1996 Ford Taurus Sho problems & reliability
24 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1996 Ford Taurus Sho. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
2 complaints report injuries (2 injured).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Engine and Engine Cooling → | 20 | 83% |
| Unknown OR Other | 3 | 13% |
| Power Train | 2 | 8% |
| Air Bags | 1 | 4% |
| Electrical System | 1 | 4% |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 1 | 4% |
| Tires | 1 | 4% |
| Visibility | 1 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“96 taurus sho v8 3.4l camshaft failure. I have kept my car in perfect shape with tune up and all. It is in mint condition and has no rust. I have nice exhaust system put on by a mechanic and also a cold air intake put on and a new trans in july now with only 3000 miles on it.. I heard ticking from under the hood out…”
Engine and Engine Cooling · filed Oct 26, 2010
“Engine failure as a result of camshaft gear spinning on cam. During normal driving engine stopped in roadway,requiring tow off roadway to repair shop for diagnosis. The auto is a 1996 ford taurus sho 3.4 v8 .after studying this problem I find this cam failure is a known problem to many and could be prevented by…”
Engine and Engine Cooling · filed Aug 20, 2008
“I have a1996 ford taurus sho v-8,it just turned 80,000 miles and has had all regular service and now the camshaft gear has failed on the camshaft and damaged the engine!I work at a ford dealer and see this engine failure often. It seems that this is common on the v-8 sho engine around 75,000-85,000 miles and sometimes…”
Unknown OR Other · filed May 17, 2008
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
8 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1996 Ford Taurus Sho.
Engine misfire or rough running condition with coil on plug (cop) ignition systems may be more accurately diagnosed using the optional worldwide diagnostic system (wds) coil on plug (cop) kit. 2003 super duty f series…
03144 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 21, 2003
Some vehicles may exhibit a harsh 2-3 shift after installing a remanufactured transaxle. *slc
15128 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 1, 2001
Some vehicles may exhibit an intermittent loss of instrument control panel (icp) illumination. *mjs
13802 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 1, 2000
Some vehicles may exhibit a malfunction indicator lamp (mil) with diagnostic trouble code (dtc) p1135 or p1155 stored in memory and / or a long crank / slow start. *tt
99127 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 14, 1999
Some vehicles may exhibit front outer tie rods squeak and / or pop noise over bumps and / or turning. *tt
12570 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 1, 1999
Experiencing a squeaking and / or popping noise from the front outer tire rods. *tt
5897 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 1, 1999
Experiencing a hard start / long crank. *yc
980314 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 1, 1998
Recommended guidelines for towing behind recreational vehicles. *tt
985A12 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 18, 1998
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
No NHTSA recall campaigns name the 1996 Ford Taurus Sho in our current data. Recalls may apply only to certain VIN ranges — always confirm with a VIN check.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 1996 Ford Taurus Sho?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.