Buyer Research

2015 Ford Taurus — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $7,500–$13,000. There are 4 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

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Kestrel Take

The 2015's record is three stories: a fuel pump control module that stalls the car (27% of 272 complaints, and the recall covers only the EcoBoost and police cars), a rear camera that flips or goes black (20%, with a 2025 recall whose parts are still trickling out), and electric power steering that seizes without a recall to lean on (19%, three crashes). None of them is the whole car — the 3.5L is a strong, quiet engine when its internal water pump is sound, and the cabin is genuinely roomy. The buy is a car with a fuel module receipt, a scanned steering module, the six recalls closed, and a seller who will let you spend twenty minutes reversing and turning it at walking pace.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 272 owner complaints for the 2015 Ford Taurus, and 6 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 the fuel system at 27%. That is notable without being overwhelming — worth checking, not worth panicking about.

6 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 2015 Ford Taurus

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

Fuel pump control module quits — stalls while driving, crank-no-start; recall covers only EcoBoost and police carsHigh — wallet impact

The largest cluster, 73 complaints. The car dies on the road with no warning and then only cranks, or refuses to start in the driveway with no light on the dash; a dealer finds the fuel pump control module (or the sending unit) dead. Recall 16V621 replaces the module free on 2013–2015 Taurus with the 3.5L EcoBoost and on Police Interceptors — a shop note in this record says flatly that a stalled 3.5L non-turbo VIN was not covered, and one leased SHO stalled again a month after the recall work. Separately, recall 15V605 covers cars built on July 24, 2015 whose fuel tank strap bolts may not have been tightened; a one-day window, checked by VIN. Ask when the fuel module was last replaced and look at it for corrosion; a car that has cranked longer than two seconds on your visit has told you what it needs.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $300–$800 for a fuel pump control module outside the recall

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the fuel system (73); 6 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Rear camera shows upside down, distorted or blank — a 2025 recall with slow partsMedium

54 complaints, a fifth of the record, nearly all filed in 2025 and 2026 after Ford issued recall 25V695 for a rearview camera that displays a distorted, intermittent or blank image in reverse — on this car it usually starts as an upside-down picture and progresses to black with a Camera Not Available message. Ford inspects and replaces the camera free, but the campaign is phased and many owners here were told the part was not yet available; one paid out of pocket before the recall and is fighting for reimbursement. Two of these complaints involved a crash while reversing. Confirm on the VIN whether the remedy is done, and watch the screen for a full minute in reverse before you trust it.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $250–$500 for a camera outside the recall

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under back over prevention (54); 6 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Electric power steering seizes or drops assist — no recall for this year, three crashesHigh — wallet impact

51 steering complaints and the accounts are alarming: the wheel freezes while merging onto a highway at 26,000 miles, goes stiff backing out of a garage with an Electronic Power Steering Fault message, or loses assist for a moment at 20 mph and then comes back. Codes owners quote are U3000-96 and C200D-49 in the steering module. There is no steering recall for 2015 Taurus; one owner was told the electrical system needed an update, others needed a rack. Get the power steering module scanned before purchase — a stored U3000 is disqualifying at asking price — and turn lock-to-lock at a crawl cold and again after a warm drive.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,500–$2,500 for a steering rack and module

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (51).

Internal water pump on the 3.5L V6 — big labour bill, and coolant can end up in the oilHigh — wallet impact

The 3.5L's water pump is chain-driven behind the timing cover. A failed seal can weep out the hole at the front of the engine, or leak inward into the crankcase, where coolant thins the oil and wrecks bearings. Because the front of the engine comes apart to reach it, the job runs $1,500–$2,500 even at an independent. Engine is 13% of this year's complaints; we cannot read all 35, but on this engine the pump is the four-figure item to ask about. Pull the oil cap and look for a tan emulsion, check the degas bottle level, and sniff for coolant at the front of the engine after the drive.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,500–$2,500 for the pump; $5,000–$8,000 for an engine run on contaminated oil — around 78% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (35).

Halfshaft bracket can fail on 2.0L front-drive cars (recall); AWD power transfer unit runs itself dryHigh — wallet impact

Recall 20V692 covers 2014–2015 Taurus with the 2.0L EcoBoost four-cylinder and front-wheel drive: the halfshaft support bracket can break, which means loss of Park (the car can roll) or loss of drive while moving. Dealers replace the bracket free, though parts were slow when the recall opened; check it on the VIN. On AWD cars and every SHO, the powertrain risk is the power transfer unit, which runs a small charge of fluid very hot with no service interval — it whines, smells burnt, then leaks or seizes. Eighteen powertrain complaints on this year, three of them crashes. Ask whether the PTU fluid has ever been changed; the honest answer is usually no.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $1,500–$3,000 for a power transfer unit — about 29% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (18); 6 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Electrical faults: fault messages that cascade, no-starts, modules that need reflashingMedium

31 electrical complaints. From the ones that surface in the other clusters, they are mostly the same two stories seen from a different angle: a Steering Assist Fault that lights the traction and ABS warnings together, and a no-start that turns out to be the fuel pump module rather than the battery. The rest are the sixth-generation Taurus regulars — a centre-stack control module that stops answering its buttons, SYNC screens that freeze, and door locks that ignore the fob. Work every switch and both fobs with the engine off, then have a full-system scan run; on this car the scan is worth more than the test drive.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$1,000

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (31).

Parking brake may not fully engage (May 2015 builds) and rear toe links may fracture on Performance Pack cars — two recallsMedium

Two narrow recalls worth a VIN check. 15V464 covers Taurus built May 4 to May 23, 2015: the electric parking brake control may not fully apply, so a car left in gear on a slope can roll; dealers test it and replace the control assembly free. 20V072 covers 2013–2018 Taurus with the Police Interceptor or SHO Performance Pack: the rear suspension toe links can fracture, changing the handling suddenly; free replacement, parts slow at first. Apply the parking brake on a hill with the transmission in Neutral and see whether it holds; on an SHO, ask whether it has the Performance Pack.

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

Source: 6 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Engine that cranks for more than two seconds before catching
✗Any steering fault message, or a wheel that stiffens at a crawl
✗Backup camera image upside down, blurry or black
✗Burnt smell at the front of the tunnel on an AWD or SHO after the drive
✗Milky residue under the oil cap

Good Signs

✓Fuel pump control module replaced, with the invoice
✓Rear camera recall 25V695 shown completed on the VIN
✓Power steering module scanned with a clean history
✓Water pump replaced with a receipt naming the mileage
✓PTU fluid changed at least once on an AWD car