Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (fuel pump, injectors, fuel tank, hybrid and EV propulsion).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2001 Ford Taurus owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
On the date below about 8.00 am, I was involved in an accident with my 2001 Ford Taurus. Although it was very cold that morning the skies were clear and their was no precipitation at all. Roadways were clear for the most part. I was coming down a mountain road traveling to work when I encountered an icy patch of road that had formed probably due to frost conditions since it was very cold. When I applied the brakes my Ford Taurus seemed to accelerate pushing me faster down the hill. A slow moving truck was a head of me and I could not slow down in time. At the same time a car was in in the passing lane beside me since this was a four lane highway. I swerved an struck the car in the passing lane. There were no injuries. My Taurus had to be towed to the garage and upon repairing the vehicle I was notified that a fuel censor needed replacing at my expense. …
Dt*: the contact stated that the vehicle was involved in a rear impact accident while the vehicle was in the parked on normal road conditions. The contact was wearing the seatbelt but still suffered major and permanent injuries. The fuel line did not shut off during the accident and the frontal driver and passenger airbags did not deploy. There were no warning signal prior to the accident. An police report was processed. Further examination of the vehicle was being done by the insurance agency.
While driving the vehicle in stop and go traffic consumer noticed smoke coming from under the hood, and the vehicle hesitated. Consumer was able to pull the vehicle out of traffics onto the side of the road. The local fire department arrived to extinguish the fire. Vehicle was towed to the dealer. The insurance investigator inspected the vehicle and determined that the cause of the fire was a fuel rail failure which leaked fuel onto the manifold.
Tl contact owns a 2001 Ford Taurus. The vehicle suddenly stalled when the contact was pulling out of her driveway. The vehicle was examined by a local mechanic, who stated that the fuel pump melted inside of the gas tank. The vehicle was not diagnosed by the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 170,000. Updated 10/27/09 the wires had melted inside of the gas tank. Updated 10/28/09
The throttle cable housing does not stay in it's seat where it is mounted by the throttle body causing over acceleration when using moderate acceleration, very hard braking is necsesary to stop and putting the transmission in neutral causes major over reving of the engine.
Car engine would not stop after applying brakes, car engine kept trying to go forward while I was pressing hard on the brakes at a stop light. Car engine would not stop, it would stop go, stop go, stop go, stop go while I was pressing hard on the car brakes had to change car lanes to avoid hitting the car in front of me almost ended up in the middle of the intersection. Had some close calls. This has happen before with this car, but not as bad. The engine light went on this time (never had a engine light before). I took the car to a car repair shop (meineke car care) and they ran their engine diagnostic tests and got a (error code p0171 and p0174) system too lean bank 1 and 2. There was air leaks in the air hose assy, replaced air tube assy, parts (yf1z6758a and f6dz6758a), after that the car ran fine (for one day). …
I had just punched the gas pedal and then went to hit the brakes a few seconds later, but the car wasn't really slowing. Looked down and noticed the rpms were at 4000 so I moved the transmission to neutral and the car started slowing more. The car kept revving at 4K rpms though so I turned off the engine. I hadn't come to a complete stop yet so the last few feet were harder to stop, but luckily there wasn't any traffic in front of me and I wasn't in any danger of hitting anyone/anything. I tried starting the car up again and it went right up to 4000K rpms, I shut it off and then tried to hit the gas pedal thinking that maybe it was stuck or there was something under it or something, but that wasn't it so I shut the car off again. …
I was driving my 2001 Ford Taurus onto a freeway and got up to 45 MPH and the car continued to accelerate after I lifted my foot off the gas. I attempted to press on the brake as hard as I could and the car was still accelerating. Pressing the brake would not make the car stop. I was not using cruise control. I pulled off to the side of the freeway and put the car in park, the car was still revving up, so I turned the car off. I waited a couple of minutes and started the car again and continued driving and the car exhibited the same conditions as before. I was able to exit the freeway and was about to get to an intersection that had a stop sign. I realized that even after pressing down on the brakes as hard as I could, the car was not going to stop so I proceeded to pull over to the side again and quickly put the car in park and turn the car off. …
Dt: the consumer smelled a strong odor of gasoline. It was a hot summer day and the consumer had disregarded the odor at the time. After the smell lingered the consumer inspected underneath the vehicle but did not see any leaks, but did notice a spot on the driveway where the vehicle had been parked. Concerned, the consumer took the car to the garage and the mechanic said that there was a leak in the gas tank towards the top. The mechanic could not purchase an after market replacement gas tank claiming that a Ford dealership would have to be consulted. The consumer contacted a Ford dealership and they inspected the vehicle and discovered a leak on the seam of the gas tank. The gas tank was replaced, but Ford would not offer any cost assistance or cover the repairs. The consumer felt that this was a factory related defect. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 Ford Taurus. The contact stated there was an unknown fluid leaking excessively from the vehicle while parked. The dealer advised the transmission casing fractured, causing the spillage. The dealer advised the failure caused all of the transmission fluid to leak and believed the failure to be a manufacturing defect. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 50,000. Updated 11/19/10. The consumer stated there was a problem with the fuel lines. Updated 12/01/10
Fuel System complaints in other Taurus years
Frequently asked questions
How common are fuel system problems on the 2001 Ford Taurus?
NHTSA has 23 complaints about the fuel & propulsion system of the 2001 Ford Taurus, 2% of the model year's 1,037 complaints. The component named most often is storage › tank assembly (3 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2001 Ford Taurus fuel system problems?
No. NHTSA lists no fuel & propulsion system recall for the 2001 Ford Taurus, though it has 9 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2001 Ford Taurus fuel system problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 125,000 miles, and 6% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 2 fires and 1 injury to fuel & propulsion system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.