Buyer Research

2013 Ford Taurus — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $5,500–$11,000. There are 4 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 10 Ford Taurus years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

The refreshed Taurus, and the year every version went to electric power steering — and half of its 589 complaints are that steering quitting while the car is moving, seven of them ending in a crash. The recall for it covers only cars built through early 2012, so most 2013s are on their own, and a rack is a $2,000 bill. Behind that sit two more stall-or-fire recalls in the fuel system, the 3.5L's internal water pump, and a transfer unit that cooks itself on AWD cars. This is a comfortable, cheap-to-buy sedan that is only a sensible buy with the steering history in hand: nine recalls closed on the VIN, a scan showing a clean power steering module, and a lock-to-lock turn at a crawl that stays light. Without those, walk.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 589 owner complaints for the 2013 Ford Taurus, and 9 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. 50% of them are about one thing — steering. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

9 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 2013 Ford Taurus

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

Electric power steering assist fails while driving — half of all complaints, and most cars are outside the recallHigh — wallet impact

296 complaints, 50% of the record, seven crashes, one fire. The pattern in owners' words: a Power Steering Assist Fault and Service AdvanceTrac message, the wheel goes heavy at a junction or pulling out of a parking lot, and the code stored is U3000 in the steering control module. Recall 15V340 covers 2013 Taurus built through the recall's cutoff in early 2012 — several owners here were told their April 2012 build missed it by weeks. Outside the recall, the fix is a new steering gear with its motor and module, and independents quote $1,500–$2,500. Before you drive it, have the power steering module scanned for stored U-codes; then turn lock-to-lock at a crawl and again after ten minutes of driving. Any stiffening is a walk-away.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $1,500–$2,500 for a steering rack outside the recall — about 30% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (296); 9 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Fuel delivery module cracks and fuel pump module overheats — leaks, stalls and two fires (three recalls)High — wallet impact

Fuel system is 19% of complaints with two fires, one of them a car that burned from the rear seat area while moving. Three recalls sit under it: 13V227 and 15V812 for a fuel delivery module that cracks and leaks fuel (the second recall re-did the first), and 16V621 for EcoBoost SHO cars whose fuel pump electric module overheats and cuts the pump — the engine stalls or will not start. Owners describe crank-no-start, dying in traffic, and one who replaced the fuel control five times. All three remedies are free; check each on the VIN. Then smell for raw fuel under the rear of the car after a warm drive, and treat any hesitation to restart as a fuel pressure problem, not a battery.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $400–$1,000 for a fuel pump module outside the recall

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the fuel system (109); 9 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

3.5L V6 internal water pump leaks — into the oil, or out the weep hole at a $2,000 quoteHigh — wallet impact

The 3.5L Duratec's water pump sits behind the timing cover and is driven by the chain. A leaking seal can send coolant into the crankcase, and an owner here was quoted over $2,000 at 76,000 miles just to replace a pump caught leaking at its weep hole during a belt change. Engine is 13% of this year's complaints, with two fires; the water pump and stalling at stop signs are the two stories the samples tell. Check for a milky film on the oil cap, a low degas bottle with no visible leak, and a sweet smell at the front of the engine when hot. A pump receipt is worth several hundred dollars in the negotiation because the job is so labour-heavy.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,500–$2,500 for the pump; $5,000–$8,000 for an engine run on coolant-contaminated oil — around 97% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (77).

AWD power transfer unit overheats and fails; halfshaft can pull out of the transmission (recall)High — wallet impact

On all-wheel-drive Taurus and every SHO, the power transfer unit bolted to the transmission runs a small amount of fluid very hot, with no drain plug and no service interval from Ford. It cooks the fluid, then its bearings and seals — a burnt smell, a whine that climbs with speed, then a puddle or a seizure. One owner here has lost two. Recall 14V393 covers 2013–2014 Taurus built August 2011 to November 2013 for a right halfshaft that can back out of the linkshaft, causing loss of drive or the car rolling in Park; dealers inspect and fit a retention part free. On an AWD car, sniff near the front of the transmission tunnel after the drive and ask whether the PTU fluid has ever been changed.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $1,500–$3,000 for a power transfer unit — about 36% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (44); 9 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Stalls and limp mode from the electronic throttle body — wrench light, then no accelerationMedium

Owners describe the car dropping into safety mode with a wrench symbol on the dash, the engine sputtering and refusing to accelerate, then behaving normally after a restart — one lost all power in the middle of an intersection and was told the throttle body had failed. This is the same electronic throttle body Ford fitted across its 3.5L range, and Ford ran a customer-satisfaction programme extending its coverage on many of those models; ask a Ford dealer whether this VIN still carries any throttle body coverage rather than assuming. The part is $300–$700 installed. A throttle body code stored on the scan is a fault waiting to recur.

Repair cost (estimate): $300–$700

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under throttle and cruise control (18).

Electrical faults with three fires among them — modules, dead centre stack, no-startsMedium

57 electrical complaints, and three of them are fires, which on a car this age deserves a look at the wiring under the hood and behind the dash for melted insulation or aftermarket splices. The rest are the Taurus regulars: the centre-stack control module going unresponsive (buttons dead, blower stuck on hot), warning-light cascades that turn out to be the steering module talking to the rest of the car, intermittent no-starts, and door locks that stop answering the fob. Sit in the car with the engine off and work every switch on the centre stack, both fobs and all four locks before the test drive.

Repair cost (estimate): $300–$1,200

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (57).

Rear toe links can fracture on SHO Performance Pack cars (recall)Medium

Recall 20V072 covers 2013–2018 Taurus with the Police Interceptor or SHO Performance Pack: the rear suspension toe links can fracture under stress, and a broken one changes the car's handling instantly. Ford replaces the links free. Suspension is only 4% of this year's complaints but three of those 26 involved a crash. If you are looking at an SHO, find out whether it carries the Performance Pack (brake ducts, bigger brakes, shorter final drive) and check the recall on the VIN; on any Taurus, look for uneven inner-edge wear on the rear tyres, which a bent or loose toe link causes.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $200–$500 per toe link outside the recall

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the suspension (26); 9 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Power Steering Assist Fault or Service AdvanceTrac message at any point
✗Steering that stiffens at a crawl or after the car has warmed up
✗Wrench light on the dash, or an engine that stumbles and recovers after a restart
✗Burnt-oil smell near the transmission on an AWD or SHO car
✗Milky oil cap or a coolant bottle that is low with nothing on the ground

Good Signs

✓All nine recalls shown closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓A scan of the power steering module showing a clean module with a clear history
✓Water pump replaced, with the invoice naming the mileage
✓PTU fluid changed at least once on an AWD car, with a receipt
✓Steering light and even through repeated lock-to-lock turns, cold and hot