Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2009 Ford Taurus owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
My daughter-in-law, [redacted], was driving a Ford 2007 Taurus (108, 000 miles) from ypsilanti, mi to dayton, oh. She had on board her infant (4 months) and toddler (4 years). Everything went smoothly until they entered the subdivision of her parents. For no apparent reason, the car turned off while driving. The lights on the dashboard all came on. She lost power steering and was able to pull over and stop the vehicle. She was able to restart the car and proceeded to her parents? Home. Her and her father did subsequent test drives to try and determine the root cause ? They were unsuccessful. She drove home the next day with no problems. She expressed concern to me about her safety and the safety of her children had this random shut down of the vehicle occurred in a situation where she could not pull over to safety. …
I have had this car for a few years. It had 32,000 mile when I got it. Since then every 6 month or so I am driving down the road at highway speed and for no reason the engine just dies and I have to coast of the highway to restart. It start fine and can't get it fail again. Next a few months happens again. This has happen about five or six time in the past 20,000 mile. This happens on open highway and city streets while going straight .the dealer says no information is ever in the engine computer about any failure. 2009 Ford Taurus [redacted]. Please advise any information. [redacted].
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the check engine indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic several times for diagnostic testing and the tc valve was replaced. The failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 164,000.
I purchased a 2009 Ford Taurus demo. With a 1000 miles on odometer on July 30, 2009. On sept. 26, 2009 I was driving in heavy rain on rt. 220, near state college, pa, at 55 MPH. Suddenly the motor turned off and I had to drift off the road to stop. The lights, wipers and my radio were still working. I tried to restart the engine but there was no response. (not even trying to turn over the starter.) I tried off and on for 10 minutes to restart the engine when it finally did start. I took my car to the blaize alexander Ford, inc. And they claimed that they could not find anything wrong with the software, or the electronic key chips. They are located in lewisburg, pa on rt. 45 , 2265 old turnpike rd. 17837. Tel. 1570-524-7267. I called kenny ross Ford dealer when I returned to pittsburgh. …
My wife and grandson were entering the toll way via the ramp, as she merged into 75 MPH traffic she increased her speed to match. As she did she let up off the accelerator but the car kept increasing speed. She realized that the throttle was stuck and started to pump the petal in hopes to free it. It did not free and was still increasing speed. She then in her panic could only stomp on the brake as hard as she could. Thankfully this slowed her enough to allow her to get the car over to the shoulder as semi trucks went by her at 70 MPH. With the brakes on the car smoking like crazy she got the car slowed enough to throw the car into park. When she did the engine revved to almost redline and she shut the car off. She was very shaken as well as my grandson. She called me and it just so happened that I was nearby and met her along side of the busy toll way. …
Sunday July 12 engine stopped. 3rd. Time in one month and now has 4851 miles on it.. Folowing previous sugestion from bethlehem Ford, I did not try to restart engine .car towed to nearest Ford dealer, ray price Ford , mt. Pocono, pa. On Monday July 13, they notified me they had checked engine codes etc.& could not find the problem . I got car that afternoon , drove apprximately 17 miles & engine stopped again. This was the 2nd time in 2days and 4th time it stopped in 2 months.. Car was towed back to bethlehem Ford where it stayed 3 days. They said they "updated the computer " and "it May solve the problem." all of this information has been previously forwarded to Ford and they told me that "the dealer has done all checks required" and there were "no other reports of this same problem on the '09 Taurus". Ha! …
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving in cruise control at 40 MPH and applying the brakes, the vehicle would suddenly stall. In order to restart the vehicle, he would have to shift into neutral and restart. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer and they advised him that it May be the throttle body and the motor assembly. The vehicle was repaired for the throttle body and the motor assembly. A few weeks later, the failure recurred. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer a second time and they advised him that they would recalibrate the PCM but could not guarantee that the repair would fully repair the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000. Updated 07/20/11
I was a passenger last spring in a 2009 Ford Taurus sedan and we were traveling down a long incline at approx 60 MPH when the engine died leaving the car without power steering or brakes. I told my driving friend to shift into neutral and try starting the car again which he did. We continued without iu=incident the rest of the trip. The incident was harrowing since we were on a mountain in alaska and the road gets very winding at the bottom so I knew we were only seconds from disaster. The conditions were spring weather ~60f and the gas was approx. 50% full and the altitude was approx. 2,000 ft. It was a blue bird day and the car rode fine before and after. I never reported the problem since we.
Tl-the contact owns a 2009 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that when he was at a stop and attempted to accelerate, the vehicle would lose all power. The engine would rev but not move forward. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership but the dealer told the contact that was how the vehicle was designed.the dealer also stated that it took time to send the signal to the computer. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact had not notified the manufacturer of the problem. The current mileage was approximately 19,700. The failure mileage was approximately 30.
I just finished renting a Ford Taurus 2009 from avis which had 1543 miles on it at the start of the rental. During the course of the rental the following occurred. While descending a steep hill on a state highway in easthampton, ma the engine stopped running. I only detected it when the steering got heavy. Luckily I was able to bring the vehicle to a halt without the power brakes. After the vehicle stopped it was able to be restarted. If the driver had been less physically able the results might have been different, such as a serious crash.
Engine complaints in other Taurus years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2009 Ford Taurus?
NHTSA has 24 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2009 Ford Taurus, 38% of the model year's 64 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2009 Ford Taurus engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 2009 Ford Taurus. 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 2009 Ford Taurus engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 6,000 miles, and 70% before 25,000 miles.
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.