2004 Ford Taurus recalls and problems

The 2004 Ford Taurus has 1 recall and 375 owner complaints on file with NHTSA; the most reported problem area is vehicle speed control.

How the 2004 compares

High

Fewest complaintsMost complaints

High complaint count among 20 Taurus model years — 7th most.

1recalls

375complaints

36crashes

13fires

25injuries

94,000median miles

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA, not verified and not adjusted for sales. Ranking compares this model's own years only.

Does your car have an open recall?
Recalls apply to specific vehicles. Only a VIN lookup on NHTSA's official site shows whether yours is affected and still unrepaired.

Check your VIN →

1 recall

Seats

Jul 8, 2004 · NHTSA campaign 04V330000 · 24,277 vehicles

Problem: Certain passenger vehicles equipped with power adjustable seats May have been inadequately welded.

Original NHTSA wording

CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH POWER ADJUSTABLE SEATS MAY HAVE BEEN INADEQUATELY WELDED.

Risk: The seat May not perform as intended during a crash which could increase the risk of injury.

Original NHTSA wording

THE SEAT MAY NOT PERFORM AS INTENDED DURING A CRASH WHICH COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF INJURY.

Remedy & notes

Dealers will replace the upper support assembly on the power seats. The recall began on July 20, 2004. Owners should contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673.

Customers can also contact the national highway traffic safety administration auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

Recall text as published by NHTSA and the manufacturer.

What owners complain about

Vehicle Speed Control164

Engine44

Unknown or other14

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA; one complaint can name several areas. Not verified by NHTSA.

Complaints by year filed

NHTSA investigations

Stuck throttle

PE12005 · opened Mar 7, 2012 · closed Oct 22, 2012

Summary

Preliminary Evaluation (PE)12-005 was opened to investigate allegations of speed control cables detaching from the throttle body and subsequently interfering with the throttle closing fully to the idle position in model year (MY) 2005 and 2006 Ford Taurus vehicles.The speed control cable, throttle body attachment arm (?nail head?) for the speed control cable, cable mounting bracket and cable routing for the MY 2005 and 2006 Ford Taurus are common to all MY 2004 through 2006 Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable vehicles equipped with either the 155 HP 3.0L 2-valve Vulcan engine or the 200 HP 3.0L 4-valve Duratec engine (the ?subject vehicles?). Figures 1 and 2 show the throttle body cam and speed control cable installed and a cable interference condition caused by contact between a detached cable and the ?nail head.?Ford?s assessment of the condition in incident vehicles noted that the interference conditions produced tended to be short in duration as the cable end tended to dislodge itself from the throttle body due to vibration, road loads or engine roll in addition to tapping the acceleration pedal.Ford inspected three incident vehicles and measured maximum throttle openings of 5.8% to 14.9%, resulting in engine speeds ranging from 1600 to 2200 rpm with the transmission selector in Drive.A Ford stack-up analysis of the speed control cable length from the attachment bracket to the throttle body indicated a maximum theoretical throttle opening of 16.4% that could result from the all…

ENGINE STALLING FFV

DP06005 · opened Dec 4, 2006 · closed Dec 28, 2007

Summary

ON OCTOBER 11, 2006, PUBLIC CITIZEN PETITIONED ODI TO INVESTIGATE REPORTS OF ENGINE STALLS CAUSED BY E85 FUEL IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR (MY) 2003 - 2005 FORD TAURUS FLEX-FUEL VEHICLES (FFV). ODI'S REVIEW OF THE PETITION AND OTHER AVAILABLE DATA FOUND A LOW STALL RATE ATTRIBUTABLE TO E-85 FUELING AND THAT THE MAIN CONCERNS,PROLONGED ENGINE START AND ROUGH IDLE DURING COLD ENGINE STARTUP AT WINTER TEMPERATURES, WERE RESOLVED BY AN ENGINE SOFTWARE UPDATE.TO ENSURE THAT ALL SUBJECT VEHICLES RECEIVE THIS UPDATE, FORD INITIATED A NOTIFICATION CAMPAIGN TO OFFER FREE ENGINE COMPUTER RECALIBRATION.BASED ON THIS INFORMATION, THIS DEFECT PETITION IS DENIED. THIS DENIAL SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A FINDING THAT NO SAFETY DEFECT EXISTS.ODI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO RECONSIDER THIS ISSUE IF FUTURE DATA WARRANT.ADDITIONAL DETAILS CAN BE FOUND IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE POSTED IN THE DP06-005 PUBLIC FILE.

2004 vs. other Ford Taurus years

Owner complaints by model year; the darker bar is the 2004. Click a bar to switch year.

Questions

Does the 2004 Ford Taurus have recalls?

Yes — NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign covering the 2004 Ford Taurus, the latest from Jul 8, 2004 (seats). A recall applies to specific vehicles: enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether yours is affected and still open.

What are the most common problems with the 2004 Ford Taurus?

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA most often mention vehicle speed control (164), power train (72), engine (44). Complaints are consumer reports and are not verified by NHTSA.