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 driving approximately 3 mph, the front passenger side coil spring failed and punctured the tire. The vehicle dropped completely to the ground. The contact placed a spare tire on the vehicle in order to drive home. He is in the process of having the vehicle repaired. He filed a formal complaint with the manufacturer. The failure and current mileages were 100,000.
2002 Ford Taurus wagon car was in a driveway just after being driven on a interstate. Putting car in reverse a sound of metal and a explosion of the tire was heard (if it was going down the highway it would have peeled it from the rim). Driver side front coil spring broke and broken spring slashed a 10 inch gash in the tire. If this had happened five minutes earlier it would have been a deadly situation. We were very lucky. I had to have the spare tire put on but the spring was still touching the tire. The spring had to be cut so as to move the car without cutting the spare tire. The car was then driven seven miles to a repair shop where both struts were replaced and a new tire put on. Just wanted to report this because the Ford dealership said they don't.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The front driver side coil springs failed due to corrosion in the vehicle. The springs detached from the coil purge and split into two pieces. The springs punctured the front drive side tire, causing it to flatten. The vehicle was not moving at the time of the failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but they have yet to perform an inspection. He also discovered a recall issued for the same failure; however, his VIN was not included because the affected units date was five months prior to his vehicle's manufactured date. The failure still persists. The current and failure mileages were 46,000.
2002 Ford Taurus front left spring broke. Consumer states that the mechanic said that the left front spring and front strut assembly needed to be replaced.
My daughter who is at college, drives a 2002 Ford Taurus. The other day she went to back out of her parking space at school. The front driver side tire blew out. When they tried to put the spare on they found that the coil spring had broken and pierced the tire. The car had to be towed to a garage. Apparently this is a very common occurrence on these cars. Thank god she was not driving down a busy highway!
- Manistique, MI, USA
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The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While the contact was backing out of her driveway, she heard what sounded like air coming from her front passenger side tire. Upon inspection of the vehicle, she noticed the tire was ruptured due to a corroded coil spring. The speed was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 53,642.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While backing out of the garage, the contact noticed that the front driver's side tire was flat. When taken to a tire shop, the mechanic informed her that the front spring coil fractured and punctured the tire. The current and failure mileages were 81,639. Update 05/13/08
On 3/12/2008 car was sitting in driveway and I heard a loud bang.tire went flat. Looked under car and spring was broken. It is a 2002 Ford Taurus ses. Front coil spring failure, resulting in a punctured front tire. Lucky I was not driving at the time. I was told it would cost $660 at the local Ford dealer for new springs and a tire. Instead I went to my local mechanic and he replaced 2 front coil springs, 2 front struts, one which was damaged when the spring broke, new wheel alignment, and one front tire. Total $850.
This letter is to make you aware of a serious issue with my 2002 Ford Taurus which was the Focus of a recall of model years 1999 through 2001. This is identified under safety recall 04S17 and recall number 04V332000. From my perspective, this issue still persists with the 2002 model. The vehicle identification number on this Taurus is: Xxxxxxxxxxxx I was backing my Ford out of my parking spot on Tuesday, January 11th and as I was turning the wheel to exit, a loud crack sounded and the entire left side of my car dropped. I had the car towed to a local auto repair shop. The next day the mechanic determined that one of the coil springs had rusted completely and snapped. They also pointed out that the second coil spring was in the same condition, so they replaced both at the same time. The total cost of the repair was $1,580.83. As mentioned in the recall, this is a serious safety liability, and I am very thankful this occurred in a parking lot and not on the freeway to or from work. For a car being only five years old it is hard to comprehend that this would be considered a maintenance item by Ford. I can only assume Ford does not want unsatisfied customers saddled with this kind of cost for what must be considered an issue with product quality. After sending the above information to Ford - I received this response: Your recent letter has been received and reviewed. Customer satisfaction is the primary objective of Ford Motor Company and we make every attempt to ensure that our owners are satisfied. We are always willing to consider individual requests for assistance beyond the normal warranty provisions. However, we must place limits on our post warranty assistance. We regret to advise you that your vehicle is beyond those limits and we are therefore, unable to assist you with the cost of any repairs. We appreciate your writing us and wish that our response could have been more favorable.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While driving 5 mph, she heard a rattling noise coming from the tire. The contacts husband inspected the vehicle and noticed that the driver sidecoil spring broke and punctured the tire. As of April 14, 2008, the dealer had not inspected the vehicle. There is a recall for suspension: Front: Springs: Coil springs (NHTSA campaign id #04V332000) however her VIN was not included. The current and failure mileages were 75,350.
I have had 3 or the 4 springs on my 2002 Ford Taurus. Break. Both back ones and the front drivers side. The back ones were discovered, to be broken, by the dealer. I took it in because it seemed like the back was scraping the ground at times. The other day I noticed that the tire on the driver's side in the front was flat. As I was trying to blow the tire up, it was deflating just as fast. The spring was broken and was stuck in the tire. Thank god, it broke in the driveway. The last time we had the car on the road we were on the freeway going 65 miles per hour. I called Ford and was told there was nothing they could do as there was no extended warranty or recall on the 2002 Taurus springs. It seems that some of the springs were covered on the Taurus from 1999 through 2001. When I went to the Goodyear dealer to get a new tire, they told me that the Taurus was famous for that problem. I was told that Ford simply put a shield on the 2002 to keep the spring from puncturing the tire. We could find no shield. If the Taurus has an inherent safety problem they are aware of, they should have to fix it free of charge. My family has had Ford since 1936. We have had at least 15 new Ford since then. To be honest, since I, myself, saw the spring sticking in the tire, I am almost fearful to ride in my Taurus. If it is a problem, will it happen again when I am driving the car at higher speeds? something to think about. It could happen in any brand car but if the Ford is known for that problem and nothing is done then shame on them.
The other day I noticed that my front driver's side tire was flat. I couldn't get the tire to hold air. I found the problem ----the spring had broken and went completely through my tire. I could have been killed it I had been driving on the freeway. I checked on Ford recalls and noticed that they had a recall or extended warranties on the springs-up to and including 2001. Maybe the 2002 and newer Taurus should be recalled.
When I went to leave work this morning, my driver side front tire was flat. After removing the tire, I found that the spring had broke. After coming home and doing some research online, I found that this is a very common problem, one that Ford should probably have a recall for.
I backed my 2002 Ford Taurus out of my driveway and the front drivers side spring broke causing a complete tire failure. Had I been driving when this occurred this would have been extremely dangerous. My understanding is other Taurus model years (2001 for one) have been recalled for this same issue. In looking around the internet I see many, many others complaints that they had the exact same issue. I am in the process of costly out of pocket repairs at this time.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While driving 40 mph, the front passenger side tire blew out. The contact lost control of the vehicle and struck a guardrail. He replaced the blown tire with a spare. The vehicle was taken to an auto garage and it was discovered that the front coil penetrated and sheared the tire. The manufacturer took a report; however, they stated that there were no recalls for the 2002 models. They further stated that the mileage exceeded the warranty coverage; therefore, they would not assist with the repair. The vehicle was repaired, which included replacing the coil spring and the tire at the cost of $530.85. The current mileage was 102,554 and failure mileage was 100,100. Updated 04/29/08. Phone interview updates (6/17/08): Mr. Esford indicated that front suspension spring breakage had occurred while he was driving. The road was a divided highway, paved and dry. The traffic was light and there was no precipitation. Suddenly, Mr. Esford heard a light "pop" and the right front corner of the vehicle dropped; the steering wheel was pulled out of his hand momentary. Instinctively, he grabbed the steering wheel and hit the brakes. However, the vehicle had already pulled to the right and struck the guard rail. No other vehicle was involved and no police was called. The broken spring and punctured tire replacement costed Mr. Esford close to $500. The fender also needs to be replaced; Mr. Esford estimate that will cost an additional $800 to $1,000.
I started my car, put it in reverse, stepped on the gas, went back about 6 inches and heard a loud clunk and then the sound of a tire exploding. I removed the tire and found that the left front coil spring had fractured, leaving a sharp end that punctured the tire. Upon checking on the internet, I found that several hundred thousand Taurus' in 2000 and 2001 had recalls for defective front coil springs. My vehicle was manufactured in January of 2002. I called Ford's recall line to explain what happened, and was told that my vehicle was not covered under the recall despite it being only one month newer. Estimated cost to repair and ensure safety by replacement of both front coil spring and punctured tire is approximately $500 plus towing.
2002 Ford Taurus, while backing out of driveway, front driver's side coil spring catastrophically failed destroying the tire and sway bar link while dropping the front end to almost the ground. I called the local dealer (nemer, queensbury, NY) and was told Ford had no recalls on it. I called Ford customer service and was told the same thing. I questioned a Ford recall for the 98 through 2001 Taurus for the same problem and was told it was not applicable to the 2002. Internet searches show the 2002's are also prone to this problem. If I was traveling at a nominal speed, this could have been deadly for the occupants and people near by. I consider this a severe safety issue.
1. drove car approximately 35 miles. Parked the car for several hours. Upon returning to the vehicle, the front drivers side wheel well was touching the tire making the vehicle immovable. The vehicle was transported to the dealership for problem determination and repair. 2. the dealer determined there were 2 broken coil springs (drivers side front and rear), a failed strut (drivers side), a broken sway bar link, and a missing axle boot clamp. 3. 1 strut replaced, 2 front springs replaced, 2 rear springs replaced, sway bar link replaced, axel boot clamp installed, front end aligned.
I understand that there was a recall NHTSA # PE04044 in regards to front coil springs on the 99 - 01 Ford Taurus. I own a 2002 Ford Taurus. While driving on an off ramp from I-95 the left front coil spring snapped in my car. I was very fortunate to be going slow enough when it broke. I was informed by my mechanic, that these springs continue to break on newer Taurus vehicles. While researching this on the web, I found numerous other complaints about the 2002 coil springs and I had to wonder why they were not part of the recall. Please look into this issue further.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Carleton, MI, USA