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...
2.3
hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
66,631 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. 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.
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 approximately 30 mph, the driver felt as if the front passenger side tire was flat. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road and he noticed that the tire was flat. The driver was going to replace the tire with a spare when he noticed a hole on the inner sidewall of the tire, which was due to the front coil spring failing. The vehicle was driven to the dealer and they confirmed that the front coil spring failed. The mechanic also stated that both rear coil springs were cracked and should be replaced. The vehicle was towed to a local repair shop and repaired. The manufacturer has been notified. The current and failure mileages were 88,000. Updated 020209 updated 02/03/09.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact noticed that the coil spring punctured the driver's side tire when it failed. The only recalls that applied to the failure were for the 1999-2001 models. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 102,000. Updated 1/8/09 the consumer reapired the problem at his expense. Updated 01/14/09.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for an oil change and the technician discovered that the rear coil springs were damaged. The technician stated there was a recall on the front coil springs. The vehicle has not been repaired. The contact was concerned of the safety risk involved. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 91,000. Updated 11-25-08 updated 11/26/08.
- North Pekin , IL, USA
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The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. In April of 2008, while driving 30 mph, the contact heard something break in the rear of his vehicle. A mechanic stated that the rear coil spring failed. Both coil springs were replaced at that time. On June 8, 2008, while the vehicle was parked in the garage, the rear coil spring failed again. The contact was unaware of what happened and, when he attempted to move the vehicle, the spring ripped the driver's side tire apart. The current mileage was 34,730 and failure mileage was 34,000.
While pulling out of my alley I heard a loud clunk and the left front end of the car dropped down a few inches and began to make grinding/rubbing noises. I carefully pulled back into my drive and after jacking up the car found the coil spring had broken. It did not puncture the tire but broke some sort of link.
While sitting in my driveway, immediately upon placing the car in reverse, the front right coil spring broke, puncturing my tire. The car was required to be towed and I am now paying for both sides of the car to have the springs replaced including struts and bearings in addition to replacing the tire. This is a recalled item in the 2001 Taurus and Ford has not been recalled the 2002. I was extremely fortunate that the failure did not occur while driving at highway speeds.
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.
The passenger side rear coil/spring broke and rubbed a gouge into the tire. Luckily my wife made it home before the tire exploded. This is the 3rd coil that has broken on the same car. The driver's side rear broke a couple years ago and the driver's side front coil broke about a month ago. There is no possible way that this is a coincidence.
2002 Ford Taurus broken rear coil spring. The right rear coil spring broke leaving a sharp pointy edge. This sharp pointy edge began to cut into the inner side wall of the tire, cutting a groove 1/8 of an inch deep. This could have resulted in a tire blowout, and subsequent accident with injury or death. I installed a new rear coil spring and purchased a new tire for safety concern.
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.
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
On 2/25/08, just over two months since front coil spring broke, the rear coil spring broke on passenger side of 2002 Ford Taurus at 51,097 miles while driving down the driveway. Both rear coil springs were replaced.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While backing out of the driveway at 2 mph, the vehicle failed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and they stated that the spring, plates, and tires on both sides needed to be repaired at the cost of $668.81. The failure and current mileages were 42,000. Updated 07/09/08 updated
We just had to replace both rear coil springs in my 2002 Ford Taurus with only 32000 miles. Do you think when I go to replace this car that I will look for another Ford"??????????????????"I don't think so.
While getting a scheduled oil change, the dealer noticed my coil spring on the rear passenger side was broke. Ford has had a history of coil spring failures and should issue a recall on all springs.
On Feb 3, 2008 while backing out of driveway, my wife heard a loud bang. She got out and picked up a piece of coil spring laying on the driveway. Took the car to Ford dealer on Feb 4, 2008. Dealer discovered both rear coil springs broken, replaced same. This car lives on the highway. Never overloaded, used for transportation to and from work.
Several weeks ago the right front coil spring on my 2002 Ford Taurus ses broke in the middle of the night. Hearing about the recall / warranty on the 1998 - 2001 Taurus', I contacted my Ford dealer about the problem, only to be informed that the recall does not apply to my 2002 Taurus. After spending the weekend replacing the front coils, I had the front end aligned. When leaving a restaurant later the night, I hit a pot hole in the parking lot. Hearing what sounded like a piece of ice, I checked the right rear of the car, removed some ice and continued on. The next day after hearing the noise some more, I discovered that the right rear coil spring had also broken. Once again, I spent another Saturday replacing coil springs on my Ford Taurus. When the rear coil spring broke, it created a groove on the inside of the right rear tire, (in which I just ordered a replacement for).
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Princeton, WV, USA