CarComplaints.com Notes: Most people need a car that shifts gears & coil springs that don't shred tires. The Taurus fails in that respect.
The 2003 Ford Taurus has major issues with the transmission failing. Typically the 2003 Taurus transmission failure costs $2,000 to fix by about 90k-100k miles. Not good.
Adding insult to injury, the 1999-2003 Taurus also 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...
WE LIVE IN KANSAS WHERE IT GETS VERY HOT IN THE SUMMER, YOU REALLY NEED A/C. PLUS IN THE WINTER THIS STATE GETS LOTS OF WET COLD DAYS, YOU REALLY NEED TO RUN THE DEFROST WHICH REQUIRES THE A/C TO REMOVE THE HUMIDITY TO BE ABLE TO SEE THROUGH THE GLASS. YOUR A/C SYSTEM IS THE WORST DESIGN I HAVE EVER SEEN. WHO WAS THE IDIOT THAT DESIGNED THE PLACEMENT OF THE COMPRESSOR? STUPID IDIOTS.
Problem after problem with this car.... Ac clutch burned out, caused by a bad compressor. CANNOT afford $500 to $600 to replace the compressor and clutch.
I bought this car used thinking of it as a great deal due to the low mileage. After one month, my A/C compressor went out. I replaced it with a replacement pulley, since I really don't trust this model after everything I read about it and I didn't want to invest money to fix it with a new compressor. Two weeks later, both my rear power windows stopped working. I swear, this will be my last Ford ever!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
WE LIVE IN KANSAS WHERE IT GETS VERY HOT IN THE SUMMER, YOU REALLY NEED A/C. PLUS IN THE WINTER THIS STATE GETS LOTS OF WET COLD DAYS, YOU REALLY NEED TO RUN THE DEFROST WHICH REQUIRES THE A/C TO REMOVE THE HUMIDITY TO BE ABLE TO SEE THROUGH THE GLASS. YOUR A/C SYSTEM IS THE WORST DESIGN I HAVE EVER SEEN. WHO WAS THE IDIOT THAT DESIGNED THE PLACEMENT OF THE COMPRESSOR? STUPID IDIOTS.
- Steve S., Wichita, KS, US