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2011 Ford Taurus: engine and transmission complaints

ELEVATED COMPLAINT SIGNAL
39%
65 of 166 relevant owner complaints are about the engine, transmission or fuel system

39% of relevant owner complaints on the 2011 Ford Taurus are about the engine, transmission or fuel system. That is elevated. Worth an independent inspection before you commit to one.

Better than 55% of the 1,230 model years we track (2010–2023).

Excludes 21 airbag, lighting and seat-belt recall complaints that would otherwise mask the signal (unadjusted: 35%).

NHTSA data checked September 13, 2026
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Drivetrain complaints
65
engine, transmission, fuel
Total complaints
187
this model year
Fires reported
2
owner-reported
Recall campaigns
4
14 crashes · 15 injuries

Complaints by component

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM47 · 25%
ENGINE40 · 21%
STEERING25 · 13%
POWER TRAIN18 · 10%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER15 · 8%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL14 · 7%

The years either side

2010
42%
82 of 204
2011
39%
65 of 187
2012
23%
15 of 78
2013
33%
186 of 589
2014
38%
83 of 235
2015
35%
92 of 272
2016
27%
20 of 80
2017
23%
9 of 44
2018
28%
13 of 48
2019
too few complaints
2020
no data
2021
no data
2022
no data
2023
no data

Manufacturers fix things mid-generation. A bad year next to a clean one is common; the fix usually arrived in between.

Cleaner alternatives

Same car, a better year

Other full-size sedans with no elevated signal in 2011

The percentage is each model year's drivetrain complaint share. No elevated signal describes the model year, not any one car; a well-kept example of a flagged model can still be the right buy, and any of these still needs an inspection.

What owners reported

ENGINE09/22/2025
Driving on access rd. Car stalled in middle of traffic. Glad I was not driving on highway. Lucky several drivers helped push car into a gas station. Saw water leak under car. There were no codes or indicators of over heating. Let car cool off. Noticed water in coolant reservoir. still was able to add 1 gal and half of …
ENGINE09/09/2025
The water pump failed on my Taurus, leaking coolant my into the engine, causing irrepairable damage
POWER TRAIN06/10/2025
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while idling at a stop sign or stop light, the vehicle was shaking abnormally and slightly hesitated while attempting to accelerate. There was an unknown warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occasionally occurred after driving approx…

Three of 65 drivetrain complaints. The full report shows more, with quotes about the engine in the car you are looking at first.

Recall campaigns on this model year (4)

STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2010-2013 Ford Taurus vehicles manufactured December 1, 2009, to July 31, 2010, and 2011-2013 Lincoln MKS vehicl…
STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Ford Fusion vehicles without a 3.5L engine and Lincoln MKZ hybrid electric vehicles, 2011 Mercury Mila…
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Taurus vehicles manufactured November 24, 2008, through February 28, 2014, originally sold in, or curr…

This does not say whether a particular car has an open, unrepaired recall. That depends on the VIN.

Before you buy a 2011 Ford Taurus

Have the VIN?Paste it and get the full report for that car. First report free, then a 30-day pass covers a whole car search.

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Experimental model-level information. This is not a vehicle inspection, vehicle-history report, financial advice or purchase recommendation. It describes patterns across a model year, not the condition of any individual vehicle.