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.
Passenger side front coil spring snapped, while pulling from drive way. This car only has 77000 miles on it. I do not drive over bumps or go around hitting pot holes. I keep this car aligned and I feel that this is a serious problem and Ford should have to recall the 2002 Taurus. What if this spring had broke while I was traveling on the interstate ?
Car was used for a trip out of state earlier in the day. After stopping for dinner for a couple of hours, my wife headed the car home. A mile from the restaurant the car developed a flat front tire and my wife was lucky enough to get it off the road into a parking area. She thought the problem was only the tire, but the towing company said the front end collapsed and the spring may have broken. We towed it to the dealer and they confirmed the front coil spring had broken and punctured the tire. The dealer replaced both front coil springs, links, and struts due to this, as well as the tire, for a total of $783.30 dollars. I don't know what reporting they may have done or if they kept the parts. If this had happened during the trip... thankfully it didn't. I thought this was uncommon until I happened to look online.
2002 Ford Taurus. The left front coil spring broke while my wife was driving this vehicle. Smoke began to pour from the vehicle and when she stopped, the tire exploded! she was less then 100 yards from the freeway entrance ramp. I was told by ricart Ford, that this vehicle is not under a recall for this problem, even though the 2001 model (which uses the same spring) is.
While parked in the garage the front driver side spring broke and blew out the tire on our 2002 Ford Taurus. Repairs included new tire, a set of springs, the stabilizer link among other parts.
- Festus, MO, USA
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Front coil spring broken. Discovered flat tire. When removed tire, could see the broken coil and there was a tear in the back of the tire. Ford refused to help since it's not under a recall.
2002 Ford Taurus front coil spring fracture resulting in a shredded (brand new)front tire luckily there were no injuries. Similar to the problem (see below) recalled on the 1998-2001 models. Why this same problem is occurring on the later models of the Taurus but the recall was limited to 1998-2001 makes not sense to me. There are numerous reports on the internet of this problem being ongoing after the 2001 model year. Recall summary on certain passenger vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, the front coil springs could fracture due to corrosion associated with salt used on the roadways during the winter. A fractured spring could move past the spring seat and contact a front tire. Consequence if this occurs, the tire may rupture resulting in a rapid air loss, which could result in a crash. Remedy dealers will install protective spring shields. In addition, Ford is extending the warranty coverage of the front coil springs in all other states, for fracture only, up to 10 years of service or 150,000 miles, whichever occurs first. If the vehicle has already accumulated more than 150,000 miles, this coverage will last until July 31, 2005. If either front coil spring fractures, dealers will replace both front springs at no charge to the owner. An interim notice was sent to owners on August 2, 2004. Parts are now available for the 2000-2001 my vehicles and owners were sent a letter on January 10, 2005, advising them to bring in their vehicles for repair parts are expected to be available for the 1999 my vehicles by the end of February 2005 and owners of these vehicles will be notified then. Owners should contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Drivers side front coil spring on a 2002 Taurus SE failed impacting and flattening tire on steering axle and causing loss of control of the steering. Fortunately, this occurred at low speed. This occurred approximately 1.5 months after failure of a rear coil spring on the same vehicle. The failure is essentially identical to that described in NHTSA, Office Of Defects Investigation action no. PE04044 for 1997 through 2001 Taurus vehicles caused by failure of the springs due to corrosion in northern states (I.e. pa) and from research, a number of similar incidents on 2002 and later Taurus vehicles are being investigated by your Agency. I had the spring and tire replaced from both failures, but there are two other original springs on the vehicle. Ford refuses to make the repairs because the defect is apparently not covered by the recall/extended warranty service situation spurred by the prior NHTSA bulletin.
2002 Ford Taurus - daughter was ready to back up in parking lot and heard a loud noise - spring broke destroying tire. So I have to replace spring (and probably the other front one due to the safety problem Ford has with them.) tire, and other things connected to it!! it should be on Ford recall - especially after reading all of the information about Ford Taurus springs breaking on internet. I am thankful my daughter was not driving on a highway when this happened!!
My mother "nola C. slay" 2002 Ford Taurus. Just over 110,000 miles (highway)front coil springs failure. As I've read in the "consumeraffairs.com" this is a widespread problem. Look under Ford springs. However, in Ford's infinite wisdom, they stop the coil spring recall as of year 2001. You really need to look into this. Luckily mom's car was parked, during the week of 3/7/08 snow storms when this happened. Yes while parked!!
I was backing out of my garage and heard a loud hiss and I got out looked at it and my spring had broke punctured my tire. It's not on the recall list and Ford is refusing to fix the issue. Here is a link to some other people that this has happened to and Ford will not fix the issue with this model year car. www.topix.com/forum/autos/Ford-Taurus/T2I76qlavd30dd454/P5.
2002 Ford Taurus broken rear coil springs. Consumer states that the rear coil springs broke which resulted in them having to replace both of the tires due to damages to the tires from the broken springs. Dealer told them they had to pay for repairs. The consumer also stated the left front coil spring failed as well.
Wife put the car into reverse in the driveway, front left spring broke, puncturing the front left tire. Thankfully she was not on the road when this happened.
Front coil spring broke severing the tire, all while the car was parked safely in the garage. No injuries, but I could imagine what might of happened if we were driving on the highway. Car is currently being repaired, and Ford has not included 2002 model year in the Taurus recall for this known problem.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While driving between 1-2 mph, the driver side coil spring failed. The dealer stated that there were no safety recalls. The vehicle was out of warranty and the contact's responsibility. The current and failure mileages were 69,523. Updated 04-07-08
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact heard a noise from the garage where his vehicle was parked. Upon inspection, he noticed that the front driver side tire was flat. The contact removed the tire and noticed that the coil spring failed and punctured the tire. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for repair. The current and failure mileages were 69,530. Updated 3/18/08 the consumer stated dealer informed consumer the two rear coil springs were also broken. A total of three coil springs were broken. Updated 03/18/08
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Nashua, NH, USA