 5 year old car needs a completely new transmission at a cost of $5,000. I understand through online forums that this problem is fairly common. Unbelievable that Ford isn't doing anything about this.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

problem #10

Jul 172013

Taurus X 6-cyl

  • 101,560 miles

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

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus X. the contact stated while at a stop sign the vehicle would not accelerate. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing where the mechanic was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 101,560.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #9

Dec 142011

Taurus X 6-cyl

  • 48,147 miles
The transmission in my Ford started to "slip" at 48,000 miles. Nearly caused a serious accident as I needed to accelerate but the transmission just "stuck" - stepped on gas and nothing happened. Very dangerous situations with these transmission in the Ford. Three more times after that I had similar situation. Tried to pull out into traffic and there was no first or second gear. Third time the transmission just stopped operating in the middle of the road - no ability to move at all. Ford, even while the car was under warranty, would not fix the issue. Continued to say it was a "code issue." Until the warranty expired, then it became a transmission issue. Very unsafe. Very concerning.

- Danvers, MA, USA

problem #8

Feb 112013

Taurus X 6-cyl

  • 98,000 miles
Backing out of driveway- I noticed that steering column was not locked prior to inserting key. Inserted key, turned to start and no response from ignition. Kept turning steering column and decided to engage transmission from park to drive several times. I returned to park-ing the car and removed the key. Initially, steering column was not locked, then I turned the steering wheel several times and then the column locked. Turned the key and the ignition hesitated- the dials were jumping. After several seconds the engine turned over and dials went to normal. I commenced to back out of driveway- the engine RPM jumped, far more then what I was applying acceleration for and the transmission was hesitant ( clunking was audible). The vehicle reversed too rapidly and I applied quite a bit of brake to stop- I shifted to drive and again I could hear the transmission. The car hesitated to go forward ( transmission was clunking), jerking forward and slowing down and the engine RPM was erratic. I pulled to the side and placed car in neutral; waited a minute which during this time, the vehicle RPM went to normal. Ok, I placed gear in drive and vehicle responded normally. Have had several instances of some of the above described events happening since original occurrence. At this moment, steering column is not locked with the key removed and when turning car to start the ignition is just turning over.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #7

Dec 032010

Taurus X

  • 18,811 miles

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

Harsh transmission engagement and loss of power with higher RPM and a max speed of about 20 mph- replaced speed sensors tss & oss. Same problem occurred again 11,518 miles later replacing the same parts which Ford or dealer would not cover at a cost of $593. Tsb 07-21-11 replacing with parts aa5Z-7H103 and aa5Z-7M101 on both occasions of failure. Had to limp home both times for many miles. Wife now refuses to drive car. I can't believe Ford doesn't stand behind a problem like this when it has a tsb and a multitude of the same reported problem.

- Fort Myers, FL, USA

problem #6

Feb 012013

Taurus X 6-cyl

  • 38,475 miles
Car has a tendancy to drift right or left while traveling. More pronunced drift while stopping. Excessive tire wear. Dealer inspection indicates gears in gear box are loose and gear box needs replacing and vehicle needs alignment. Second set of front tires are worn down to wear bar after only 13,000 miles. Cost for gear box replacement and four wheel alignment is $900. Dealer stated no recalls or service bulletins for steering/gear problem.

- Saline3, MI, USA

problem #5

Dec 072010

Taurus X 6-cyl

  • 12,197 miles
First occasion was when my wife was driving the car and she was parking and the car surged. It happened on several more occasions and on 12/17/2010 Ford replaced the throttle body and air intake. Then on 2-03-2012 and 12-10-2012 car surged again. Ford dealer ship said they could not find cause. On 12-10-2012the car was coming to a stop and the engine began to surge reach around 4000 RPM, I pushed the brake and it continued to surge and I had to put in it in neutral to stop it from lunging into the intersection. It continued to surge as I put it into gear and moved through the intersection. It then stopped surging and behaved normally. I took it to the dealership and they said they could find nothing. I has since surged again while stopping at a stop sign.

- Jamul, CA, USA

problem #4

Jul 162011

Taurus X 6-cyl

  • 54,000 miles
Driving on highway from milwaukee wi, to oshkosh, wi. After driving around an hour at freeway speed with cruise control set at 70, car suddenly accelerated on its own and RPM went up too. Took car off of cruise control and continued driving. The car did it again after a few minutes, accompanied by a loud 'thunk' noise. Immediately got off freeway, turned off car and waited till driving again. Problem did not reoccur then. But happened again next day on way home. Since then it has occurred numerous times. Generally only happens on long trips at freeway speeds after driving about an hour to hour and a half. We do not use cruise control any more, but it still happens on every long trip. Have taken to dealership and contacted Ford. They don't see any service codes so nothing has been fixed.

- Wauwatosa, WI, USA

problem #3

Oct 012010

Taurus X

  • 35,000 miles

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

We initially had issues at 35K miles with the transmission making loud noises and suddenly jerking while accelerating from a stop. Took the car to the dealership and they said they couldn't figure out what the problem was but since we reported it prior to the expiration of the warranty we would be covered if it continued to have problems. In September 2011 the problem was finally bad enough that it tripped the computer and they said that they just needed to replace the sensors (oss and tss), and that it would be a $600 repair. I reminded them that we brought it in for the repair prior to the expiration of the warranty and they eventually agreed to make the repair for a $200 deductible. A month later the transmission went out completely while driving down a narrow road at approximately 35mph. The car lost power but we were eventually able to limp home at 5mph. I agreed and they made the repair. At this point all of the jerking from the bad sensors had destroyed several gears in the transmission and necessitated a complete rebuild ($3900). If they had fixed the problem in the first place the transmission would never have been damaged from trying to shift at the wrong times due to the bad sensors! there were safety concerns throughout the life of this vehicle as is jerked, jumped, and ultimately failed in a completely unpredictable fashion.rebuild ($3900). If they had fixed the problem in the first place the transmission would never have been damaged from trying to shift at the wrong times due to the bad sensors! there were safety concerns throughout the life of this vehicle as is jerked, jumped, and ultimately failed in a completely unpredictable fashion.

- Hendersonville, TN, USA

problem #2

Sep 152010

Taurus X 6-cyl

  • 42,000 miles
Car stalls sometimes when braking approaching stoplights and lunges inexplicably and randomly both when stopped and when moving at lower speeds. This problem has been building over the past couple of months and has become a serious safety issue. At some point, we will end up rear ending somebody or hitting a pedestrian at a crosswalk. While braking seems to be able to overcome the surges in throttle, it all comes down to reaction time as this problem is random and frequent and at some point it will cause an accident.

- Staunton, VA, USA

problem #1

Jun 212010

Taurus X

  • 49,000 miles
The transmission of our 2008 Ford Taurus X (49K miles) went into fail-safe mode on 6/21/2010 and was immediately taken to team Ford. There was also a problem with the parking brake pedal working intermittently so we asked that this problem also be fixed while the vehicle was in their shop. The service manage said that they were backed up on the transmission (8 of them - not good) and would be a while so they would take care of the parking brake first. The next day, 6/22/2010, I received a call telling me that while the vehicle was raised up on the rack to inspect the rear end, the service tech noted that there was uneven wear on the pass. Side rear tire and then noticed that the bracket on the subframe attaching the lower control arm was broken (a crack that had pulled apart). I was informed that our extended warranty would not cover the broken sub-frame and bracket, a $2500 part, while my position is that this is covered as it is a "link". I then went and inspected the vehicle and noticed that there was corrosion in the crack. We have only owned the vehicle for 10 months as we bought it used from guadin Ford when it had just 37,560 miles on it on 8/6/2009. It was also a Ford certified used vehicle. There is no way that much corrosion could have happened to weaken the bracket in under 10 months, fail partially, and have the tire noticeable wear unevenly. We were also told that this "damage" was from "mis-use" of the vehicle. Funny thing is, the bracket was the only "damage". not even scratches or scrapes, or, at the very least, a flat tire or wheel damage from a major impact that would have been necessary to break a high strength suspension part. It had to be defective and nobody either caught it or admitted catching it. There are more spots of corrosion on this part which leads me to believe that there was either defective rustproofing or completely inappropriate type of steel used to manufacture this part.

- North Las Vegas, NV, USA

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