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Complaints are consumer reports and have not been verified by NHTSA. Recall text is the manufacturer's Part 573 report as filed with NHTSA. Complaint file through 15 May 2019; recall file through 29 Sep 2026.

Recalls by model year:

Recall campaigns

1. 98V323000STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERSReported 16 Dec 1998 · 2,697,000 units

   Defect, as filed: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles originally sold or currently registered in connecticut, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, iowa, kansas, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, nebraska, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, virginia, west virgnia, and wisconsin. The rear lower subframe mount plate nut can experience stress corrosion cracking if subjected to long term exposure to road salts. This can result in fracture and loss of the structural integrity of the subframe mount attachment. Detachment of the body mounts at the rear corners of the subframe, which supports the engine and transmission, allows the rear corners of the subframe to drop.

   Consequence: If both rear corners drop, steering would become suddenly very difficult, affecting vehicle control and increasing the risk of a crash.

   Remedy: Dealers will install subframe rear mount bolts, reinforcement plates, and plate nuts.

   Filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY (manufacturer campaign 98S36).

2. 92V113000SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLYReported 17 Aug 1992 · 565,000 units

   Defect, as filed: The rigid mounted safety belt buckles are defective in three ways. First, a fastened safety belt buckle will not unlatch when the release button is depressed. This results from interference between the buckle ejector finger and the buckle tongue window. The second defect is the safety belt buckle may not latch. The third possible defect is that the tongue may be retained by the buckle, but it may not be latched sufficiently to provide occupant protection.

   Consequence: An insufficiently latched or unlatched safety beltincreases the risk of injury to seat occupants in the event of a sudden stop oraccident. If the safety belt buckle will not unlatch, it will not allow theoccupant to get out of the vehicle in an emergency situation.

   Remedy: Ford will replace the rigid mounted safety belt buckles with end release safety belt buckles designed to prevent latch problems.

   Filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY.

3. 92V065000WHEELSReported 11 May 1992 · 654,000 units

   Defect, as filed: Children can accidentally lock themselves in the footwell area of the rear-facing third seat, or in the storage compartment in station wagons not equipped with an optional third seat. Once the compartment is closed it cannot be opened from the inside.

   Consequence: There is a danger of air deprivation, hyperthermia,and/or panic response to a child who has locked himself or herself into thecompartment, with the possibility of asphyxiation.

   Remedy: Replace the self-latching assembly currently used in the rear storage compartment with a latch assembly that can only be closed with a key.

   Filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY.

4. 91V134000SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:ROTORReported 6 Aug 1991 · 325,000 units

   Defect, as filed: Front disc brake rotors of the subject vehicles may experience severe corrosion if operated in areas where calcium chloride and sodium chloride are used extensively.

   Consequence: Severely corroded rotors may fracture or separate nearthe inner edges of the brake discs resulting in reduced braking effectiveness,higher than normal pedal efforts, loud grinding noises, and moderate pulls whenthe brakes are applied. Reduced braking effectiveness may increase minimumstopping distances, possibly resulting in an accident.

   Remedy: Replace front brake rotors with full cast front brake rotors.

   Filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY.

5. 90V159000WHEELS:HUBCAP/COVERReported 28 Aug 1990 · 1,212 units

   Defect, as filed: Wheels may contain cracks that could propogate in raised portion of wheel center.

   Consequence: Under severe duty, this could result in eventualseparation of wheel rim from center with loss of control and possibly acollision.

   Remedy: Replace wheels with wheels of a revised design.

   Filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY.

6. 89V171000EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS:SWITCHReported 13 Oct 1989 · 2,900 units

   Defect, as filed: An incorrect transistor may cause autolamp system light sensor module malfunction.

   Consequence: Headlamps could turn off while vehicle is being driven orremain on after vehicle is parked. Loss of headlights while driving at nightcould be hazardous to the driver and other trafific.

   Remedy: Replace light sensor modules.

   Filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY.

Each entry links to the NHTSA record. NHTSA states that safety recall repairs are free of charge at an authorised dealer; check a specific vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Complaints by component

Component mentions per 1,000 for the 1990 Ford Taurus (black) against all 1990 model-year vehicles in the file (yellow). A complaint can name more than one component.

381 unique complaints, 542 component mentions; 26 injuries and 0 deaths reported by complainants. Complaint narratives are not republished.

Complaints by year received

Investigations

Other Ford Taurus model years

Model years with a single campaign and fewer than 25 complaints have no page here; the NHTSA link opens the agency's record for that year.

All Ford Taurus model years · Ford: 201 model lines

Questions and answers

Provenance

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Defects Investigation flat files (recalls, complaints, investigations), public domain, files dated 29 Sep 2026 (recalls) and 15 May 2019 (complaints). Complaints since 1 Jan 1995. Counts are unique complaint numbers per make, model and model year; per-1,000 rates divide a component's mentions by all mentions for the same group. Errors in processing are corrected at the next daily build; see corrections and the methodology.