2011 Ford Taurus: engine stalls while driving

Filed Sep 22, 2025 · Engine · TX

Driving on access rd. Car stalled in middle of traffic. Glad I was not driving on highway. Lucky several drivers helped push car into a gas station. Saw water leak under car. There were no codes or indicators of over heating. Let car cool off. Noticed water in coolant reservoir. still was able to add 1 gal and half of water. Car turned on, drove it home which is about 3 miles. Water leak near the oil pan and block. After a long cooling period, noticed 3 hairline cracks on the bottom part of block. Cracked block Checked oil and noticed the oil was real thin and milky. Signs of water pump failure. Car is sitting on driveway. Only option is to replace the 156k miles engine. Cost is very expensive. Don't have money to fix. There should be a recall for this issue. Very dangerous.

Filed Mar 6, 2025 · Engine · 80,900 miles · NJ

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Taurus. The contact stated while his wife was driving 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The check engine warning light and several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The driver was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to a parking lot. The vehicle was then towed to the residence. The contact stated that an independent mechanic drained the oil and became aware that there was coolant mixed in with the engine oil. The contact diagnosed that the water pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 80,900.

Filed Jan 29, 2025 · Electrical · 160,000 miles · PA

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Taurus. The contact stated while driving at approximately 30 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal while driving uphill, the vehicle stalled. The contact was unaware of any warning lights being illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle started rolling backward. The contact attempted to stop the vehicle however, the vehicle lost its brakes and the power steering assist functionality. The contact was able to apply the parking brake to stop the vehicle. The contact had attempted to restart the vehicle and observed that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic. The mechanic had diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the anti-theft system had caused the vehicle to stall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

Filed Oct 6, 2022 · Acceleration, Electrical · MO

The throttle body threw a code. My car lost "power' and stalled. It went into limp mode. Became inoperable. My four year old, his dad, and my safety was at risk due to this happening on a rural road on a hill. We were stuck in the middle of nowhere and an hour and a half away from home. The dealership replaced the throttle bottle, accelerator pedal, reprogrammed it, and it still will not function normally. I am out of a car and that is not okay. They only warning sign there was happened to be a wrench and that's it.

Filed Mar 3, 2022 · Engine · 100,000 miles · TN

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road. The contact was able to have the vehicle taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the water pump was faulty and that the timing chain was fractured. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000. Mechanics stated that the water pump fails often with these Taurus's. Some have to be replaced if found in time. Others like the consumer's give little to no warning and break. The interference engine causes a lot of valve and possible piston damage with the engine.

Filed Oct 18, 2018 · Engine · 102,000 miles · ME

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford taurus. While operating the vehicle, a knocking noise was present coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was towed to ray haskell ford (801 kennedy memorial dr, oakland, me) where it was diagnosed that the water pump failed and damaged the engine. The dealer stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was 102,000. The consumer stated the vehicle stalled in the middle of the road. The vehicle lost power steering and brakes with no warning.

Filed Aug 10, 2018 · Engine · 129,000 miles · NC

I have a 2011 ford taurus sel that has less than 130,000 miles on it that has experienced a total engine failure. It started with a coolant leak which caused the car to overheat. I noticed the smell of coolant. After a week or so, the vehicle began making some noises. At that time, I was driving the vehicle and the vehicle started making a very loud noise, the temperature gauge came on and the vehical was overheating and the oil light also came on, keeping in mind that I had just changed the oil. Also, when the oil was changed, it was noticed that there was some other fluid in the oil (now after seeing all the other issues, realizing it was the coolant that had leaked in the engine causing the engine failure) all of a sudden, I experienced total engine failure while driving. The car shut off, I lost power steering and the car began smoking very heavily. I believed the car was on fire. It seems as though this issue has not only happened to my car but also many other taurus's as well. This is a very dangerous situation, as my car stalled out in the middle of traffic with a loss of all maneuverability.

Filed Apr 24, 2017 · Engine · 103,100 miles · WA

I was driving home from work, traveling uphill when my 2011 taurus sho sputtered and quickly lost power for more than 5 sec. While I was accelerating. This is not the first time something like this has happened to me. I am glad there wasn't anyone driving behind me because I'm sure they would have rear-ended me. Once I regained control of my vehicle, I noticed my check engine light came on. The car was shaking and sputtering as it was trying to make it up the rest of the hill. The check engine light started to blink. By the time I made it to the top of the hill the vehicle seemed better but I knew from experience it was in limp mode. I made it home safely driving as carefully as I could. I did notice the car shook much more when I slowed down to stop for stop-signs, almost like it was going to stall. I even ran a couple signs because I wanted to make it home, safely. I called the dealership gus johnson ford immediately to schedule an appointment. I took it in, my service advisor called me days later and said he advised I put a whole new engine in my car. Cylinder #4 misfiring, found leak that is causing low compression. He said they could tear apart the motor and inspect further but doing a complete engine assembly could cost upwards around $10,000. I was paralyzed! I found other stories and complaints just like mine when I came here to the federal safety agency. If ford was, or still is aware of any defects to the engine through manufacturing or bad design that may cause loss of power, shaking, shuddering, sputtering, stalling, loss-of-power during acceleration, they should be held responsible before someone is seriously injured.

Filed Sep 14, 2016 · Engine · 108,000 miles · KY

Catastrophic water pump failure leaked a lot of coolant in oil - driver was driving the car on highway when all of sudden the motor just died (stalled), forcing the driver to hard steer to the side of highway. The gauge at the time just suddenly jumped to h - in a span of few seconds and all dash lights illuminated. Very little steam was coming out - very little fluid was leaking. Noticed smell of coolant right away. Looked/double checked under the car - little leak again. Immediately thought maybe water pump or at least radiator hose leak, checked the coolant - it was empty. Had it towed to paul miller ford in lexington. Very unfriendly customer service. They mentioned that it was a "catastrophic engine failure" - coolant had mixed in with the oil and was pretty much sitting there. I was very fortunate that this has not caused a major accident as I explained it was real difficult to drive the car after it stalled. We followed maintenance schedule - we are very anal about that. My husband has a ford explorer himself. I am just at disbelief that we had a engine failure at 108,000 miles. I am not sure if this is common among the 3.5l v6 dohc 24v engine. It was my understanding that ford had designed the water pump to be intergral part of the engine (pretty much inside the engine now behind the timing chain cover, where you have to remove several parts to get to it. Most people know water pump failed but to be a part of internal engine and to have it pour coolant into engine, mixing up with oil and sit in the oil pan???? Huh? Costed us several grand to get the engine replaced.

Filed Aug 15, 2016 · Engine · 87,000 miles · NC

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford taurus. While driving 35 MPH, the engine stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine consumed the water from the radiator, which caused the engine rods to snap. The engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 87,000. Updated 11/01/16*lj

Filed Jun 23, 2016 · Acceleration, Engine · 70,467 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford taurus. While driving 65 MPH, the vehicle vibrated, stalled, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the throttle body failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,467.

Filed Oct 31, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 30,000 miles · NJ

Was driving at 65 MPH on highway when I tried to accelerate nothing happened and I noticed all dash lights were on. I coasted to shoulder, shifted to park and pushed ignition button and it restarted. This has happened 5 other times and luckily there was a shoulder available, but the holman ford dealership, (who is the only one who has ever serviced the car), says they have no idea what the problem is. It was a very dangerous situation and I noticed gm had similar problem and recalled autos due to death!! I have been lucky but now fear this car, after 5 times. It is not a stall. It just shuts off.