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:
4 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
73,219 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.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While reversing out of the driveway at 5 mph, the driver heard a loud noise. The front passenger side tire blew out and the coil spring failed and punctured the tire. The vehicle will be towed to the repair shop. A report was filed with the manufacturer and the contact was advised to take the vehicle to a Ford dealer. The current and failure mileages were 89,464. Updated 05/26/09 updated 05/28/09.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While backing out the driveway at an unknown speed, the contact heard a loud popping sound. He jacked up the vehicle and noticed that the front coil spring failed and punctured the tire. He found recalls on the internet for the 1999-2001 models, but not for the 2002 models. The manufacturer will not cover the cost of the repair. The contact was advised to keep the receipts to receive reimbursement in case a recall is issued. The current and failure mileages were 94,000. Updated 06/24/09. The mechanic also informed the consumer the rear coil spring were near failure as well. Updated 07/02/09.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While driving approximately 20 mph, the contact heard a loud noise and pulled the vehicle back into the driveway. She noticed that the front driver's side tire was punctured. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and they stated that the front coil springs and strut failed. The dealer replaced both front coil springs and the strut at the cost of $700. The manufacturer stated that the vehicle was out of warranty; therefore, they would not assist. The failure and current mileages were 88,000. Updated 06/12/09 updated 06/16/09
On my Ford Taurus the left front coil over spring broke taking out tire and sway bar link called Ford Motor Co they said to bad no warranty I think it is unfair given the known problems with Ford and front coil springs I have another clam #10267309.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact was seated in the driver's seat while the vehicle was parked in the garage. He suddenly heard a loud noise outside the vehicle. He exited the vehicle and noticed that the front driver's side coil spring failed without warning. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 130,000. Updated 05/08/09 upated 05/12/09. Updated 06/09/09.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While driving 25 mph, the front driver's side coil springs failed. The vehicle was towed to an auto service shop and was repaired. The failure occurred a second time while backing up from the driveway. The contact heard a snapping sound and exited the vehicle. He noticed that the passenger side coil spring punctured the tire and caused it to flatten. The vehicle was once again towed to the same auto repair shop. The dealer stated that nothing could be done since there was no recall. The vehicle has been repaired and the contact believes that the failure was due to a manufacturer defect. The failure mileage was 53,085 and current mileage was 53,500. Updated 05/15/09 the consumer stated the first time, the left front coil spring failed and the second time, the right front coil spring failed. Updated 05/18/09.
Only 50,000 miles on my 2002 Ford Taurus when the front spring snapped for no apparent reason. I was pulling out of a level surface parking lot when it went. Had the same problem with my 1995 Ford Windstar, but that was covered by manufactures recall. I think Ford should be responsible for this obvious defect in their springs and do the right think or I will start buying foreign cars!!!!! car is still at the shop, waiting for damage report....spring (usually have to replace both though), tire and alignment at the least, not to mention the towing charge $$$$$$$. updated 04/29/09.
Suspension:front:springs:coil springs on 2002 Ford Taurus. Just before christmas 2008, the front spring blew and shredded the tire. On Saturday, February 7, 2009, the back spring blew and shredded the back tire. Thankfully, both incidents occurred in a driveway. From reading numerous accounts on the internet, this is a common issue with 2002 Ford Taurus'.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that her rear and front driver's side coil spring fractured and punctured a hole in her vehicle's tires. She was driving 5 mph at the time. The risk of serious injury was increased. The manufacturer stated that they would not assume liability for the repairs because there were no recalls available. The vehicle has been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 98,000. Updated 3/5/09 updated 03/10/09.
Our 2002 Ford Taurus SE suffered a broken coil spring on the left front and ruined the left front tire. To fix the problem we are incurring more than $750 and Ford knows of this problem on previous Taurus models due to NHTSA recall 04V332000.
On January 10, 2009, my 2002 Ford Taurus front passenger's side coil spring fractured while I was backing out of my driveway and slashed my tire. The next morning, January 11th, while my damaged car was sitting in my garage, the front driver's side coil spring fractured and ruined yet another tire. On Monday, January 12th, I called Ford customer service and was told that since my car was a 2002 model it was not covered even though 2000-01 models were recalled and repaired free of charge. I just thank god that this happened as it did and not while traveling on the road. This unfortunate incident cost approximately $900. We had to have our car towed to a mechanic who replaced both front coil springs, right and left struts and swaybar. Our car had 65,700 miles when this happened.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While driving approximately 10 mph, the contact heard a loud popping noise coming from the front end of the vehicle. A rapid loss in tire pressure accompanied the failure. The vehicle was towed to a local repair shop and the mechanic stated that the front coil spring fractured, which punctured a hole in the front driver's side tire. The vehicle was repaired at the cost of $712.64. The manufacturer stated that they would not assume financial responsibility because a recall was not available. The failure and current mileages were 67,025. Updated 2/23/09 updated 02/25/09.
My son was backing his 2002 Ford Taurus with 56,000 miles from the driveway when the front driver side coil spring ruptured and impaled the front driver side tire. I have not yet received an assessment of or an estimate to repair the damages.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While proceeding to reverse the vehicle, the coil spring failed and punctured the tire. The failure occurred without warning and the vehicle was towed to a local repair shop. The mechanic confirmed the coil spring failure. The failure and current mileages were 90,412. Updated 3/19/09 updated 03/23/09
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the front suspension coil springs exploded and punctured the tire. The coil spring was wrapped around the axle as well. The vehicle was towed to an auto body shop and was repaired at the cost of $690 by the contact. Through research, he discovered NHTSA action number EA08018, open investigation for 2002/2003, for the same spring failure. The failure and current mileages were 95,000. Updated 02-18-09 the rear coil spring failed as well. Updated 02/17/09.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While driving various speeds, the contact heard a noise and the tires flattened. He replaced the tire with a spare, but it also went flat. The vehicle was towed to a repair center and the mechanic stated that the coil spring on the passenger side failed and punctured the tires. The dealer stated that there were no recalls; therefore, the contact would have to pay for the repair. The repair would cost $672.83, but the contact wants reimbursement from the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 37,800. Updated 01-26-09
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While proceeding to reverse the vehicle, the coil spring failed and punctured the tire. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was towed to a local repair shop and they confirmed the coil spring failure. The vehicle was repaired at the cost of $271. The contact is in the process of notifying the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 53,156 and current mileage was 53,200. Updated 02/05/09 updated 02/06/09.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Sharpsville, PA, USA