2009 Ford Taurus X: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2009 Ford Taurus X
On the 2009 Ford Taurus X, the failure owners report most often is other body or interior problem, with 4 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 60,000 miles. Overall it scores 75 out of 100, high risk for a 2009.
High risk for a 2009 — 49th riskiest of the 295 2009 vehicles we can rate. 17 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
What owners report breaking
Owners have reported 10 named failure modes on the 2009 Ford Taurus X, and the three most-reported carry 53% of everything filed.
Other body or interior problem leads with 4 reports and about 75 per 1,000 vehicles.
Other powertrain problem follows with 3 reports, median 60,000 miles.
Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure follows with 2 reports.
By system, the reports fall mostly into body (4), transmission (3) and suspension (2).
The mileage the reports cluster at
14 of the reports on the 2009 Ford Taurus X came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 60,000 miles.
Cumulatively, 43% by 50,000 miles, 64% by 100,000 miles and 71% by 150,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed, with 1 filed above the top of the chart.
The busiest stretch is between 30,000 and 40,000 miles, which alone holds 29% of the dated reports.
29% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A further 1 report came in above that, which is why the line stops short of the top. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the median reported mileage
How bad it is when it goes
Across the named modes, 5 mention a crash and 1 an injury. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 5.12, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: other body or interior problem at $200–$2,000, other powertrain problem at $400–$4,500, control arm, ball joint or bushing failure at $400–$2,200 and software fault or failed update at $0–$600. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
24% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other body or interior problem | body | 4 | 4 | — | 125k | — | 75.5 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other powertrain problem | transmission | 3 | 3 | — | 59k | — | 56.6 | $400–$4,500 | High |
| Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure | suspension | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 37.7 | $400–$2,200 | High |
| Software fault or failed update | software | 2 | 2 | — | 35k | — | 37.7 | $0–$600 | Moderate |
| Airbag failed to deploy in a crash | airbag | 1 | 1 | — | 190k | — | 18.9 | $1,000–$5,000 | Critical |
| Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure | steering | 1 | 1 | — | 269k | — | 18.9 | $700–$2,600 | High |
| Other engine problem | engine | 1 | 1 | — | 20k | — | 18.9 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Other steering problem | steering | 1 | 1 | — | 62k | — | 18.9 | $350–$2,400 | High |
| Other wheel or tire problem | wheels | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 18.9 | $200–$1,500 | High |
| Other driver assistance problem | adas | 1 | 1 | — | 20k | — | 18.9 | $250–$1,800 | High |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2009 Ford Taurus X draws about 321 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 98th percentile of complaint rates among 2009 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.
The working figure is 53 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2009 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Other body or interior problem
While pulling into parking space at very low speed with right foot on brake petal, car accelerated up and lurched forward hitting parked vehicle in front. Had to apply brake harder to get vehicle in park to stop acceleration. *tr
Other powertrain problem
While pulling into parking space at very low speed with right foot on brake petal, car accelerated up and lurched forward hitting parked vehicle in front. Had to apply brake harder to get vehicle in park to stop acceleration. *tr
Recalls on the 2009 model year
NHTSA has issued 1 recall campaign covering the 2009 Ford Taurus X, affecting an estimated 53 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover air bags:frontal. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
One caution about reading these together: a recall usually raises the complaint count for the same part, because owners who read about it go and file. The mileages stay informative; the counts get noisy.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
695 vehicles 2016-04-26- Defect
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2009-2012 Ford Flex, 2008 and 2010-2012 Ford Taurus, 2008-2009 Ford Taurus X, 2008 Mercury Sable, 2009 and 2011 Lincoln MKS vehicles. The driver frontal air bag may improperly inflate during second-stage deployment in the event of a high speed crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
- Consequence
- An improperly inflated air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the driver's frontal air bag module, as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on June 13, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C06.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
How it ranks in the 2009 field
The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.
Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.
- Left fewer and less serious reports
- Right more, or worse
- Marker this vehicle
Better and worse years of the same car
High risk for a 2009 — 49th riskiest of the 295 2009 vehicles we can rate. Because the ranking is against the same model year only, age cancels out of it.
Within the 2008–2009 generation specifically, 2008 is the strongest year at 73 and 2009 the weakest at 75.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Within the 2008-2009 generation, 2008 Ford Taurus X scores best at 73 and 2009 Ford Taurus X worst at 75.
Where these figures stop being useful
17 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 17 reports, 14 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 82% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
The failure modes are assigned by software reading the owner's own words, which is accurate in bulk and wrong in individual cases. A mode with a handful of reports may contain a misfiled one.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2009 Ford Taurus X?
The most-reported failures are other body or interior problem (4 reports, median 125,000 miles), other powertrain problem (3 reports, median 60,000 miles) and control arm, ball joint or bushing failure (2 reports). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
Is the 2009 Ford Taurus X reliable?
It scores 75 out of 100 on our risk index, which is high — 49th riskiest of the 295 2009 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2009 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.
Which year of the Ford Taurus X is best?
Within the 2008–2009 generation, 2008 scores best at 73 out of 100 and 2009 worst at 75. Same body, same engines, different luck.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed