Buyer Research

2012 Ford Taurus — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $4,500–$9,000. There are 2 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

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Kestrel Take

A big, quiet, heavy sedan with a 3.5L V6 that has real strengths and one expensive habit. 78 complaints is a thin record, so read it as a list of what to check rather than a rating: steering assist that quits at parking-lot speeds (a recall on the SHO, a tired pump on the base car), a door-handle recall whose parts took years to arrive, and five recalls in total that a VIN lookup settles in a minute. The bill to budget for is the internal water pump on the 3.5 — ask when it was done, and if it hasn't been, price it into the offer. Buy one with the recalls closed, a clean coolant check, and steering that stays light through a full lock-to-lock turn.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 78 owner complaints for the 2012 Ford Taurus, and 5 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. The largest single group is steering at 21%. That is notable without being overwhelming — worth checking, not worth panicking about.

5 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2012 Ford Taurus

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Power steering assist quits while driving — a recall on the SHO, a failing pump on the base carHigh — wallet impact

Steering is the largest cluster at 21% of complaints, and the owner accounts are consistent: the wheel goes heavy without warning, usually at low speed or right after start-up, sometimes with a steering-fault message and a stability warning. Recall 15V340 covers 2011–2012 Taurus with the 3.5L EcoBoost (the SHO), where the electric power steering control module can drop assist; the dealer reads the module for fault codes and replaces the steering gear if needed, free. The non-turbo 3.5L uses a hydraulic system in this year, so its failures are a pump, a hose or a rack, and one owner replaced the pump without curing it. On the test drive, turn lock-to-lock at a crawl with the windows down and listen for a whine; the effort should stay light and even.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $500–$1,200 for a hydraulic pump and hoses; $1,500–$2,500 for a steering rack — about 37% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (16); 5 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Internal water pump on the 3.5L V6 — when it fails, coolant can reach the oilHigh — wallet impact

Ford's 3.5L Duratec drives its water pump off the timing chain, inside the engine. When the pump seal gives up, coolant can leak into the crankcase instead of onto the driveway, and the engine can run milky oil until it overheats or a bearing fails. Replacing the pump means opening the front of the engine, which is why the quote is four figures even though the part is cheap. Engine is 17% of this year's complaints with one fire among them; we cannot see every one of the 13 reports, but the pump is the failure every 3.5 owner should plan for past 100,000 miles. Pull the oil cap and dipstick and look for a tan, milky film; check the coolant level in the degas bottle; ask for a receipt if the seller says it was done.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,500–$2,500 for the pump; $5,000–$8,000 if the engine was run on contaminated oil — more than this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (13).

Interior door handles can stop working — the door may open in a side crash (recall)Medium

Recall 15V040 covers 2010–2013 Taurus built December 2009 through July 2010: the return spring behind the interior door handle can unseat, leaving the handle flopping and the latch either stuck or not fully engaged, which Ford says could let the door unlatch in a side impact. Most of this year's 16 Structure complaints are owners who got the recall letter in 2015 and then waited months because the parts were unavailable — so a car that sat in that queue may still be open. Pull all four interior handles; each should snap back with a firm click. The rest of the cluster is trunk lift struts that quit holding the lid, a $40 pair.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $40–$120 for trunk lift supports

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the body and structure (16); 5 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Dash controls and climate go dead; warning lights flash; whole electrical system drops outMedium

Fifteen electrical complaints in three flavours. The most specific is the centre-stack control module: radio, volume, fan and temperature buttons all stop responding at once and the heat blows full hot with no way to shut it off — a known Taurus module failure, and a $300–$700 fix. Others report clusters of warning lights flashing at speed, a backup camera image that displays upside down, and two owners whose whole car went dark (lights, gauges, heat) and then recovered ten minutes later, which points to a ground or a body control module connection rather than the battery. Press every button on the centre stack and cycle the climate control through hot, cold and off before you talk price.

Repair cost (estimate): $300–$1,200

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (15).

Fuel tank seam may leak — fire risk (recall)Medium

Recall 13V109 covers 2012 Taurus built July 19, 2011 through March 15, 2012: the fuel tank can have a marginally sealed seam on its side, and a leak near an ignition source is a fire. Dealers inspect the tank and replace it if needed, free. This is a narrow build window and an early recall, so most cars have had it done — but a car that spent 2013 in a garage or changed hands off the books may not. Confirm it on the NHTSA VIN lookup, and kneel down after the test drive and smell around the tank area for raw fuel.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: 5 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Driver airbag may inflate improperly in a hard crash (recall)Medium

Recall 16V247 covers 2010–2012 Taurus: the driver's frontal airbag can inflate improperly during its second stage in a high-speed crash. The remedy is a free inspection and, where needed, a new airbag module. Only three complaints on this year are airbags, so this is a recall to verify, not a live pattern of failures — but an open airbag recall on a car you are about to drive is a reason to make the dealer visit happen before the sale closes, not after.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under airbags (3); 5 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

License plate lamps corrode and can short in salt states (recall)Low

Recall 14V285 covers 2010–2014 Taurus sold or registered in the salt-belt states: road salt corrodes the license plate lamp assemblies, and a short circuit there is a fire risk. Dealers replace the assemblies free. The 12 exterior lighting complaints on this year are a mix of these and the usual failed low-beam bulbs and foggy lenses. In a rust-belt car, look at the plate lamps for green crust and check the recall status by VIN; elsewhere, this is a two-bulb annoyance.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $30–$150 for lamps

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the lights (12); 5 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Steering that goes heavy at parking speed or right after start-up
✗Milky, tan film on the oil cap or dipstick — coolant in the oil
✗Any interior door handle that flops or needs two pulls
✗Centre-stack buttons that do nothing, or heat that will not shut off
✗Seller cannot show which of the five recalls are closed

Good Signs

✓All five recalls shown complete on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓Water pump replaced with an invoice naming the part and mileage
✓Coolant clear and at the full mark, oil honey-coloured on the dipstick
✓Steering stays light and quiet through a full lock-to-lock turn
✓Climate and radio controls responding on every press