Buyer Research

2018 Ford Taurus — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $12,000–$18,000. There are 2 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

Forty-eight complaints, and 31 of them were filed in 2025–2026 after two recalls landed at once — the B-pillar trim that falls off and the rear camera that goes blank — so the record is mostly people waiting for parts. That is a thin record, not a clean one. Underneath it are the things worth money on any sixth-generation Taurus: rear toe links and lateral arms that let the back end shift under hard braking (one owner spun in the road), the 3.5L's internal water pump, and the power transfer unit on AWD cars. A late, low-mileage Taurus is a lot of quiet car for the money; buy one with all four recalls closed, the rear suspension checked for play, and a receipt or a price adjustment for the water pump.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 48 owner complaints for the 2018 Ford Taurus, and 4 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 body and structure at 23%. That is notable without being overwhelming — worth checking, not worth panicking about.

4 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 2018 Ford Taurus

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

Rear camera blank, distorted or flickering — recall issued 2025, parts slowMedium

Eleven complaints, all since Ford issued recall 25V695 for a rearview camera that displays a distorted, intermittent or blank image: owners describe the picture appearing and vanishing, a Camera Unavailable message, or a screen that stays black in reverse. Dealers inspect and replace the camera free, but the campaign is phased and most of these owners were told no part was available yet. Check the VIN for the remedy, then sit in reverse with the engine running and watch the screen for a full minute before you decide whether it works.

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 (11); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

B-pillar door trim comes loose or falls off (recall)Low

Recall 25V611 covers 2016–2019 Taurus: the trim on the front B-pillars can detach while driving. Eleven structure complaints on this year and nearly all are the same story — the letter arrived in February 2026, the driver's or passenger's panel is already loose or gone, and the dealer has no parts. Ford repairs or replaces the trim free when they do. One owner also had silver paint lift off in a car wash. Press the trim between the doors on both sides for give, and confirm the recall status on the VIN.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $100–$300 per panel outside the recall

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the body and structure (11); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Rear toe links and lateral arms wear or break — the back end shifts under braking, one car spunHigh — wallet impact

Seven suspension complaints, and they describe the same thing from different angles: the rear of the car steps sideways under a hard brake, fishtails on slippery ground, or in one case a rear lateral arm's ball joint broke and spun the car in the road. A dealer told one owner at an oil change that both rear toe links needed replacing. Recall 20V072 replaces the toe links free, but only on SHO Performance Pack and Police cars — on an ordinary 2018 they are a wear item you pay for, roughly $100 a side in parts plus an alignment. Grab each rear wheel at 3 and 9 o'clock and rock it; any clunk or play is a link. Then brake hard from 40 mph on an empty road and feel whether the rear stays put.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $300–$800 for toe links or lateral arms and an alignment outside it

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the suspension (7); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Key can be removed with the car out of Park — roll-away risk (recall)Medium

Recall 18V141 covers 2017–2018 Taurus with a mechanical key rather than push-button start: the key can be withdrawn while the transmission is in Drive or Neutral, and with no parking brake set the car can roll. The fix is a new shifter assembly, free. The recall began in May 2018 so most cars have had it, but a fleet car or one that changed hands early may not. With your foot on the brake and the shifter in Drive, try to turn the key off and remove it; it should not come out. Check the VIN regardless.

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

Source: 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

3.5L V6 internal water pump — a labour-heavy job, and one engine fire in this year's clusterHigh — wallet impact

Seven engine complaints, one of them a fire; we cannot read each one, but on the 3.5L Duratec the item to budget for is the water pump, which lives behind the timing cover and is driven by the chain. A failed seal leaks out the weep hole or inward into the crankcase, and the replacement runs $1,500–$2,500 because the front of the engine comes apart. On a 2018 with under 80,000 miles it may not have happened yet; that is the point of asking. Check the oil cap for a tan film, the degas bottle for level, and look at the belt area for pink or orange coolant tracks after the drive.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,500–$2,500 for the pump; $5,000–$8,000 if coolant contaminated the oil — around 53% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (7).

Power transfer unit on AWD cars, and a six-speed that shifts harshly — the powertrain clusterMedium

Seven powertrain complaints, one involving a crash. On this generation the expensive one is the power transfer unit that AWD cars and every SHO carry: it holds a small charge of fluid with no drain plug and no service interval, runs hot, and eventually whines, smells burnt and leaks or seizes at $1,500–$3,000. The six-speed automatic itself is generally durable but can shift harshly or flare between second and third when its fluid is old. Sniff at the front of the transmission tunnel after a warm drive, ask whether the PTU fluid has ever been changed, and feel every upshift on the test drive from a cold start.

Repair cost (estimate): $300–$3,000 depending on whether it is a fluid service or a power transfer unit

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (7).

Electrical odds and ends — SYNC module, no-starts, camera reported as electricalLow

Seven electrical complaints on this year. From what surfaces elsewhere on the 2017–2019 Taurus, these are the rear camera filed under a different heading, the SYNC APIM module freezing or dying (a $900 dealer fix when it goes), and intermittent no-starts that trace to a corroded battery terminal or the fuel pump control module rather than the battery itself. Work every function on the SYNC screen, lift the covers on both battery terminals, and let the engine sit ten minutes then restart it before you leave.

Repair cost (estimate): $100–$900

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (7).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Rear end that steps sideways under hard braking
✗Clunk or play when a rear wheel is rocked at 3 and 9 o'clock
✗Backup camera image blank or flickering
✗Key that comes out with the shifter in Drive
✗Tan film under the oil cap or coolant below the line

Good Signs

✓All four recalls shown closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓Rear toe links replaced with an invoice and a fresh alignment printout
✓Water pump replaced with a dated receipt
✓PTU fluid changed on an AWD car, with a receipt
✓Camera image sharp through a full minute in reverse