2012 Ford Taurus Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 2012 Taurus most often describe losing power steering assist, sometimes while driving at speed and sometimes at low speed or just after starting, often with a steering fault message and sometimes with no warning at all. A second recurring theme is electrical trouble: the dashboard and climate controls dying, headlights that owners find dim on low beam, and the engine stalling or cutting out at speed.

1. 1
   Steering

   Loss of power steering assist

   • 15 complaints (19%)
   • median 93,000 mi at 8.3 yrs old (9 state mileage, few)
   • filed 2014–2026

   Owners describe the steering suddenly becoming very heavy and hard to turn, either while driving at speed, while turning at low speed, or right after starting the car. Some say a power steering assist fault message or warning lights appeared, while others report no warning at all; several say restarting the car restored assist and others say it did not. Dealers and shops handled it variously, from diagnosis fees to replacement of steering components, and some owners link it to recall 15V340000 but say they were told it did not apply to their VIN. Reported across a wide mileage range, from under 20,000 miles to well over 150,000, at both highway and parking-lot speeds.

   Recall 15V3400001 related service bulletin

   What to check: Ask whether recall 15V340000 was performed on this VIN, and test-drive a cold start and low-speed turns to check for heavy steering or a steering fault message.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I was driving on i279 around 6:15am on july1, 2014. My speed was approximately 60mph. All of a sudden a message appeared on the screen saying there was a power steering system failure. At that point I immediately lost all power to the steering wheel. It was very difficult to maintain a straight course and fortunately I didn't have very far to go until I could pull over and stop. This is very dangerous. Shortly thereafter the advance traction control symbol appeared on the screen also.”

   NHTSA complaint #10607821, filed 2014-07, 18,652 miles

   “Driving normally , when suddenly the steering became extremely difficult. Luckily I was on a city street going about 40 MPH and I was able to manage the vehicle enough to get it to the side of the road.”

   NHTSA complaint #11228824, filed 2019-07, 117,000 miles
2. 2
   Engine

   Engine stalls or cuts out while driving

   • 10 complaints (13%)
   • median 50,000 mi at 4.7 yrs old (10 state mileage)
   • filed 2012–2019

   Owners report the engine shutting off without warning at highway or in-town speeds, sometimes with all electrical systems going dark at the same moment. Several describe the car restarting after a short wait, and dealers often could not duplicate the failure or find stored codes; others had throttle body or fuel tank sensor work diagnosed. Spread from under 5,000 miles to about 120,000 miles, often while at steady speed or after refueling.

   2 related service bulletins

   What to check: Ask for any stored powertrain codes and service history for throttle body or fuel system work, and note whether the car has stalled or hesitated on a test drive.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “This car stopped while driving it 3 times since I purchased it in 2011. It has always been in the summer on a warm day with the air conditioning on. In all cases it happened while driving around 40 MPH. It happened 2 times 2 years ago and once in june 2015. I took the car to the hines park Ford on 7/16/15 and they could not determine the cause of this car stopping. I purchased this car new at hines park Ford.”

   NHTSA complaint #10734937, filed 2015-07, 10,000 miles

   “Car was in motion, engine and wrench light came up and car can't be accelerated. We changed the entire throttle assembly system , still failing, an now we are unable to drive the car. Is very dangerous to drive the car because it will slow down immediately the lights come up.”

   NHTSA complaint #11205167, filed 2019-05, 190,000 miles
3. 3
   Exterior lighting

   Low-beam headlights seen as too dim

   • 10 complaints (13%)
   • median 1,450 mi at 0.5 yrs old (9 state mileage, few)
   • filed 2011–2020

   Owners describe the low beams producing a sharp horizontal cutoff with a dark band above it, leaving the road ahead poorly lit at night and worse in rain. Some had the lamps adjusted or the headlight assemblies replaced under warranty, and several report the complaint remained after those steps. Often reported very early, from delivery mileage up to about 60,000 miles, and again on high-mileage cars.

   Recall 14V285000

   What to check: Drive the car after dark on an unlit road and check low-beam reach; ask whether the lighting recall was completed for this VIN.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Headlight system is poor on low beam. There is a horizontal line making definite division in visibility that extends across the complete horizontal line of vision. Going to high beams stops this. I nearly had an accident as I cannot see well on low beams, upper gazing area. The same thing is reported by many owners. I stopped at the dealer, we looked at it, tried the lights and I find there is what appears a door to shield some of the upper area of the light bulb so that it is darker at the top. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10534381, filed 2013-08, 1,200 miles

   “The headlights have a very definite line between the lit and unlit area of the roadway and surrounding areas. This makes for a very dangerous situation where in my and other posters opinions creates a very dangerous situation whenever driving at night.”

   NHTSA complaint #10551647, filed 2013-11, 40,000 miles
4. 4
   Electrical system

   Instrument panel and climate controls fail

   • 7 complaints (9%)
   • median 31,500 mi at 5.5 yrs old (6 state mileage, few)
   • filed 2012–2023

   Owners describe the radio, heater and air conditioning controls going dead at once, with hot air stuck blowing through the vents or no air at all on one side. Several say the dealer diagnosed a front control interface module or circuit board needing replacement, and some report parts on back order for weeks. Most often reported under about 40,000 miles and again near 100,000 miles.

   2 related service bulletins

   What to check: With the car running, cycle the climate controls through heat, A/C and defrost, confirm the blower responds and that the radio and screen work.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “A complete failure of all dashboard controls occurred without warning. Controls such as radio, volumn , AC, heat, etc are all non responsive! However, the car continually blows hot air registered as 90 degrees through the vents and blower can not be shut off!. The car was parked on a lot in sc. The problem surfaced when I started the ignition to leave, after attending a meeting. I cautiously drove the car home and called a tow truck to take it to a dealer. It has been two months. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11057436, filed 2017-12, 23,963 miles

   “2012 Ford Taurus. When you first start the car while its stationary, the fcim (front control interface module) malfunctioned which caused the defrost to have electrical issues. And the radio does not work.dealer stated that the defroster malfunctioned and blew hot air at 90 degrees. The vehicle was diagnosed as needing the fcim I was never giving a price for that part either and spent 250 dollars on a possable idea of what could be wrong. I need to get this fixed it my wife car and she drive my special needs daughter around in this. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11376542, filed 2020-11, 102,002 miles
5. 5
   Body and structure

   Interior door handle does not return or open

   • 12 complaints (15%)
   • median 106,000 mi at 7.8 yrs old (1 states mileage, few)
   • filed 2015–2019

   Owners describe the inside door handle hanging loose or failing to release the latch, so the door has to be opened with the outside handle. Some say the handle was previously repaired under a recall and failed again, and others report the recall part was unavailable for months. Reported from about 30,000 miles upward, including cars covered by the door handle recall.

   Recall 15V040000

   What to check: Open and close each door several times from inside to confirm the handle returns fully and releases the latch; ask whether recall 15V040000 was done.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “The driver's side inside door handle failed to open the door to allow egress. It hangs out limply on its hinges not engaging the door latch. To open the door, the window has to be rolled down and the outside door handle pulled up as though entering the vehicle. This problem was the subject of a prior recall several years ago and this very same inside door handle was repaired by a Ford dealer.”

   NHTSA complaint #11228997, filed 2019-07, 106,000 miles

   “The contact owns a 2012 Ford Taurus. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15v040000 (structure); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.”

   NHTSA complaint #10776615, filed 2015-09

Buying note. Check that the steering and door handle recalls were completed for the specific VIN, and test steering feel, climate controls and night-time headlight reach before deciding. A pre-purchase inspection that pulls stored codes is worthwhile given the stall and electrical complaints.

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.