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...
0.8
hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
219,936 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.
While attempting to shift the vehicle out of park, the gear shifter will not work; specifically the vehicle stays "locked" in the park setting. This has occurred on several occasions and requires me to turn the vehicle off or attempt to "re-set" the brake by applying the brake several times. Additionally, at times the brake lights remain lit after the vehicle has been placed in part and turned off with the driver locking the vehicle after exiting the vehicle. The brake lights remaining lit has caused the battery to completely discharge. To offset this I've had to remove the fuse for the rear brake lights to prevent the battery from discharging. I did have an independent mechanic examine the issue and the mechanic noted the vehicle recall for a 2003 Ford Taurus for this fault. When I contacted Ford I was informed that my vehicle was not included in a lot identified as impacted by the vehicle recall. Specifically the VIN from my 2003 Ford Taurus was not included in the NHTSA campaign number 04V106000 (exterior lighting). This fault first occurred when I was stationed in Japan (2004 - 2007) sometime in may of 2004 when the battery discharged to the point that I had to replace the battery; I couldn't jump start the vehicle with the original battery still in the vehicle. The approximate mileage of the vehicle at that time was 3,000 miles. As of today (August 10, 2017) the mileage on the 2003 Ford Taurus has reached 104,000. Request NHTSA review the records for possible inclusion of the lot for my vehicle for inclusion in this recall. Additionally, wish NHTSA to consider including the lot of my vehicle for inclusion in recall 03V087000 regarding the windshield on my vehicle. I have replaced the cabin air filter and the brake components since purchasing the vehicle, so the recalls addressing those issues are not applicable due to regular maintenance activity.
Leaking water on the passenger side floor, blower motor quit working floor is starting to mold multiple work bags saturated with moldy water. Told to reference existing recall 03V087000 and complaint 10184014
The car was driving down the street and stopped. When I pressed to accel the transmission did'nt pull over 15 feet and stopped pulling. It was the torque converter that had gon out. And then I get a letter in the mail about other recalls but not on the transmissions. I worked for Ford for 27 years as an engineer and built transmissions under recalls. I have no idea about these paople! but the 2004 has that recall.
My 2003 tauruses windshield leaks. I checked the recalls and it shows a recall #03C03 for my car, but when I enter my VIN#[xxx] and it show zero for recalls. I'm not the first owner of the vehicle, but that shouldn't matter in a this case. When my wife or I are driving the car in the rain the water is leaking into the car. I would appreciate it if someone could help me with this citation. Thank you. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Irvington , AL, USA