CarComplaints.com Notes: Most people need a car where the coil springs don't puncture or shred tires while driving. The Taurus fails in that respect.
The 1999-2003 Ford Taurus has a huge problem with coil springs breaking, which can puncture or even shred tires while driving.
The US government spent THREE YEARS (2008-2011) investigating the 2002-2003 Taurus coil springs. Although Taurus/Sable from earlier years were recalled, ultimately the NHTSA did not force a recall. They determined that because there had been no deaths & very few bad crashes & injuries, the broken coil springs defect was no big deal & not a safety defect. Tell that to all the owners who had close calls...
8.8
pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
$670
Average Mileage:
91,850 miles
Total Complaints:
48 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
replace front springs and struts (29 reports)
coil springs replaced (10 reports)
not sure (4 reports)
replace spring, strut, stabilizer bar and tire (4 reports)
replace spring, strut, stabilizer bar & tire (1 reports)
On New Year's Eve I was driving down the busiest road in my town at about 20 mph when my right front tire blew. The next morning I took it to a local retail store where I got the tire two months ago (thinking it was a faulty tire). They discovered that the front coil spring was broken and had pierced the tire, completely cutting the side off. It had also started to do the same thing to the donut that I had driven it there on. Deeming it unsafe to drive, it was towed to our local Ford dealership, who took 5 days to even look at it (claiming two different times that they didn't know why it was there--even though they had it towed there). At that point they ordered a new spring for front right, and recommended doing the left too. The parts took 3 days to come in and they took 2 days to get it fixed. Upon fixing it, they noticed that the back right coil was broken too (though the left looked fine). So, that took 1 more day for a part and 1 more day for fixing it. So, 12 days later (with no courtesy car ever coming available), and $501.11 poorer, I finally got my car back. Now the back right sounds terrible whenever I go over a bump. I took it back to the dealer the next day who said it was fine. This was an extremely frustrating situation, particularly because I was aware of the recall going up to 2001's. I will never take my car to this dealer again, nor purchase from them as we had before. I agree that a recall most certainly needs to happen on the 2002 and am so lucky I wasn't on the interstate when it happened.
the front right spring broke and stuck out and shredded my front right tire sidewall all around the tire. I put on the spare and it happened to the spare 1 1/2 miles down the road. Needed my car towed and won't get it back for 5 days since they don't have the springs in stock and I have to purchased both springs since they sell them as a pair. and I need a new tire that I just purchased not even 6 months ago and I need a new spare since the spring ruined that also.
Just relieved I came outside to go to work and found the tire flat.INSTEAD of it taking a crap on me in traffic.Damn good car otherwise - reliable to a reasonable standard.
front spring, drivers side breaks usually in reverse at low speed, but not always, and pops tire on this side.
this is an open investigation by the NHTSA so PLEASE make sure you follow the link at he end of this complaint form and submit a complaint to the nhtsa so hey can force a recall & reimbursement!!!!! ther are 3 wrecks noted by tem due to this problem!
- Nancy C.,
Harrod, OH, US
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shocked to see how many exact complaints on your site and we are callin both frd and safety board. front drivers spring breaks when put into reverse tears new tire up. car was put into reverse and moved less than a foot.
Update from Feb 11, 2010: CHECKED INTO REPLACING BOTH FRONT SPRINGS WITH NEW AND IT'S GOING TO COST $250 MINIMUM
I got into my 2002 Ford Taurus yesterday to go to work, put in in reverse and "bam" the front drivers side tire blew. upon further inspections the coil spring had broke and punctured the tire. I searched for a recall and found were 2001 and older were recalled but not the 2002 even though i am told the same part is on both vehicles. Ford should recall these before they end up with a wrongful death suit on them which could happen. Just to say i bought the taurus because its supposed to be safe, now im just waiting for the other springs to break and blow out another tire, i just hope its in my driveway like it was this time.
thank god i was't driving on a major highway when my front spring broke and blew out my tire.my dissapointment was when i found out this has happened to other cars and ford has not stepped up to the plate and recalled it. i'm getting ready to buy another car because i don't kmow if it will happen again but it definatly won't be a ford now!!!
Anyone with a 2002 Ford Taurus with broken coil springs:
Though a recall has not been issued for the 2002, there is a recall for the 1999-2001, leaving all of us with the 2002 to pay for the repair ourselves when Ford should cover it! I have spoken to several Ford dealer mechanics who cannot believe the 2002 was never recalled, and I am asking that anyone with this issue follow up with Ford and the NHTSA so that we all get help with this! If you have already repaired this, you get reimbursed if there is a recall; they just need enough complaints to put it into motion! Call the Ford Customer Relations line at 800-392-3673 and the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236. This is a safety and fairness issue that should not be ignored!!!
Same as many already reported. Put the car in reverse, went about a foot, driver's front tire blew out. Once I realized the spring had broken I checked the Ford website to see if it had been recalled. No such luck. Then I googled the problem and was shocked to see hundreds perhaps thousands of complaint about the same problem. The shop I took it to said you should only replace the struts/springs in pairs so we did that. Glad it happened in the driveway and not on the road at high speed
Wow. The previous complaint is pretty much my story...
I had just threw the car in reverse - made it about an inch and HISSSSSSSS... Tire went flat. Initially I thought it was the lumber guys that had just dropped off the materials for the deck and had maybe left something in the driveway. Of course I go out and get the jack and jack up the car - loosen the lug nuts - and when the wheel wouldn't come off - I felt around and noticed the broken spring. I have NEVER heard of or seen a spring break on a car.
The car was towed to the local Ford dealership (who shall remain nameless) and the service writer said that as the springs rust - they sometimes break. Right. Except mine didn't have a spot of rust on it. Now I know about the recall on the '01 Tauruses - but didn't at the time - or I would've raised heck at the dealership.
So - if my math is right... 1 broken spring = replacing both springs, one tire, a broken strut mount and stabilizer link, an alignment, and straightening the subframe = about $960 US / $1,075 CDN.
As I have read the other complaints about the 2002 Taurus and a broken front spring, I must say most of you were lucky in that you were in the driveway or driving on a city street. I was driving on the interstate going 70 mph. Without any warning, the spring broke, dropped down on the suspension and broke the sway bar and crushed the outer tie rod. The wheel did not lock up nor did the tire blow, but the experience is one to remember. We were very fortunate that we were not in heavy traffic and were able to steer to the side of the road. It was the first day of our vacation and we got to spend the day and night waiting for the car to get fixed. Besides the springs, strut bearing, sway bar, tie rod, front-end alignment, we also had the expense of a hotel room and towing. The repair shop knew about the ford recall on the front springs and even contacted the local Ford dealership. That's when they said it was only up to the 2001 year Taurus. The repair bill was close to $1,000.00 when all done and took several hours. I agree that this recall should be extended to cover the later year cars that obviously have the same problem.
I started the car in the driveway, moved about 1 foot, and the front left coil spring exploded, deflating the tire. I had to have the car towed to our garage we have used for almost 20 years. It will cost about $425 US or $525 CDN plus a new tire as the warranty doesn't cover this type of blowout.
Amazing that Ford doesn't have this item recalled, but due to the Big 3 financial crisis, I'm sure no recalls will be forthcoming for a long time. I was very surprised to see the number of these that have broke as per your website. "Shameful"
I was very reluctant to register on this kind of complaint site for privacy reasons, but I know there are lots of people out there like me that have not spoken up about this issue -- the heck with privacy, because Ford needs to hear about this!
It is ridiculous that Ford is not recalling 2002 Taurus for its coil spring problem giving the apparent quality and safety issues there! It seems they are waiting for some really bad accidents to happen on the highway and somebody get seriously hurt, or God forbid, die, and then sue their a** off! In the meantime, lots of loyal Ford customers get pissed off and are swearing off Ford brand. What kind of business are they running there???
My Taurus has only 69,000 miles on it. My front coil broke a couple of weeks ago when I just passed a stop sign and my speed was barely 20 mph. I heard a huge explosive noise and I thought I hit a rock or something. I immediately stopped and inspected the car -- the driver side of the car collapsed and was in contact with the wheel so the vehicle was not drivable. I called a tow truck and went to the dealer. The total cost was about $490. I was lucky it did not damage the tire badly because the speed was so slow.
Should this happen on the highway, with a speed of 65 mph, the car would surely veer off and the tire will surely explode. The passengers of the car and the nearby drivers will definitely in mortal danger! Is this what Ford wanted to see?!
Ford, take care of your customers before it's too late!
When we got this car in 2004 I fell in love,Metallic gray , moon roof , leather seats, 24 valve,rear spoiler ahh-hhh. Gradually that love has turned to hate! The coil spring busting on the front really ticked me off. I called Ford what a joke, they told me there was no recall for this problem and I d have to pay to have it fixed myself. I informed the woman I spook to that it'd be a cold day in h#!*# before I ever buy another Ford!
Hey all you "satisfied" taurus owners , it seems we are not alone. I too had a front coil spring snap in two with no warning . Not only that , a sidewall gash that is not covered in my road hazard , a broken sway link ,(by the way , why would you use a very brittle plastic no really I broke what was left of it with my bare hands and it wasn't hard to do!) a damaged ball joint and a missed day of work. With that said I have owned seven taurus' with combined miles well over a million and will probably look at another one as they are great cars. Sure you have to do brakes often (62 front and 29 rear, 2 master cylinders, 10 rotors 4 wheel cylinders 2 calipers and a little elbow grease) but other than this coil spring I have had very good luck . I only wish Ford would see the big picture and take care of the little guy. Coil spring = big problem to the little guy , little problem to the big Ford Motor Company. Then again the little guy is the only one who can really "bail them out".
sorry if this wasn't angry enough I am just a nice guy. Ed B
Way to go, Ford! As if you couldn't find enough ways to f*** up our Taurus! When your design and engineering teams said...
"Hey, we don't think that replacing the front rotors every 5,000 miles is enough" or,
"It'll be even funnier when the chrome PEELS off of the interior door handles" or better yet,
"Let's put our Cam sensor where the Distributor USED to go, then make it so impossibly DIFFICULT to align, that it'll sure be a riot when the customer has to replace it because it squeals louder than a fat swine when you're chasing it!"
YOU, Ford, as a company, SURE stepped up to the plate! Ford has made repairing our Taurus a sure pissing challenge.
Backing out of the driveway, I heard a loud "clunk" and then a "hiss". Fearing that I may have ran over the neighborhood cat and aggravated said feline (fearing because it may have damaged my car, being a fragile Taurus, after all), I look at the wheel and to my disbelief, the front driver's side of the car looks as if it had hydraulics installed and was sitting damn near close to the ground! Blasting my "rap" music in anticipation that maybe someone had ninja-rigged hydraulics into my suspension, and that it may bounce back, I searched for the cat and it was nowhere to be found, and the same was to be said for half of the coil spring!
But wait... there's more!!!
!!
Not only was half of the spring gone, my BRAND NEW (SEE: BRAND NEW) TIRE had a slice in it, comparable in size to the "Ford Taurus for Dummies" book I had written, containing chronicles and charts of things that had indeed gone haywire with this car in question.
Being the crafty individual I am, I used a cut-off tool and sliced the sharp end of the coil spring off which had managed to piss off my tire. I threw the donut-spare on, and now, it sits lonely in my street, waiting for the tow truck to come get it in the morning. They can keep it for all I care. And that annoying cat.
The front passenger side coil snapped as my husband was driving my car to work. It punctured and shredded the tire, bent the bearing plate and strut. Due to the damage they had to replace both front coils. I CANNOT believe the 2002 models are not included in the recall. Just thankful I wasn't driving 70mph on the thruway! My rear coil snapped in July of '08, that cost me $1,500!
Front drivers side spring snapped while pulling into the driveway. Front springs, the gouged tire and struts replaced at a significant cost. Ford is screwing up by not issuing a recall on the 02 model. Let's hope no one is injured or looses their life when a spring pops on the highway. Thanks Ford Motor Company for your 5 Star Safety concern!!
This is the second time the front coil spring broke and ripped up the tire, first the right spring in 2007 and again in 2008. This is a known problem and Ford offers a fix using specials springs shields which you have to pay for along with labor. Why should I have have to pay to fix a problem that they are aware of? The defective spring and strut design was a factory recall for the Taurus up to and including 2001, however the SAME strut spring assembly is not covered for the 2002. I've owned Fords since 1965, NEVER again, I will never buy another FORD!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
click to see larger images
On New Year's Eve I was driving down the busiest road in my town at about 20 mph when my right front tire blew. The next morning I took it to a local retail store where I got the tire two months ago (thinking it was a faulty tire). They discovered that the front coil spring was broken and had pierced the tire, completely cutting the side off. It had also started to do the same thing to the donut that I had driven it there on. Deeming it unsafe to drive, it was towed to our local Ford dealership, who took 5 days to even look at it (claiming two different times that they didn't know why it was there--even though they had it towed there). At that point they ordered a new spring for front right, and recommended doing the left too. The parts took 3 days to come in and they took 2 days to get it fixed. Upon fixing it, they noticed that the back right coil was broken too (though the left looked fine). So, that took 1 more day for a part and 1 more day for fixing it. So, 12 days later (with no courtesy car ever coming available), and $501.11 poorer, I finally got my car back. Now the back right sounds terrible whenever I go over a bump. I took it back to the dealer the next day who said it was fine. This was an extremely frustrating situation, particularly because I was aware of the recall going up to 2001's. I will never take my car to this dealer again, nor purchase from them as we had before. I agree that a recall most certainly needs to happen on the 2002 and am so lucky I wasn't on the interstate when it happened.
- lbuss, Lincoln, IL, US