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Electrical systemPart report

1990 Ford Taurus Electrical system Problems

Complaints
41about this part
Share
11%of 381 total for the year
Median mileage
70,000miles
Trend
StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 41 complaints about the electrical system of the 1990 Ford Taurus, 11% of the 381 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 70,000 miles. 8 a fire, according to the filers.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“How do I get Ford motor company to honor genuine NHTSA recalls on a 1990 Ford Taurus wagon??? It currently has complaint # NHTSA 90e043001; NHTSA 98v323000; NHTSA 93v106002; NHTSA 91v34000. I cannot get dealership to replace air bag module defect, seat belt defect or cpu replacement defect. What do I do to get some action on these issues????”

NHTSA complaint #10295663, filed 2009-12, 70,000 miles

“I had a loose ignition on my 1990 Ford Taurus in which I could remove my key while it was still running I had this changed while I was having other work done on the car and less then a week later I had a very expensive paperweight because after they placed a new ignition into my car it caught fire while I was driving it burning out all the wiring and destroying the wires connected to my battery. I towed the car to the Ford dealer and I had to lay out even more money for them to tell me there is nothing they can do about it. There have never been any fires or recalls and that was that.”

NHTSA complaint #10237338, filed 2008-08

“On november 20, 1998, I had work done on my car at sheehy Ford costing $1100. The next day the car died while being driven on the highway. Ken reed at sheehy Ford said it would cost $3000 4000 to repair an engine bearing problem. …”

NHTSA complaint #735355, filed 2000-10

“Consumer states vehicle has a thick film ignition module installed on the distributor, where it would overheat and cause vehicle to stall which resulted in vehicle catching on fire and was totaled by the insurance company, consumer contacted manufacturer several times to complain about the incident and was told by manufacturer they had no information about the cause of fire”

NHTSA complaint #557118, filed 2000-11

“On several occasions the engine of the vehicle suddenly stopped while driving, once the vehicle was allowed to cool off the driver was able to restart it, the consumer believes this failure is related to the tfi module which was recalled in the state of california, the manufacturer has been contacted. Nlm”

NHTSA complaint #558839, filed 2001-08

Electrical system: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
201916%
2018713%
20171125%
201667%
20153111%
20142913%
20135910%
20121620%
20114725%
2010199%
200946%
2008137%
20072919%
2006258%
2005284%
2004267%
2003978%
2002423%
2001374%
2000625%
1999516%
1998346%
1997628%
1996577%
1995958%
1994819%
199315610%
19927010%
1991447%
19904111%
198911821%
19889428%
19876927%
19861818%

Other parts of the 1990 Ford Taurus

Engine cooling
78 complaints
Body and structure
68 complaints
Steering
51 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
42 complaints
Air bags
41 complaints
Vehicle speed control
30 complaints
Brakes
26 complaints
Seat belts
24 complaints
Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
24 complaints
Suspension
18 complaints
Equipment
12 complaints
Fuel system
11 complaints

← All problems reported for the 1990 Ford Taurus

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.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology