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 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
92,426 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 2003 Ford Taurus. The driver side coil spring broke and punctured the driver side tire. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic shop who replaced two struts assembly and a tire at the contact's expense. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were notified. The failure mileage was 113,000.
2003 Ford Taurus. Consumer states problems with coil springs the consumer questioned the lack of a recall for an obvious safety problem and perhaps defective material. The front and rear coil springs ruptured on the consumers vehicle. The ball joints, front stabilizer and serpentine belt all had to be replaced on different occasions. The caliper froze, and the rotors were warped. Updated consumer letter 10/27/10.
2003 Ford Taurus - started car morning of 2 18 10 heard a loud noise car sagged to the left got out of car and saw that left front tire was completely flat there was a blow out and there was a big piece of coil spring that was broken lying next to it on the garage floor. The mileage on the car was 89,700 miles. Car was towed to dealer. Mechanic put in whole new suspension system on the left and right side front. The cost was $856. I would like to see a recall for the 2003 Ford Taurus to replace all 4 springs front and rear. I would also like to have my $856 refunded to me since I understand this same type of occurrence has occurred to hundreds of 2003 Ford Taurus owners. My vehicle identification # is [xxx]. information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Rear coil spring failed on 2003 Ford Taurus October 2009 - both rear tires and coil springs had to be replaced due to failure.. front coil spring failed on same vehicle Jan 4 2003, punctured right front tire which then blew out.
Front coil spring broke causing blow-out. Car repaired at heritage Ford burlington vt. S/O 454663 at a cost to me of $660.27.the part is the exact part that was recalled before. The exact part was again put on.
- Milton, VT, USA
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I was stopped at a red light. When the light turned green I began to proceed into the intersection (approx. 5 mph) when I heard a loud explosion. Luckily because I had just begun to accelerate (thankfully I wasn't on the highway), I was able to somewhat maneuver the vehicle into a parking lot. The front passenger side tire was completely flat from being sliced open by a broken coil spring.
Left front coil spring broke while pulling out of parking spot, puncturing the side wall of tire( 30K mi left on tire) now have to replace both coil spring(only come in pairs, by new tire. Dam lucky I wasn't on express way doing 65. My car is a 2003 Ford Taurus 98K mi.
Searched recalls for Ford Taurus. Saw same problem with recall on 2001-2002 Taurus. Car was parked at school, cold weather, left front spring snaps taking out tire, stabilizer pin, and the inner shaft boot. Mine is a 2003 with the same problem Ford said sorry. Father repaired vehicle himself cost ~ $400.
Left front spring failure at 70mph on us hwy 127. There was a loud band, smell of burning rubber as the front corner of the vehicle dropped down. Was able to get the vehicle to the side of the road. Upon closer inspection, the spring had broken, and was lodged against the tire/wheel. Saved a small piece of the spring. It was clean and free of rust at the breakpoint. Vehicle was towed to local Ford dealer. Will contact them on Monday.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. While preparing to place fuel in the vehicle, the contact heard a loud noise coming from the engine. The coil spring around the struts failed and punctured the tire, which caused a flat. The vehicle is currently unable to be driven. The manufacturer stated that the issue has not been included in any recall; therefore, no compensation was offered. The failure mileage was 65,000.
Application of brakes causes car to shake and shimmy. Rotors, pads and calipers replaced twice. Replaced right front bearing, ball joint, sway bar link and half shaft the second time, do to bearing wear and squeak. None of the above has fixed this problem. It is especially bad when the brakes are being applied while going around a corner.
Car shimmies and shakes on braking even with new rotors and brake pads. Car has done this since about 20,000 miles. No accidents and just normal use of car. Have had to have brakes and rotors replaced twice already. Upon checking for others with issues, I discovered several others at epinions.com and decided to contact Ford directly, they said they don't have a recall on this. I then decided it was time to contact the NHTSA.
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.
The heater in my car failed. We called the Ford parts department and they told me it was a known problem that the cowl, relay and blower failed due to water leakage. We took the car in they said the cost would be $400 which I could not afford at that time. Now I have no choice winter is here and I need my heater working. There are numerous complaints about this problem its time Ford fixes the problem at their cost not ours! I've also been told that I need front ball joints my car failed inspection. This car is only two years old I shoudn't be having these major problems. I can't remember the exact month or day I took the car into westbrook Ford dealer but cost us $40 to tell me what I already knew the the blower didn't work because of water leakage.
When coming to a stop vehicle bottomed out. This caused the chassis to become severely damaged. Also, caused a grinding noise which happened numerous times. Took vehicle to dealership to be checked, and was informed that nothing was wrong. Consumer felt vehicle was unsafe to drive.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Pittsburgh, PA, USA