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...
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
68,640 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.
I purchased the car 11/17/2018 from earls credit auto sales in portsmouth on airline blvd ; it rode well until 11/30/2018 when I drove to the barbershop in the greenbrier area of chesapeake va. I went to pull out the parking lot and my car started to shake real heavy and sloppy so I parked it and turnt it off, when I tried to start it up it would not start it kept stalling I called the dealerships auto shop they took the car and held it and claim they were working on it, I picked the car up when it was ready 12/04/2018. It rode fine until 12/14/2018 I went to the barbershop again and as I was leaving backing out my car started to shake heavily again than before I could put the car in drive to pull back in to the parking spot the car just cut off in the middle of the parking lot while a car was to the left of me trying to pull out. I had to get out and push the car in the spot and hurry and rush to push on the break and put the car in park. When I got a tow to the dealerships auto shop I explained this is my second time here under the same circumstances, I also called the dealership pleading to give the car back and to be refunded I barley got to enjoy or use the beguile without it being a problem. I was told they don't allow refunds and there auto shop will fix the car, so when they said the car was ready on 12/15/2018 it drove well but it the check engine light came on I went to auto zone for a free test and I got a PO430 code, I called the auto shop before they closed because they told me on the 14th all what was wrong was a fuel pump and they replaced it but it has something to do with the catalyst system I been smelling a buring smell coming through my vents for a while but never really knew what it was. The rep on the phone told me it was fine for me to still drive the car and I also I won't be able to get my car worked on till 12/26/2018. I need help!
Keep shutting off randomly while during in the city sitting at a traffic stop. Doesn't start all the time. There's rattling and clunking noise under the front of the vehicle
My Ford Taurus self accelorates when on the road.even after taking foot off the gas pedal it will drive itself faster.making using the brakes difficult it does not want to stop.it is very scary to drive.my husband has changed the cruise control cable, same and many sensors and nothing is fixing the problem. If Ford doubts this can happen they are welcome to take my car for a drive.it happens every time we drive the car.
My break lights won't stay on and it's not wanting to shift from park there was a previous recall in 2004 for same issues but my vehicle does not show any recalls
- Creal Springs, IL, USA
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2003 Ford Taurus accelerated unexpectedly when pulling into a parking spit. The car accelerated so fast rhe the passenger side front tire lifted off the ground and left a tire track on the building that the car crashed into. During the unexpected acceleration the car veered right and steering could not be controlled. The air bags did not deploy.
Was driving down a hill.. went to press the gas all it did was rpms went up I went no where.. had to sit side of road for hours Ford has over millions of complaints and no has done anything about this.. it needs to be recalled
While driving to work on a freeway in AZ, doing approx 70 in the left lane my vehicle stopped moving forward and the RPM's went from normal to revving. I immediately put the car in neutral and went into the right lane and took the off ramp and coasted into a strip mall. The vehicle would not go into anything but park. Drive or reverse didn't work. I left the car there. That evening I read a lot of information about this same think happening to many Ford owners. All theses incidents were the same, torque converter, it stated that the torque converter was manufactured with "too small splines" and were an inferior Ford part. It also stated that a company named dacco had made a new updated converter with larger splines that would hold up better and they are sold at autozone for $120. My car is now being looked at and they told me I would have to have my transmission rebuilt (anywhere from $2000 - $3000). This is ridiculous, why hasn't this been placed on the manufacturer (Ford) for the inferior part.
The vehicle suffered a broken passenger side front suspension spring. It immediately cut through and deflated the front tire. It is luck that this happened at very slow speed, if it happened at highway speed, loss of control would have been likely. The broken coil spring "hooked" the tire and cut the tire on the inside sidewall a full 360 degree separating the inside of the tire from the tread surface. It was difficult to move the vehicle in a desired direction. It was easier to park the vehicle safely by backing up to the curb. I understand that earlier model year Ford Taurus' were recalled for the same type of spring failure.
I was driving about 40mph and the car started to accelerate without pressing the gas pedal. I pulled into a parking lot and was forced to press hard on my brakes to get the car to slow down and stop.
Power windows will not roll up or down, mirrors do not work, inside lights are out. Ford replaced GEM module a couple of years before for the same problem costing me money at that time. When the windows would not roll up or down, Ford would replace fuse and in a few minutes the fuse would blow, again and again they did this and now they are not interested in fixing the problems since the vehicle is older and not under warranty and they claim fixing it would cost more than the vehicle is worth. I have a very good vehicle and would like to use the windows and mirrors and especially the lights inside and I feel this is definitely a safety hazard to me since I travel alone a lot each year. I have contacted Ford and they repeatly state that they do not have any recalls and are not aware of such problems. I even sent them websites from people who are having these problems with the windows. All you have to do is goggle: Taurus window problems and there are numerous owners with this problem. Hope you can help with this matter as Ford is not listening to us.....
Was driving down highway with my 2 children in the car, going speed limit 65, when car failed to engage, engine revved but car would not go forwards or backwards, almost hit by on coming traffic while stuck in road. Rest of car is like new......... wtf?
My car hadn't given any warning of transmission problems. It was serviced regularly, and we had bought it new, so we knew its history. I turned off the highway, onto my street (up a hill) and the car suddenly acted as if it were in neutral. Would not accelerate. I managed to back it to the left side of the street, so it would be out of traffic. Called the tow truck. If this had happened while on the highway, I could have easily been killed. I have found that many people have had this experience with Ford Taurus. The transmission on 2003S has given out with no warning, in the middle of traffic. This is a serious problem that should be investigated.
I own a 2003 Ford Taurus. Since 5/04/05 I have had a water leak on the passenger side floor. During a heavy rain storm the water drips in from under the right side of the dash. Many times it has created large puddles. The vehicle at the time was in the shop for its 30,000 mile check. The dealer was told but the problem was never fixed. After reading forums about this problem I am concerned this will cause other system failures, ex.ac blower shorting out. Ect...please help me find a solution. Thank you
Car was sitting outside for a week while on vacation (not being driven). Upon arriving home, started the car but the blower would not run. Troubleshot it down to the blower motor. Upon removal of the blower motor, I found 2 cups of water, along with some ice chunks in the blower motor. I replaced the blower resistor and the blower motor, now it works. There is an obvious problem with the way moisture can not only get in, but then drain down to and collect in the blower motor, causing it to short out.
Began noticing vibration in steering wheel of 2003 Ford Taurus LX. Took car to original Ford dealer 3-4 times and the tires were balanced, but the vibration persisted. On the last visit to this dealer, I was told that I needed new tires. Spent $400 on new tires at an independent tire dealer, but the vibration is still there. Went to different Ford dealer and they told me that the new tires were "out of round". they balanced and rotated tires, but the vibration still persists.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Irvington , AL, USA