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...
1.8
hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
88,744 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.
2002 Ford Taurus left front coil snapped, wrapped around the strut assembly, broke the sway bar link and punctured the left front tire getting embedded in the tire so as to make the wheel immovable. Fortunately the car was stopped at the time, however, a moment later and I'm certain someone (my husband) would have been seriously injured or perhaps several people might have been injured or even killed. He couldn't free the tire from the coil and had to call for a tow. It couldn't be towed; so they sent for a flat bed to Transport it to the repair shop. I went to the Ford dealership with the busted parts after we had everything replace both right and left coils and strut assemblies and sway bar links and left front tire. I was told by the dealership that there was a similar problem with the 1999, 2000, and 2001 ; that there had been a recall. I was told that they put a protective shield on the vehicles which prevented the coil from puncturing the tire. However, the recall did not extend to the 2002 Taurus. Perhaps Ford motors should rethink this matter and consider putting a shield on the 2002's also. Don't wait for someone to be injured or killed before taking steps to correct this problem. I retained the old parts, I have taken pictures of them and will be sending the coil and sway bar link to Ford motors. I will keep the struts and tire in the event they would like to inspect them. However they are heavy and bulky and will be rather difficult to send, but I will send them upon Ford's request.
: the contact stated while reversing in the driveway, an explosion was heard and the driver side front tire went flat. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop, who determined the strut had fractured and punctured the tire. The front struts were replaced.
While exiting the driveway, front driver side tire went flat accompanied by a loud noise. The vehicle was moved to an independent repair shop (via flatbed truck) that found the coil spring & strut for that location & the right rear coil spring had fractured. The broken front spring ripped through the sidewall of the tire. Both springs were replaced, along with the strut & tire. There is a NHTSA recall, #04V332000 regarding the front springs; however this vehicle isn't included in the recall due to it's VIN.
- Schenectady, NY, USA
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- West Milford, NJ, USA