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:
65,111 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.
Backing out of garage heard loud leak of air. Thought flat tire. When about to change tire discovered coil broke and slashed tire. Thank god didn't happen a couple weeks before when son borrowed car and was driving on highway out of state. Of course no recall on these coils so had to pay out of pocket cor 2 new rear coil springs and labor to install. Checked on internet and read hundreds of posts on this problem with the Taurus. Why not a recall on this year??
On 1/10, I was on my way to drop my kids off at their school when the car began to drive funny.I pulled over right away and saw the front driver's side tire was blown..I proceeded to change the tire to my donut when I say the gash in my tire and I looked at the wheel well and saw the spring was sheered off..henceforth I had to pay to get new struts and a new tire and a new stabilizer for my car..I looked on the web and saw a bunch of people have had the exact same problem with their 2002 Ford Taurus..please help.
Own a 2002 Ford Taurus. Car parked in parking garage while at work. After work went to car, started it, put into reverse, moved not even three inches, sound like gunshot, front spring blew through front tire on driver side. My son said I had guardian angel...would have been killed if car had actually made it to the road. I have only had car three years. Towed to repair shop, mechanic said looks just like recall situation on 2001 Taurus, same spring incident..mine naturally not covered, but this is wrong. I was not aware of recalls on 2001 vehicles. I have no money, this repair will set me back quite a bit. I am thankful that nobody was hurt by flying parts!
I have a 2002 Ford Taurus station wagon. While pulling out of the driveway there was a loud noise. I immediately pulled back into the driveway to get the vehicle off the street and called a mechanic. Upon removing the left front wheel he discovered that the left front coil spring had snapped and that the jagged edged of the spring had sliced through the tire side wall. The car was towed the mechanics garage where upon further investigation he found that the left front sway bar link and the left front strut assembly were also damaged. The failure has occurred only once - so far. The consequence in this case were not catastrophic - loss of use of the car for 2 days and a $950 dollar repair bill although I hate to think of the consequences had I been driving at highway speed and had this happen. I'm afraid it would have resulted in complete loss of control of the vehicle and a serious crash perhaps with serious or critical injuries or death. My research shows that Ford recalled the 1999-2001 Taurus models in northern states for this same defect and paid to replace both right and left front coil springs modified with a guard to prevent such catastrophic damage should a spring break again. This recall should be extended to include at least the 2002 model year which I'm told uses exactly the same springs as the 199-2001 model Ford Taurus.
- Pleasant Hill, IA, USA
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Problems with noise front passenger side shuddering sound while driving comes and goes. Problem with car running rough engine power decreased, seam like fuel is poor, some malfunction causing problems in traffic. This malfunction always happens on start up and during regular operating during driving. We have to keep letting off the gas and giving gas to try make it run right a hope to have a smooth ride. The popping noise from the front end always happen daily during driving with normal speeds. The front rotors has been changed three times since I owned this vehicle, continuing to have problem with the front end. Brake pads always have been changed during these problems.
1. started car, a 2002 Ford Taurus and began to back up and the front left tire blew violently. 2. subsequently found the coil spring had broken and speared front tire. 3. replaced coil springs and front tire at an approximate cost of $500.
2002 Ford Taurus - front strut and coil spring failure. On 12/31/09 as I was backing out of driveway the right front coil strut spring snapped and punctured the tire. (tire was 6 mos old with only about 9000 miles of use) I had the vehicle serviced at a local mechanic shop then on the same day and within hours of first event as I was backing up the left spring snapped and punctured the new tire I had just purchased. I had purchased two new tires since I had to change the tires as a pair. I now have had to purchase a third new tire to replace the new one on left side that was punctured in the second incident. The break point of both springs is identical to the point where the spring broke the metal is snapped identically in the exact same spot on each spring and the fracture line at the break point is the exact same on each broken piece. I have saved the pieces of the spring. I find it very suspect that the springs would snap within hours of each other at the exact same spot on each spring. All told the damages incurred will amount to over $600. I am extremely fortunate that this did not occur while driving as just a day prior I had returned home on a 250 mile highway trip.
Drove car over 110 mi, parked the car, next morning, noted that tire was flat due to broken coil spring. I live in western New York where roads are treated by salt. I was informed by Ford dealer that these conditions most likely caused front passenger coil spring to break and puncture the front tire sidewall which was not repairable. (police notified due to alternate parking restriction. Vehicle required tow.)
Backing out of parking space and front right coil spring broke and punctured front right tire. Needed to have both front coil springs and front strut assemblies replaced. Also needed new tire, new tire valve stem and wheel weight. Kept old parts and old tire showing puncture.
I own a 2002 Ford Taurus with 95000 miles. I had (fortunately) parked my car for work; on return had a flat tire. On changing it, found the inside of the tire ripped open almost all the way around. When I took it in for a new tire, it was found the front driver spring had broken, and I was told "the Taurus has a problem with this". I had to replace both front springs and struts, get new tires and a wheel alignment to the cost of $1300. Now I'm researching and found the 2002 was not included in the recall for this problem, and the rear springs can break too, usually at much lower mileage. I'm now afraid to drive my car, and am looking for a new one sooner than I had planned. This could have been catastrophic if it had happened on the highway.
My fiancee's 2002 Ford Taurus sel front driver side coil spring broke and tore the whole inner sidewall off of the tire. The coil spring broke while the car was sitting in the driveway over night and thankfully my fiancee was just pulling out of the driveway when she noticed the tire halfway off the rim. Had the coil spring broke on the highway she may not be alive today. I spoke to Ford and they were unable to offer us any assistance. The vehicle is only 7 years old and only has 115K miles on it. There is a recall already in effect for 2001 models that have the exact same issue. I have the broken coil spring in my possession if in the case an investigator would like to examine the faulty part.
Front spring broke on my 2002 Ford Taurus. The broken spring slashed my brand new tire. Had to have the vehicle towed to a Ford dealership. Spring damaged struts and also needed to be re-aligned.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. In approximately December of 2007, the contact had to replace the front driver's side tire and spring. On June 12, 2008, he took the vehicle to a repair shop for routine maintenance and was informed that both rear springs failed. The cost for both failures was over $1,000. The manufacturer was notified and stated that the recall did not include the 2002 Ford Taurus. The vehicle was out of warranty and was not taken to a Ford dealer for repair. The dealer would not provide any assistance. The recall number was unknown. The failure mileage was 67,000.
Normal driving conditions, tires failed to hold air pressure. Both front tires within one month of each other failed. Tires appeared to be dry rotted on corner of side walls. Both tires had same area of dry rot/cracks in tread. Tires had less then 20,000 miles on them and where properly maintained. Dealer replaced tires. Mfg. Tbc, touring TR vanderbilt.
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.
I was backing out of my garage when I heard a loud noise, my left front coil spring fractured and put a hole through my tire, also caused damage to the control arm. Needed to replace control arm, coil and tire.
I was backing out of the driveway on 12/4/07 in, Y 2002 Ford Taurus ses when I heard a loud bang under the car. The driver side front tire blew out. When I removed it, I saw that the coil spring had broken and cut into the tire.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Midland, MI, USA