I went to purchased new tires for my 2001 Ford Taurus and the technician noticed my left rear coil spring had moved out of the seat and carved a groove into the tire of about one eight of an inch. Had I continued to drive the vehicle, the tire may have ruptured at light speeds, which could have resulted in an loss of control of the vehicle and possible crash. Leading to possible serious injury or death to the occupants.

- Milwaukee, WI, USA

: the contact stated while changing the rear brakes, it was noticed the rear coil springs had fractured. The dealership was contacted.

- Westland, MI, USA

: the contact while driving on the highway at 40 mph, the rear driver's side coil spring fractured puncturing the rear driver's side tire. After placing a spare tire on the vehicle, the vehicle was driven home. The dealership has not yet been informed. The door ajar light stayed illuminated. Updated 09/05/06.

- Ambridge, PA, USA

: while driving through normal road conditions at 30 mph a rubbing noise was heard. While driving slowly to the independent repair shop for inspection of the tires, the tire blew. The contact stated that the rear passenger side spring coils fractured blowing out the rear tire, fracturing both rear struts and the rear driver side springs. Prior to this incident a recall remedy #04V332000 pertaining to front coil springs was performed by the dealer. The manufacturer denied service for the rear coils under the original recall. Updated 9/20/2006 -

- Brodheadsville, PA, USA

: the contact stated that the vehicle's rear tire blew out while driving 50 mph. A noise was heard prior to the failure. The tire was changed and the vehicle was driven to the dealer who determined the driver side rear coil spring had fractured. The vehicle was driven to an independent repair shop who replaced both coil springs and struts.

- Grass Lake, MI, USA

I had my 2001 Ford Taurus in for a flat tire repair due to a nail puncture when the mechanic found that both rear coil springs were sheared off and sticking out less than 1 inch from the rear tires. They had been broken for some time which was apparent due to the rusted ends of the spring. This also explains why the car has had a poor ride quality and has been making noise going over bumps. The mechanic had to replace both springs and the rear struts which cost almost $600. By the way my car has only 53K miles. I kept the coil springs as proof of the problem.

- Aurora, IL, USA

Rear coil spring broke, potential tire failure. Front coil springs fixed for same safety concern but the rear not.

- Woodhaven, MI, USA

Loud rubbing noise coming from under vehicle while driving in town. Heard quick hissing noise then tire burst. All of this within a matter of a minute. Discovered left rear coil spring had broken and rubbed/ punctured the inside tire wall. Vehicle currently in the shop. Not covered under extended warranty. Have requested that broken part be returned to me.

- Hagerstown, MD, USA

: the contact stated that the vehicle's rear coil spring on the driver side fractured while traveling 35 mph on 04/07/06. There was a noise heard coming from the rear suspension prior to the incident. The vehicle was immediately pulled over and inspected by the contact. There were no problems observed, so the vehicle was driven 1 mile when the rear driver side tire blew out. The contact pulled over in a parking lot and attempted to change the tire but found that the incorrect spare was put in the vehicle by an auto shop. The vehicle was driven slowly across the street to the dealer. The dealer determined that the driver side rear coil spring fractured and the dealer replaced the spring and tire. On 06/24/06, a noise was heard while traveling 25mph. When the vehicle was inspected, no problem were observed. The vehicle was driven home and the tire was taken off to inspect the spring and the rear passenger side coil spring was fractured. A new coil spring was purchased from the dealer, and the contact's spouse replaced the broken spring. Both incidents occurred during normal driving. The contact has the failed part and repair invoice available. The contact noticed that there was a recall for the front springs of the same model. The VIN# was not included in the recall.

- Louisville, KY, USA

Rear coil spring was broken in two. There is a recall on the front coil spring, why is there not one for the rear?

- Cohoes, NY, USA

Both 2 rear coil springs are fractured and just found yesterday (07/10/2006). They must have broken long time ago because the noise was first heard around last fall. Since then the car was switched for local driving only. At that time I thought it was the brake making noise. Rear tires were removed yesterday (07/10/2006) to check the brake. Brake is fine, but found the 2 rear coil springs were broken. My car has about 130K miles now.

- Rochester Hills, MI, USA

I own a 2001 Ford Taurus SE. I took my vehicle in for nys inspection and found that 2 of my coils were broken, one rear and one front coil. My car has only 27,300 miles on it. This is a ridiculous problem to have with so few miles on my car. I took my car to the dealer and they replaced only one front coil and I had to pay to have the rear coil fixed. I have since learned that they are required to fix both front coils, even if only one breaks, which they did not do. However, why are the rear coils not covered in the recall"?" they are also subject to salt. The rear coils are just as faulty as the front coils.

- Lancaster, NY, USA

2001 Ford Taurus wife got into to leave and I heard the car make a noise and drop a couple of inches in the rear. Took it to a local shop and the said the rear springs had broken on both sides. I had the rear springs and struts replaced at the cost of $500.

- Ypsilanti, MI, USA

Both rear springs cracked.

- South Lyon, MI, USA

Rear driver side coil spring broke while driving on highway going at 65 mph. Heard a loud bang in rear and proceeded to drive about 1 mile to my house. Smelled burning rubber coming from the rear tire. Proceeded to take the tire off the car and found that the coil spring had fractured and the inner side of the tire had a deep gouge from the sharp broken coil spring. I was lucky that I was close to home when it occurred and didn't have to travel too many miles. In either case it would have resulted in a blown tire which is very terrifying. Estimate repair will be both rear coil springs, two new rear tires.

- Boonton, NJ, USA

Brought my 2001 Ford Taurus SE to Ford dealership for routine maintenance (oil change) and mentioned that the car felt 'skittish' under braking as if the rear of the vehicle was loose. The service manager informed me that upon inspecting the vehicle the brakes were fine but the rear springs were rusted and one was cracked and the other was completely broken in half. The fracture marks were at the same spot on both springs. The vehicle has only 14,000 miles on it and I do not consider this 'routine maintenance'. I am the only one who drives this vehicle, I never tow, the trunk is always empty and no one ever sits in the back seat. It is extremely rare for one spring to fail let alone two at the same time. The fact that both springs failed in the same location states that there is a serious and potentially lethal design flaw. Ford refused to pay for the springs to be replaced as they felt it was normal wear and tear and that the part was not under a recall. Why does Ford want to wait for someone to be seriously injured or killed before they will acknowledge that their springs are defective?

- Monticello, MN, USA

Rear coil springs in 2001 Ford Taurus broken. Had front coil springs replaced by dealer. They were repaired and under a recall. They informed me left rear coil spring broken but not covered under recall and have to pay for repair. I ask why are fronts defective and rear not?

- New York Mills, NY, USA

My front coil springs broke and were replaced under recall. At the same time my rear coil springs were broken - had to replace them on my own. Cost me $500. A 5 year old car should not have all its springs broken. T the same time - pretty dangerous.

- Kent, OH, USA

2001 Taurus front coil spring broke. The rear springs failed and the manufacturer refused to cover the cost. The front coil springs were covered under the recall.

- Wayland, NY, USA

Heard a loud pop from the right rear of the vehicle. An inspection revealed that the strut's coil spring was broken. A jagged part of the spring was with in a quarter of an inch from the tire. Also the other coil spring was broken.

- Marengo, IL, USA