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...
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
89,395 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
This winter I had my right front strut spring break as I was backing out of my driveway and the spring went right through my tire. The noise sounded like an explosion and scared me to death! my husband got the spring and strut repaired and purchased a new tire. I thought this was an isolated problem until I walked out today and sat in my car to go to work. I had not turned the car on, or even touched the steering wheel and again I heard the same loud noise and now the spring on the left side broke. I am also going to check the back tires because my car sits at a funny angle and I would guess the the spring on the left rear is about to break.
I initially noticed a metal-on-metal grinding sound when I drove over bumps in the road (like my shocks were bad). I had the 2002 Taurus examined at my Ford dealer, and the mechanic said one of the front coil springs was bad. He also said he was surprised the front tire hadn't blown out. He advised that I have both front springs replaced at the same time, which I did.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While driving approximately 25 mph, the front driver side collapsed without warning and punctured the tire. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where they stated that both front and rear coil springs fractured due to severe corrosion. The vehicle was repaired and the front driver and passenger side tires were replaced. The contact advised of a recall on the 2001 model year vehicles which related to the same failure he experienced. The recall was associated with NHTSA campaign id number 04V332000 (suspension:front:springs:coil springs). The contacts year vehicle was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000.
My 2002 Ford Taurus found front driver side coil just snapped and tore up the wheel. Luckily it happened while backing out of driveway. Checked and found there was a recall for up to August 2001.also, seen on line when searching recalls that others have had this happen to them on same 2002 Taurus. If this happens while driving it would be like a blow out and how many could be hurt or killed!
On 23 February 2011 I put my 2002 Ford Taurus in reverse on my carport, and I heard a loud bang noise.the car lurched to the left a made a loud thud sound hitting hard on the carport floor. I turned the engine off and got out to see what had happened. The left front coil spring had broke and was thrust into the left tire. Also, the spring hit the top of the nylon stabilizer breaking part of the top and throwing the cover of the ball joint on the floor.
- Burtonsville, MD, USA
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The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While driving in reverse at an unknown low speed a loud popping noise was heard. The vehicle was stopped and the contact noticed the front driver's side tire was flat. A spare tire was installed and the vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop where the contact was told the front driver's side coil spring pierced the tire. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 124,368 and the current mileage was 124,668.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the front left coil spring broke while they were traveling 65 mph. The contact stated that the tire did not blow out and they were able to pull the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the contacts home were they were able to see that the coil spring was broken. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage and current mileages were 90,000.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact noticed that the front driver side coil spring was broken and the two rear coil springs were cracked similar to nhsta campaign id number: 04V332000 ( suspension:front:springs:coil springs). The dealer was notified and informed the contact that his VIN was not included in the previous recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileages were 134,000.
While driving my 2002 Ford Taurus, a loud mechanical snap was heard, followed (about two seconds later) by blowout of the left front tire. The car swerved out of it's lane, into a snow bank on the side of the road (we had 10" of snow that day). When the tow truck lifted the car, I saw that the left front coil spring had snapped, and the metal had punctured the inside wall of the tire. There were no injuries. The car was taken to atchinson Ford, belleville, mi, where it will be evaluated in the morning.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While attempting to place the vehicle in reverse, the contact heard a loud grinding noise. When she exited the vehicle she noticed that the left front tire was deflated. While attempting to change the tire, the contact noticed that a piece of the spring fell onto the ground. The dealer was notified, who informed the contact that there was no extended warranty and offered no further assistance. The manufacturer referred the contact to NHTSA to file a complaint. The vehicle had was not repaired. The current and failure mileages were 120,000.
I had a flat tire that was stuck to the car. I attempted to roll the car back and forth to loosen wheel. Heard a pop and thought that the tire broke free. When I jacked the car up, a piece of the drivers side front coil fell out. I am getting it replaced.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while backing out of his garage, he noticed that the front driver side tire had fractured due to a coil spring which punctured the tire. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that he needed to replace the strut and coil springs. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 89,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Driving down a straight road, hit a small bump, left front coil spring broke. Loud bang and car became hard to control. A piece of the broken coil spring jammed into the cv (constant velocity) joint and destroyed it. Also the stabilizer link was broken. Car was towed to dealership & approximately $1000 worth of damage had to be taken care of. Same issue as NHTSA action number: EA08018.
Ford Taurus 2002 left front spring coil snapped. Driving into parking lot, making a right turn at 5 mph, loud bang and the left front of car dropped. Inspecting the damage, found the top of the spring, the first full circle, snapped completely off. Looking at the interior of the snapped section, noticed a patch of discoloration in the cracked section. This may have been caused by a crack in the spring and had been subjected to the elements for a period of time. Replacing coil at local garage.
On 1/10, I was on my way to drop my kids off at their school when the car began to drive funny.I pulled over right away and saw the front driver's side tire was blown..I proceeded to change the tire to my donut when I say the gash in my tire and I looked at the wheel well and saw the spring was sheered off..henceforth I had to pay to get new struts and a new tire and a new stabilizer for my car..I looked on the web and saw a bunch of people have had the exact same problem with their 2002 Ford Taurus..please help.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving in reverse the front drivers side coil spring broke causing damage to the front drivers side tire. The contact was concerned about the complaints regarding the front coil spring on her year, make and model vehicle. The coil spring was repaired by a local mechanic. The contact did not call the manufacturer regarding the failure. The contact stated that if the vehicle was driving on a highway and the coil spring broke it could have caused a crash. The failure mileage was 164,000. Updated 03/07/11 updated 12/14/11
2002 Ford Taurus ses with aprox 125K miles front left coil spring broke about six inches from the bottom end, the spring extended to the next coil, the broken end cut through the front left tire. The front left tire looked as if it was cut with a razor, the spring completely severed the tire at the junction of the top of the side wall and the tread. Both sides of the tire remained seated on the rim. The spring broke when backing out of a drive that is level with the street. The operator heard a clunk and thought that ice had broken free from the fender, as experienced in winter operations. The car was operated 100 feet then the operator felt the flat tire. The front left corner of the car was low to the ground without the full support of the spring the left front sway bar link broke under the extra weight. The broken piece from the link was about 60 degrees of the outer ball retention cup (upper end of the link). It is plastic. This car is the model year after an established recall for the same issue, a report was filled with Ford. The fl strut and spring where replaced. The right spring was bought with the left and will be installed with a new strut shortly. Also the left front sway bar link will be replaced. All failed components are retained by the owner, (we where able to get the stuff out of the drive)with the exception of the tire. The owner has photos of the tire and the spring ( still installed ) the morning this happened. Inspection of the spring at the break shows signs of intergranlure corrosion through the spring emanating from filiform corrosion on the surface. Owner bought the car used, it is unknown if the spring was original or a replacement.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Grand Mound, IA, USA