VehicleVerdict

2003 Ford Taurus transmission problems

The 2003 Ford Taurus has 319 transmission complaints filed with NHTSA — 21% of the year's total, and up sharply from the prior model year.

319

Transmission complaints

21%

Share of year

2

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Transmission complaints by year

Taurus transmission complaints by model year418 complaints1981: 1 complaints1985: 1 complaints1986: 23 complaints1987: 29 complaints1988: 42 complaints1989: 57 complaints1990: 46 complaints1991: 280 complaints1992: 115 complaints1993: 183 complaints1994: 291 complaints1995: 418 complaints1996: 190 complaints1997: 228 complaints1998: 71 complaints1999: 98 complaints2000: 104 complaints2001: 61 complaints2002: 39 complaints2003: 319 complaints2004: 74 complaints2005: 124 complaints2006: 33 complaints2007: 18 complaints2008: 44 complaints2009: 5 complaints2010: 36 complaints2011: 18 complaints2012: 2 complaints2013: 44 complaints2014: 12 complaints2015: 17 complaints2016: 3 complaints2017: 1 complaints2018: 6 complaints
Taurus transmission complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

“WAS PULLING OUT OF THE CAR GARAGE AND PUT IN REVERSE THE CAR STARTED BACK AND THE ENGINES RPM ROARED UP AND CRASHED IN TO NEIGHBOR TREE WENT ACROSS THE STREET AND CRASHED IN THE OTHER NEIGHBOR TREE AND HOUSE ALL OF THIS IN REVERSE. *TR”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Transmission · December 15, 2010 · crash

Common questions

How many transmission complaints does the 2003 Ford Taurus have?

NHTSA has 319 complaints about the 2003 Ford Taurus transmission — 21% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.