2008 Ford Taurus X Problems
- Complaints
- 153filed with NHTSA
- Median mileage
- 60,660miles, 137 complaints with mileage
- Recalls
- 1campaigns on record
- Trend
- FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.
- NHTSA crash rating
- —overall rating starts with 2011 models
- EPA fuel economy
- 19 mpgcombined, 3.5L 6-cyl FWD · 16 city / 24 hwy
Sources: NHTSA records for the 2008 Ford Taurus X (complaints, recalls, investigations), NHTSA crash tests, EPA fuel economy. Report an error
What owners report
Owners of the 2008 Ford Taurus X most often write about power steering trouble — steering that becomes stiff, pulls to one side, or drops power assist — usually at low speed and sometimes intermittently. Transmission complaints are nearly as common, typically harsh or delayed shifting and occasional loss of drive, and a smaller group reports unintended acceleration or stalling, particularly at highway speeds and on inclines.
- Steering
Power steering assist cuts out or steering becomes stiff
- 42 complaints (27%)
- median 74,369 mi at 5.5 yrs old (38 state mileage)
- 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
- owner-quoted repair $1,000 (median of 9 quotes)
- filed 2009–2021
Owners describe the steering becoming very hard to turn, often in one direction only, while parking or turning at low speed, and sometimes losing power assist entirely without warning. Several say the steering came back after restarting the engine or varied in and out while driving. Complaints commonly note that the steering rack and power steering pump were replaced, in some cases more than once, and that shops found no codes or fluid loss. Some owners report that a rack-and-pinion replacement or fluid service described in a service bulletin was needed. Mostly reported between roughly 47,000 and 140,000 miles, frequently during low-speed turning or parking maneuvers and often intermittent.
What to check: Turn the wheel lock to lock at a standstill and at low speed and note any stiffness, noise, or one-sided effort; ask whether the rack, pump, or fluid have been serviced and keep the fluid level checked.
2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records
“Power steering , intermittent dis-engagement. This was noticed by my wife in early august 2010. She said it was getting harder and harder to turn. I drove the car for a week and it became worse, (power steering fluid levels were topped off). It would work some times and then completely fail leaving only manual steering without power assist. …”
NHTSA complaint #10353310, filed 2010-09, 58,953 miles“I was driving home on city streets when the power steering went out. Car became almost impossible to turn, even using all my strength. I could not have reacted to any obstacle that suddenly presented itself, and I could hardly make turns, even at very low speeds. It was a dangerous situation.”
NHTSA complaint #11145308, filed 2018-11, 136,000 miles - Transmission and drivetrain
Harsh, delayed or missed transmission shifts
Mentioned in 12 of 60 sampled complaints
Complaints describe the transmission refusing to upshift, revving high then slamming into gear, or bucking between gears, sometimes with a grinding noise when pulling away from a stop. Owners say the car would return to normal after shutting it off and restarting, and that dealers were often unable to duplicate the problem or find stored codes. Several complaints report that a replacement transmission was eventually recommended, and some mention input and output speed sensors replaced after removing the valve body. Reported across a wide mileage range, from under 30,000 to over 160,000 miles, often described as intermittent and worse in cold weather.
What to check: Test drive from cold and from several standing starts, watching for delayed or harsh shifts and any slip between 40-45 mph; ask whether the 6F50 transmission has been serviced and whether any speed-sensor or software work was done.
2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records
“Less than 80k miles, the car's transmission acts like it lost first gear. The dealership now tells me that this less than 5 year old car needs a completely new transmission at a cost of $5,000. I understand through online forums that this problem is fairly common. Unbelievable that Ford isn't doing anything about this.”
NHTSA complaint #10552514, filed 2013-11, 78,000 miles“We have been having transmission problems since we bought this car, they keep re-setting the computer so it does not show any codes now that it is out of warranty we need to purchase a new transmission on a car that is only 2 years old. The dealership says that they are not willing to help with this even though we have already purchased a new cooling system for the transmission, they have changed the throttle body and it has been in numerous times. …”
NHTSA complaint #10369379, filed 2010-12, 6,000 miles - Vehicle speed control
Unintended acceleration or engine surge while braking
- 52 complaints (34%)
- median 59,302 mi at 4.5 yrs old (48 state mileage)
- 3 mention a crash, fire or injury
- owner-quoted repair $2,100 (median of 8 quotes)
- filed 2008–2021
Owners describe the vehicle accelerating on its own, sometimes while idling at a light or merging, with the brake pedal pressed but the car not slowing; a few mention the engine revving and staying high with cruise control engaged. In several cases the driver shifted to neutral to stop the vehicle. Complaints say dealers found no diagnostic codes and could not reproduce the condition. Reported from about 30,000 to 155,000 miles, typically at highway merging or idling situations.
What to check: During a test drive check that the throttle returns cleanly and the pedal is not binding, and ask whether the throttle body or electronic throttle system has been serviced or updated.
2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records
“A few times when accelerating, the engine revs and it seems like it gets stuck . When it happens, I take my foot off the accelerator or pump the accelerator and then the brake to set it right.”
NHTSA complaint #10451365, filed 2012-03, 60,660 miles“While driving on the expressway at 70ish MPH, with the cruise control on, I applied slight pressure to the gas pedal to accelerate around a slower car. When I did, the engine revved to around 3500rpms, but did not gain speed. The engine continued to rev, and since I wasn't accelerating I needed to slow to match traffic flow. I tapped the brakes with no result. The engine was still revving, and next I manually turned the cruise control off at the hand control. The engine continued to rev, and I tapped the brakes again with no result. …”
NHTSA complaint #10376871, filed 2011-01, 32,000 miles - Electrical system
Engine stalling or loss of power while driving
- 29 complaints (19%)
- median 65,000 mi at 6.3 yrs old (27 state mileage)
- 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
- owner-quoted repair $600 (median of 5 quotes)
- filed 2010–2021
Complaints describe the engine shutting off after starting or while driving, sometimes with warning lights, gauges dropping to zero, and steering becoming hard to turn. Some owners report the car restarted and ran normally afterward. Diagnoses in the complaints included spark plugs, ignition coils, coolant and radiator work, and throttle body replacement, and owners say the problem sometimes returned after repair. Spread from about 40,000 to 180,000 miles, appearing both shortly after startup and at highway speed.
What to check: Ask for any history of stalling or warning-light repairs, check that ignition coils and spark plugs have been replaced as needed, and have the charging and electrical system checked.
2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records
“Car shut off 3 minutes after starting it. I restart it then it shut off again after 5 minutes. Drove the about hour and half no problem. 2 hours later drove car a few blocks shut off again luckily I was pulling back up to my house. Now I'm scared to drive the vehicle. Please help.”
NHTSA complaint #11297275, filed 2020-01, 180,000 miles“Within 24 hours, twice the car suddenly displayed empy fuel guage and having zero miles on the range estimator despite having roughly half a tank of gas. One time, shortly after displaying empty despite having half a tank, the car cut off at highway speeds.”
NHTSA complaint #11341786, filed 2020-07, 142,000 miles
Buying note. Check the steering and transmission carefully on a test drive, since those two areas account for most owner complaints, and ask for service records covering the power steering rack, pump, and transmission. Budget for potential steering or transmission repairs and have a pre-purchase inspection done by an independent shop.
Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.
NHTSA recorded 153 consumer complaints for the 2008 Ford Taurus X. 137 of the complaints include a mileage, and 39% of those were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles; the median is 60,660 miles. Of all complaints, 4 involved a crash, 4 a fire, 2 an injury, according to the filers. NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign and 10 technical service bulletins for this model year.
Not compared (fewer than 3 comparable model years). Model years 2008–2023 of the same vehicle that have at least 25 complaints are compared, and a model needs at least 3 of them.
Which parts are reported most
Complaints can name more than one part, so the counts add up to more than the total. Select a part to see its complaints, recalls and bulletins.
- Steering42 27%
- Vehicle speed control26 17%
- Body and structure15 9.8%
- Brakes14 9.2%
- Electrical system10 6.5%
- Other or unknown9 5.9%
- Suspension9 5.9%
- Fuel system7 4.6%
- Engine6 3.9%
Also reported: Engine cooling (6), Tires (5), Electronic stability control (4), Seats (4), Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors) (4), Air bags (2), Latches, locks and linkages (2), Seat belts (2), Equipment (1), Wheels (1).
Example complaints
Steering: “While driving approximately 35 miles an hour I lost my power steering. My vehicle steers very hard and is extremely hard while trying to park car. Right turns are harder than left turns. The vehicle is hard to maneuver around sharp turns and corners. Mechanic diagnosed it as a bad rack and pinion (steering gear) and is a safety hazard concern.”
NHTSA complaint #10722884, filed 2015-06, 121,000 milesTransmission and drivetrain: “While stopped at a traffic light the vehicle just took off and I couldn't get car to stop until I put it in neutral while applying the break. Mechanic could not find a reason for this and it doesn't happen all the time .since other people have had the same or similar problem seems like a recall problem to me. Car tries to drive itself!!!”
NHTSA complaint #11071761, filed 2018-02, 95,836 milesVehicle speed control: “While at a stop sign or traffic light withmy foot on the brake the vehicle accelerated independently without warning. I have almost been thrown into traffic due to the independent accelerated. After this happening sevral times and phone calls to the dealer and then taking the car into the dealer.the Ford dealer stated they have seen this alot and the problem was in the throddel body. However, I had to still pay $700.00 to have their known problem fixed. Car mileage 113,000.”
NHTSA complaint #10888212, filed 2016-07, 110,000 milesBody and structure: “When driving my car I have been involved in 2 wrecks because of this problem when trying to stop quickly the car does not stop the traction light comes on and the car continues to roll. I had a front end collision and my air bags never deployed I was traveling about 35-40 MPH. I bought the car from jd byrider.this is not the first time this car has done this meaning stopping but the air bag deployment this is the first time. …”
NHTSA complaint #11192860, filed 2019-04, 92,000 milesMileage when problems were reported
39% of the 137 complaints with a mileage were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles; the middle half falls between 30,000 and 100,000 miles.
Complaints by year filed
Trend: falling. Complaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.
Crash test ratings
NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2008 Ford Taurus X. Frontal results are shown driver / passenger; rollover shows the star rating and NHTSA's estimated risk of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.
| Version | Overall | Frontal | Side | Side pole | Rollover |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taurus X · hatchback FWD/AWD | not rated | 5 / 5 | — | — | 4 · 13.3% risk |
Ratings before the 2011 model year come from an older, less demanding test and are not comparable with ratings for 2011 and later.
Source: NHTSA New Car Assessment Program (5-Star Safety Ratings), nhtsa.gov/ratings.
Fuel economy and running cost
EPA ratings for each 2008 Ford Taurus X version. Annual fuel cost is the EPA's estimate at its current fuel prices for 15,000 miles a year (55% city driving).
| Version | Engine | Transmission | City | Hwy | Comb. | Fuel / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taurus X AWD | 3.5L 6-cyl | 6-speed automatic | 15 | 22 | 18 | $3,700 |
| Taurus X FWD | 3.5L 6-cyl | 6-speed automatic | 16 | 24 | 19 | $3,550 |
Source: U.S. EPA and Department of Energy, fueleconomy.gov. Ratings are for comparing vehicles; real-world mileage varies with driving and conditions.
Recalls and investigations
- 16V247000Apr 26, 2016Air bags › FrontalCovers: Ford Taurus X 2008–2009, Taurus 2008, 2010–2012, Flex 2009–2012 +2 more
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2009-2012 Ford Flex, 2008 and 2010-2012 Ford Taurus, 2008-2009 Ford Taurus X, 2008 Mercury Sable, 2009 and 2011 Lincoln MKS vehicles. The driver frontal air bag may improperly inflate during…
Recall details for the 2008 Ford Taurus X → · Check a VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls
Technical service bulletins
TSBs are manufacturer notes to dealers about known repair procedures. They are not recalls and do not by themselves mean a vehicle has a fault. 10 on record; the latest 10 are shown.
- 11029052Feb 24, 2026Other or unknown, Electrical system, Body and structure. Ford and Lincoln vehicles equipped with wired keyless entry keypad systems and accessory wireless keyless entry keypad systems may or may not come with a wallet card containing the master code…
- 10254138Apr 24, 2024Equipment. All accessory stick-on keyless entry keypads come with a wallet card containing the master code. If the accessory keypad was factory installed, this card will be placed in the glove box and should…
- 10190489Mar 17, 2021Suspension. This SKU is a Control Arm. The customer communication requested return of unsold inventory to inspect the bushing orientation. If the bushing orientation is incorrect, it will prevent installation…
- 10039053Mar 1, 2011Transmission and drivetrain, Electrical system, Engine…. Ford: if there is an intermittent lack of power, surge, or hesitation while driving the brakes will override acceleration.
- 10039155Aug 9, 2010Engine cooling. Ford: there may be a rough idle or misses while the malfunction light is on. There are mutliple possible trouble codes stored.
- 10032244Oct 1, 2007Transmission and drivetrain. Ford/mercury/lincoln: some vehicles equipped with a 6f50 transaxle , with any output shaft speed (oss) sensor or turbine shaft speed (tss) sensor diagnostic trouble code(s) (dtcs) p0715, p0717…
- 10032237Oct 1, 2007Suspension. Ford/mercury: vehicles may exhibit a non-metallic rubbery grunt from the front end at low speeds, most noticeably while turning into/out of a driveway. Engineering is aware of this concern and is…
- 10032234Oct 1, 2007Other or unknown, Equipment. Ford: some multiples vehicles replacements may require revised as built data. The new level sjb service part introduced between 10/07 and 02/08 will require entry of as built data.
- 10023436Oct 1, 2007Transmission and drivetrain. 6f50 transaxle equipped vehicles when stopped on a hill in drive or reverse without service brake applied may roll (won't hold).
- 10021280Oct 1, 2007Transmission and drivetrain. 6f50 transaxles built prior to 1/1/07 - dtc p0715, p0717, p0718, p0720, and/or harsh engagement, no upshift, fifth gear only. *kb updated 2/6/08.
Other model years of the Ford Taurus X
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | Crash ★ | MPG | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 11 | 62,000 | 1 | — | 19 | — | Not enough data |
| 2008 | 153 | 60,660 | 1 | — | 19 | Not compared (fewer than 3 comparable model years) | Falling |
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2008 Ford Taurus X?
Owners of the 2008 Ford Taurus X most often write about power steering trouble — steering that becomes stiff, pulls to one side, or drops power assist — usually at low speed and sometimes intermittently. The issues reported most often: Power steering assist cuts out or steering becomes stiff; Harsh, delayed or missed transmission shifts; Unintended acceleration or engine surge while braking.
How many NHTSA complaints does the 2008 Ford Taurus X have?
NHTSA recorded 153 consumer complaints for the 2008 Ford Taurus X as of Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
What part of the 2008 Ford Taurus X is reported most often?
Steering is named most often, in 42 complaints (27% of the total), followed by transmission and drivetrain with 41.
Has the 2008 Ford Taurus X been recalled?
NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign for this model year. To check a specific vehicle, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
What gas mileage does the 2008 Ford Taurus X get?
The EPA rates the 2008 Ford Taurus X (Taurus X FWD, 3.5L 6-cyl) at 19 mpg combined, 16 city and 24 highway, with an estimated annual fuel cost of $3,550 at 15,000 miles a year. Other engine and drive versions are rated differently.
At what mileage are problems with the 2008 Ford Taurus X reported?
Among the 137 complaints that include a mileage, the median is 60,660 miles and the middle half falls between 30,000 and 100,000 miles; 39% were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles.
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Crash ratings are from NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program. Fuel economy is from the EPA and DOE (fueleconomy.gov).
Complaint counts come from NHTSA’s public complaint database; we count each complaint once. The source records for this vehicle are on nhtsa.gov. Scores and trends are our own summaries of that data, described in the methodology. This page is not legal, safety or repair advice: for a specific vehicle, check its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and ask a qualified mechanic. See an error? Tell us.