Best tires for the Ford Taurus
Top picks across four categories for the Ford Taurus, anchored to the current-generation OEM size 235/50R18. Every recommendation is selected from our 22,000-tire catalog by ranking on UTQG treadwear, mileage warranty, cabin-noise rating, and season class; no commission-weighted reordering.
Daily driver
Best all-season touring
Long warranty, low noise, balanced ride. The one-tire compromise that works for 80% of owners.
Bridgestone
Turanza QuietTrack
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Ford Taurus owners.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
UTQG 820 with a 85,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Ford Taurus owners.
Michelin
CrossClimate 2
UTQG 640 with a 60,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Ford Taurus owners.
Michelin
Defender 2
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Ford Taurus owners.
Lowest cost per mile
Best budget
Best price-per-warranty-mile in this size. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options, not safety.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
820 UTQG with a 85,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Bridgestone
Turanza QuietTrack
800 UTQG with a 80,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
800 UTQG with a 90,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Michelin
Defender 2
800 UTQG with a 80,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Lowest cabin noise
Best quiet
Tread patterns engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning. Pick this if you commute long highway distances daily.
Bridgestone
Turanza QuietTrack
68 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Michelin
Defender 2
68 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Cold-weather grip
Best winter
Dedicated winter or all-weather compounds that stay pliable below 7 °C. Necessary for >5 snow days a year.
Bridgestone
Blizzak WS90
Dedicated winter tire compound; stays pliable below 7 °C where summer/all-season rubber hardens. Recommended for Ford Taurus drivers in cold or snowy regions.
Michelin
X-Ice snow
Dedicated winter tire compound; stays pliable below 7 °C where summer/all-season rubber hardens. Recommended for Ford Taurus drivers in cold or snowy regions.
Side-by-side
Pick the trade-off that matches your driving
| All-season Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack | Best budget Goodyear Assurance MaxLife | Best winter Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| UTQG treadwear | 800 | 820 | - |
| Mileage warranty | 80,000 mi | 85,000 mi | - |
| Cabin noise | 68 dB | 70 dB | 71 dB |
| Season class | all-season | all-season | winter |
| Type | touring | touring | passenger |
OEM tire sizes by year
What size does the ford taurus use?
Recommendations on this page are anchored to the latest model-year's OEM size. Confirm yours against the driver-door placard before purchase.
| Year | OEM size | |
|---|---|---|
| 1986–1993 | 205/70R14 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1994–1999 | 205/65R15 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2000–2007 | 215/60R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2008–2009 | 215/65R17 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2010–2014 | 255/45R19 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2015–2019 | 245/45R20 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2020–2021 | 245/50R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2022–2023 | 235/55R17 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2024–2027 | 235/50R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
How we ranked these tires for the ford taurus
We started with the latest model-year's OEM tire size; 235/50R18; and filtered our catalog of 22,000+ tires to those offered in that exact size. From there, four parallel rankings:
- Best all-season ranks on a weighted score: tire type matches passenger car segment, season is "all-season", premium brand bonus (Michelin / Continental / Bridgestone / Pirelli / Goodyear / Nokian).
- Best budget ranks on cost-per-warranty-mile; the lower the better. Premium brands get no bonus here.
- Best quiet ranks on the EU tire-label dB rating; lower is quieter.
- Best winter filters to tires marked 3PMSF severe-snow rated or all-weather class, with a small premium-brand bonus because winter-compound R&D is capital-intensive.
For sedans and compacts, the all-season touring tire below is the best default; long warranty, low cabin noise, reasonable cost per mile. Switch to the quiet pick if highway droning is a deal-breaker; switch to the winter pick if you see significant snow each year. Use the side-by-side comparison above to weigh the trade-offs against your specific driving; highway-heavy, winter-state, performance-oriented, or budget-constrained.
NHTSA-reported issues for ford taurus
Top issue category: Tires (General)
Most reported: Tires (General) (251) · Tread / Belt (106) · Sidewall (22) · Spare Tire (12) · TPMS (5)
Reported across: 1977 – 2014 (31 years)
What owners described
Blowout or sudden deflation is the most common description, in 19% of these reports. Percentages are shares of the 245 reports covering every model year of the Ford Taurus that include a written account; a single report can describe more than one problem, so they do not total 100%.
| Reported problem | This subject | All tire complaints | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blowout or sudden deflation | 19% | 20% | 0.9× |
| Tread or belt separation | 13% | 13% | 1.0× |
| Sidewall failure | 11% | 15% | 0.7× |
| Cracking or dry rot | 10% | 9% | 1.1× |
| Loss of control, rollover or collision | 9% | 8% | 1.1× |
| Bubble or bulge in the tire | 3% | 6% | 0.6× |
Mileage at failure
91 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 28,000 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 4,500 and 97,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Ford Taurus. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 27TH ABOUT 1:00PM, WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE, THE REAR PASSENGER TIRE EXPLODED AND WAS COMPLETELY FLAT. I DROVE TO A NEARBY BY GAS STATION TO AWAIT MY MOTOR SERVICE TO REPLACE THE TIRE. I PHOTOGRAPHED THE DAMAGED TIRE. ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 27H, GOODYEAR REPLACED THE TIRE AND STATED AGING WAS A FACTOR IN THE TIRE FAILURE. THE TIRES WERE SERVICED BY THE SAME GOODYEAR STORE ON FRIDAY JANUARY 23RD AND NO MENTION OF AGING OR REPLACING THE TIRES WAS STATED BY GOODYEAR. I STILL HAVE TO REPLACE THREE (3) OF THE TIRES ON MY VEHICLE.
THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 FORD TAURUS EQUIPPED WITH GOODYEAR EAGLE LS TIRES, SIZE: P225/60R16. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ALL THE TIRES EXPERIENCED CRACKS AND LEAKS. THE DEALER FOUND NO FAILURE WITH THE TIRES. THE TIRES WERE NOT REPLACED. THE TIRES WERE REPLACEMENT TIRES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SAME FAILURE OCCURRED WITH THE GOODYEAR TIRES ON HIS 2000 MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS. THE APPROXIMATE VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 152,000 AND THE TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 20,000. THE DOT NUMBER AND VIN WERE UNKNOWN.
2 MONTHS AGO ADVISED BY WALMART THAT TIRES WERE DRY ROTTING. 3 WEEKS AGO TOOK CAR IN TO MECHANIC AND WAS ADVISED TIRE WAS SEPARATING AND THAT ALL 4 TIRES NEEDED REPLACING DUE TO AGE AND DRY ROT. WENT BACK TO SAM'S CLUB BECAUSE I STILL HAD ABOUT 40% LEFT ON MY WARRANTY. THEY ONLY WOULD COVER THE ONE SEPARATING AND REFUSED TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THE OTHER 3 TIRES. TODAY, DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY, THE TREAD PEELED OFF THE TIRE DAMAGING MY CAR BUT LUCKILY NO ACCIDENT. ALSO FOUND OUT THE TIRE WAS MANUFACTURED OVER ONE YEAR BEFORE I PURCHASED IT. PLEASE CRACK DOWN ON RETAILERS SELLING OLD TIRES AND NOT HONORING WARRANTES AND TELLING PEOPLE TO DRIVE ON DANGEROUS TIRES. I HAVE PICTURES OF THE TIRE. UPDATE 9/15/15*CW UPDATED 11/02/2017
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 FORD TAURUS EQUIPPED WITH HANKOOK OPTIMO H727 TIRES, SIZE: 215/60R16 (NA). WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE STEEL BELTS PUNCTURED THE SIDE OF THE FRONT DRIVER'S TIRE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRILL SHOCK TOWER MOUNT WAS MISALIGNED. IN ADDITION, THE VEHICLE MADE A HOWLING SOUND WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS. DUE TO THE FAILURE, THE TIRE WAS REPLACED ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION. BALISE MOTOR SALES IN SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT THE SHOCK TOWER MOUNT NEEDED TO BE DRILLED IN ORDER TO PERFORM A FOUR WHEEL ALIGNMENT TO PREVENT PREMATURE WEAR OF THE TIRES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND RECOMMENDED THAT THE CONTACT REPLACE THE STRUTS. THE VIN AND DOT NUMBER WERE NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 31,000.
Complaints are voluntarily submitted to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation and are not verified by NHTSA; they represent owner-reported problems, not proven defects. Counts can be useful as a relative quality signal across comparable tires or vehicles.
Tire recalls & safety complaints for the Ford Taurus →
FAQ
What's the best all-season tire for the Ford Taurus?
Should I get a cheaper tire for my Ford Taurus?
Does the Ford Taurus need winter tires?
Can I run a different tire size on my Ford Taurus?
Where can I buy these tires?
Last verified 2026-10-07.