Used Ford Taurus 6th Gen (2010-2019): Buyer's Guide

Two of the three engines available in the 6th-generation Ford Taurus, the base 3.5-liter V6 and the SHO's twin-turbo EcoBoost, share a water pump that lives inside the engine, driven directly off the timing chain. When the pump's seal fails, coolant drains straight into the crankcase and contaminates the oil. There's no NHTSA recall for it. Ford addressed it through technical service bulletins, which means the repair bill lands on the owner once the factory warranty runs out. If you're shopping this generation, that single design choice should shape how you inspect every candidate.

This guide covers the 2010-2019 Taurus: what breaks, what it costs, which years to target, and what to check before you hand over a deposit.

This Generation at a Glance

The 6th-gen Taurus runs on Ford's D3 platform, the same Volvo-derived architecture underneath the Lincoln MKS, sharing its 112.9-inch wheelbase. Ford redesigned the exterior and interior for 2010 while keeping the prior generation's chassis, then gave it a mid-cycle refresh for 2013: a new front fascia with Ford's Kinetic Design language, LED taillamps, dual exhaust, and a jump in base V6 output from 263 to 288 horsepower via Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing. The 2013 refresh also introduced the 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder as a lower-cost, front-drive-only option. Ford built the Taurus through the 2019 model year before retooling its Chicago plant for SUVs.

Trim levels ran SE, SEL, Limited, and SHO. All-wheel drive was optional on SEL and Limited, standard on SHO. See the full Ford Taurus market data for current pricing, or drill into specific years like 2013, 2016, and 2019.

Powertrain & Trim Breakdown

3.5L Duratec V6 (SE, SEL, Limited)

The naturally aspirated 3.5 is the volume engine in this generation, and owners consistently describe it as smooth and quiet at cruise with a roomy, comfortable cabin around it. The core bottom end holds up well, with plenty of owners reporting 150,000 to 200,000 miles and iSeeCars putting the Taurus's odds of reaching 200,000 miles at 17.5%. The catch is that this specific engine punishes deferred maintenance harder than most.

The internal water pump is the headline risk. It's mounted inside the timing cover and driven by the timing chain rather than sitting externally on a belt, so a failed shaft seal leaks coolant directly into the oil instead of onto the ground where you'd notice it. Forum reports on taurusclub.com and fordtaurus.net place failures anywhere from 60,000 to 150,000 miles, with one owner catching it as early as 88,000 miles. Caught early, a pump-only replacement runs $1,500 to $2,500 because of the extensive teardown required. Caught late, after coolant has already cooked the timing chain and contaminated the bottom end, owners report full engine replacement quotes from $4,500 up to $7,000 or more. There's no NHTSA recall covering this failure mode across the whole 3.5-liter family.

The 6F50 six-speed automatic is the second weak point. Despite Ford's "lifetime fluid" position, owner consensus on taurusclub.com is to change the ATF every 24,000 to 30,000 miles, because this transmission runs hot and heat is what kills it early. Left alone, owners report torque converter shudder on rolling starts and a harsh 1-2 shift. Fixes range from an $800 solenoid replacement to a $4,000-plus rebuild.

AWD-equipped SEL and Limited models add a third risk: the power transfer unit, or PTU, which handles power delivery to the rear wheels. Ford specs its gear oil as lifetime fill with no service interval, but the PTU sits close to the catalytic converter and the heat degrades that fluid anyway. A Ford technical bulletin for 2013-2014 Explorer, Taurus, and Lincoln MKS documents PTU leaks and failures starting as early as 64,750 miles, right past the 60,000-mile powertrain warranty, running $1,600 to $2,000 to replace. The PTU design is shared across every AWD year of this generation, not just 2013-2014, so treat proactive fluid service as cheap insurance no matter the model year.

The 2013 model year carries two additional recalls specific to the fuel system: NHTSA campaign 13V227000 for a fuel delivery module that can crack and leak fuel, and campaign 16V621000 for a fuel pump electric module component that can overheat and cut power to the pump. Combined with an electric power steering recall covering 2011-2013 models (more on that below), 2013 is the single most recall-dense year in this generation.

3.5L EcoBoost Twin-Turbo V6 (SHO)

The SHO shares its bottom-end architecture with the naturally aspirated 3.5, which means it inherits the same internal water pump and timing chain failure mode described above. On the SHO forum, it's common enough that service writers reportedly guess "water pump and timing chain" before a customer finishes describing the symptoms. Failures cluster in the 80,000 to 150,000-mile range. Repair estimates on shoforum.com and taurusclub.com run from roughly $2,000 for a dealer-level pump-and-chain job caught early to $5,300 when more of the timing set needs replacing. Watch for the classic warning signs: a cold-start rattle, check engine codes tied to cam timing (P0016, P0018, P0236 all show up in forum thread titles), rough idle, or oil that's turned milky from coolant contamination. As with the base V6, there's no formal recall, only TSB-level acknowledgment, so the repair cost falls on the owner outside the powertrain warranty.

Because the SHO's engine is direct-injected, carbon buildup on the intake valves is a documented secondary issue: without port injection to wash the backs of the valves, deposits accumulate over time and can cause rough idle and hesitation. It's a maintenance item, not a ticking time bomb, and it's manageable with a periodic intake cleaning or a catch can. Some owners also report a metallic wastegate rattle under acceleration between 2,000 and 3,500 rpm; aftermarket actuators exist specifically for this engine as a fix, which tells you the symptom is common enough to support a cottage industry. Since the SHO is AWD-only, it carries the same PTU risk as AWD versions of the base V6.

None of this stops SHO owners from loving the car. Multiple outlets have called it one of the best sleeper-sedan bargains of its era: 365 horsepower and 350 lb-ft through all four wheels in a body that looks like a rental fleet car, with enough headroom in the bottom end that tuners push past 400 horsepower at the wheels with bolt-ons alone. The practical takeaway for a buyer: a SHO with documented water pump and timing chain service, or credible evidence of one done proactively around 120,000 miles, is a meaningfully safer purchase than one without that paper trail.

2.0L EcoBoost I4 (SE, SEL, Limited)

Ford added the 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder with the 2013 facelift and dropped it after the 2017 model year, making it FWD-only and the shortest-lived engine in the lineup. It uses a completely different transmission from the V6 cars, the 6F35, and low uptake within the Taurus specifically means forum members on fordtaurus.net describe it as something of a unicorn: a smaller sample size than the V6, and potentially thinner specialist knowledge and parts support later in the car's life, purely because so few were sold in this application.

The one hard, confirmed safety issue tied directly to this engine and drivetrain combination is NHTSA recall campaign 20V692000 (Ford's internal number 20S63), covering 2014-2015 Taurus, Explorer, and Edge models with a 2.0-liter or 2.3-liter engine and front-wheel drive. The front halfshaft support bracket can fail, causing vibration, grinding, or banging, and in worst cases a loss of park function or a loss of motive power while driving. Ford's remedy didn't begin until February 2021, so confirm any 2014-2015 2.0L Taurus you're looking at has had this recall completed, ideally by running the VIN through a recall check rather than taking a seller's word for it.

The broader 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine family, as used in the Escape, Fusion, Edge, and Lincoln MKC and MKZ, has a documented coolant intrusion and head gasket defect covered under Ford TSB 22-2229. Ford's own published vehicle list for that bulletin doesn't name the Taurus. Given the shared engine architecture, it's worth a compression and coolant check during a pre-purchase inspection anyway, but don't let a seller or a forum post convince you it's a confirmed Taurus problem when Ford's own paperwork doesn't say so. Exhaust manifold cracking, a more general 2.0 EcoBoost family issue from heat cycling, shows up around 50,000 to 60,000 miles across aggregator repair data, with fixes ranging from a $220 gasket repair to an $823 manifold replacement.

On the road, reviewers and owners describe the 2.0 as adequate, with torque arriving about 1,000 rpm sooner than the V6 for a more responsive feel in everyday driving. Real-world fuel economy reports range from 23-27 mpg in mixed driving up to the mid-30s on the highway, but several taurusclub.com members who cross-shopped the two engines at purchase time felt the 2-3 mpg real-world advantage over the 3.5 V6 didn't justify the $995 option cost or the reliability uncertainty of the newer engine. That's a reasonable way to think about it today, too, unless you specifically want the fuel economy.

Trim-Specific Notes

If you don't need AWD for winter climates, skip it. The AWD-only PTU failure risk described above applies to every AWD Taurus regardless of trim, and a FWD Limited carries the same leather, heated seats, and Sony audio content as an AWD Limited. You get the same interior for less money and one less expensive failure point.

The SHO's optional Performance Package, available starting with the 2013 facelift, adds larger front and rear brake rotors with more thermal mass, a bigger master cylinder, stiffer springs and shocks, a 3.16 final drive ratio for quicker off-the-line response, 20-inch wheels with summer tires, and sport-tuned electric power steering. It doesn't change the drivetrain risk profile from a standard SHO, but it's a genuine performance upgrade and a reasonable thing to pay a premium for if you're cross-shopping SHOs and want the sharper-handling version.

Limited trim adds ventilated and 10-way power front seats, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, a 12-speaker Sony stereo, rain-sensing wipers, automatic high beams, blind spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert over the SEL. SEL's main additions over base SE are Ford Sync, dual-zone climate control, remote start, and 18-inch wheels. If you're buying for content rather than performance, SEL is the practical value trim: you skip the base SE's more basic equipment without paying Limited money.

Which Model Years to Target Within This Gen

The 2013 model year deserves specific caution beyond the powertrain issues above. NHTSA data shows 581 total complaints for the 2013 Taurus, more than double any other year in the generation, with 244 of them tagged to steering. That lines up with a documented recall (NHTSA campaign 15V340000) covering 2011-2013 Taurus, Flex, and Lincoln MKS/MKT models for an electric power steering assist system that can shut down from a steering motor sensor fault. Multiple owners on complaint aggregators report their 2013 Taurus wasn't included in that recall despite identical symptoms to recalled cars. If you're looking at a 2011-2013 Taurus, running the VIN through a recall check before you buy isn't optional.

2016 onward is where this generation settles down. Complaint counts drop from the 200-580 range of 2013-2015 down to double digits, and by 2018-2019, with the 2.0 EcoBoost gone and the lineup simplified to the two 3.5-liter engines, you're buying the most mature version of this platform Ford built.

Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist

Every 3.5L V6 (NA or EcoBoost SHO):

• Start the engine cold. Listen for a rattle or clatter for the first few seconds that fades as oil pressure builds. That's a symptom of timing chain wear, not just normal cold-start noise.
• Pull the dipstick and check the oil color. Milky, chocolate-milk-colored oil means coolant has already contaminated the crankcase. Walk away from that car.
• Check the coolant reservoir level against the coolant history. Frequent top-offs with no visible external leak point straight at the internal water pump.
• Ask for maintenance records showing timing chain, water pump, and tensioner service, or documentation of a proactive replacement around 120,000 miles. A car with that paperwork is a materially safer buy.
• Scan for stored codes even if the check engine light isn't currently on. P0016, P0018, and P0236 all indicate cam timing correlation issues tied to this failure mode.

AWD models specifically (any 3.5L trim with AWD, all SHO):

• Ask the seller or a shop to check the PTU fluid condition and confirm it's been serviced at least once, despite Ford's lifetime-fill spec. There's no dipstick for this on most models, so this may require a shop visit.
• Listen for whining or grinding from the rear of the drivetrain during a test drive, particularly under acceleration from a stop.

2.0L EcoBoost specifically (2013-2017 SE/SEL/Limited):

• If the car is a 2014-2015 model year, confirm the front halfshaft support bracket recall (campaign 20V692000) has been completed. Run the VIN through a recall check.
• Get a compression and cooling system pressure test. The Taurus isn't on Ford's published vehicle list for the broader 2.0 EcoBoost coolant intrusion TSB, but the shared engine architecture makes this cheap insurance.
• Inspect the exhaust manifold area for visible cracking or listen for a ticking exhaust leak, especially past 50,000 miles.
• Ask how long the seller has owned the car and whether they've had trouble finding parts or a shop familiar with this specific engine and transmission combination. Low sales volume in the Taurus application means this matters more here than on most cars.

2011-2013 models regardless of engine:

• Test the power steering assist through full lock-to-lock turns, cold and after the car has warmed up. Any hesitation, stiffness, or a dash warning is disqualifying.
• Confirm whether NHTSA campaign 15V340000 (electric power steering) applies to the VIN and, if so, that it's been completed.

Running Costs

The 3.5-liter V6 is the cheapest engine to live with day to day as long as you stay ahead of the water pump and transmission fluid. The SHO costs more to insure and maintain given the turbo hardware and premium fuel most owners run, but its bottom end has proven durable when maintained. The 2.0 EcoBoost gets the best real-world fuel economy of the three by a meaningful margin, though its low production numbers in this specific application mean routine repairs can take longer to source parts for than the far more common V6.

FAQ

Is the Ford Taurus SHO's EcoBoost engine reliable? The SHO's 3.5L EcoBoost has a durable bottom end, but it shares an internal water pump design with the base V6 that can fail between 80,000 and 150,000 miles and dump coolant into the oil. There's no recall for it, only a technical bulletin, so budget for a $2,000-5,300 repair or buy one with documented service already done.

What year Ford Taurus should I avoid? The 2013 model year has more than double the NHTSA complaints of any other year in this generation, driven by an electric power steering issue (recall 15V340000) and two separate fuel system recalls. If you're set on a 2011-2013 model, run the VIN through a recall check before buying.

How many miles will a Ford Taurus 3.5 V6 last? Well-maintained examples commonly reach 150,000 to 200,000 miles, and iSeeCars data puts the odds of a Taurus hitting 200,000 miles at 17.5%. The engine itself is durable; the internal water pump and 6F50 transmission are the two components most likely to end that run early if neglected.

Is the 2.0 EcoBoost Taurus a good engine? It's adequate and returns the best fuel economy in the lineup, roughly 25-26 mpg combined, but it was a low-volume option only offered 2013-2017 on front-drive models. Parts and shop familiarity can be harder to find than for the far more common 3.5L V6, and the fuel economy gain over the V6 is modest.

Does the AWD Ford Taurus have transfer case problems? Yes, in the form of the power transfer unit, or PTU, which sends power to the rear wheels. Ford specs its fluid as lifetime-fill, but heat degrades it anyway, and a Ford technical bulletin documents PTU failures starting around 64,750 miles on 2013-2014 models. The risk applies to any AWD-equipped year of this generation, not just those two.

Bottom Line

The 6th-gen Taurus is a genuinely comfortable, well-built full-size sedan let down by one recurring design choice: an internal water pump shared by two of its three engines that isn't covered by any recall. Buy a 2016-2019 3.5L V6 or SHO with documented timing chain and water pump service, run the VIN through a recall check regardless of year, and skip AWD unless you actually need it. CarScout members can track price drops on specific years and trims at usecarscout.com.

Data sourced from NHTSA recalls and complaints databases, EPA fuel economy data, and owner discussions on taurusclub.com, shoforum.com, and fordtaurus.net. See the full Ford Taurus market data for pricing and inventory.