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...
9.1
really awful
Typical Repair Cost:
$1,930
Average Mileage:
93,200 miles
Total Complaints:
340 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
replace transmission (157 reports)
not sure (81 reports)
replace torque converter (37 reports)
sitting in drive way trying to figure something out (33 reports)
rebuilt the transmission replacing only failed parts (20 reports)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - The more of us that call or go online and file a complait about this issue with Ford Taurus Transmissions The better chance we have of getting this taken care of by the responsible manufacturer. Also even if you already fixed your car if a Recall is issued then Ford will have to reimburse you for the cost Just Save All Reciepts. Also I not sure If we all stand to gether
Like main other complaints I have just read there was no way to know that "BAMM!! " all the sudden the transmission in my car went out! There was no problems occurring before hand, no weird noises and it was running normal. I am a single mother of 2 young boys, I drive over 430 miles every other Friday to pick my boys up for the weekend and then another 250 miles on Sunday to meet there father. Now that my car is not running because of a "faulty transmission" I have no way to pick my kids up and spend time with them. Ford needs to recall the 2003 ford Taurus, and do what is right. I am one pissed off Momma.
Well maintained 2003 Taurus with 54,000 miles and the transmission quit! No forewarning, no slipping, no fluid leaking; start up from a red light and engine just revs as if car was in neutral. Call AAA for a tow after the police department pushed the car to a safe spot. Estimated $2000. to fix a car that has a book value of $2500 to $3000. Plus just put over $600 in to replace springs and struts 3 weeks ago. AND had just stopped at the gas station and put $30.00 in!!!
Ford doesn't want to know anything about it so we now are stuck with a car payment and have a Chevy. I just cannot express how angry I am that not only did this happen on a car of which we took such care to maintain, but that Ford doesn't want to know anything about it. Grrr!
While driving to work husband stopped at a stop sign and car would not move when he tried to proceed through
intersection. After getting a hold of mechanic I was informed that Ford's id my year and model as known for transmission going out. It's going to cost me $2800.00 total to fix this. There was NO warning signs at all, it just happened. 2003 Ford Taurus.
Thursday, February 6, 2014, I was driving during morning rush hour traffic traveling westbound on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the right lane just passing mile marker 347 from Bensalem to Willow Grove at a speed of 60 to 65 miles per hour staying with the pace of traffic. I was not trying to pass anyone, just keeping pace with the vehicles in my lane. I wasn't pushing the car to speed up. I had just come out of a left super-elevated curve in the road where I had lifted my foot off the gas pedal to coast through the curve and then pushed the gas pedal to maintain speed.
Without any warning, or any previous indication of any problem, when I pushed the gas pedal the only response was the engine rpm's rising and appropriate motor revving sound. There wasn't any acceleration. I pushed the gas pedal again and received the same response. I was now coasting and beginning to slow down. I was lucky to be at an area where the shoulder was cleared well from the previous weeks of snow accumulation, and had a safe shoulder strip to slow down and pull over. When I stopped, I put the car in park, then back into Drive, pushed the gas pedal and received the same response. I tried all of the gears, Reverse, 2nd and 1st, and received the same response ... the transmission was gone! There was no indication of any transmission problems when driving before this, no slipping gears, no jolts or bucking, no grinding gears, no slow acceleration then quick burst, nothing.
As many drivers also can relate, I can "feel" the car. I guess I learned how to "feel" the car from my years of driving manual transmission when you learned to feel and hear the car. After years of driving the same vehicle, you know when something is odd. Nothing odd before this transmission problem.
I was driving to the airport and about to enter the freeway when all of a sudden the transmission blew. The engine still worked, but when I hit the pedal the car wouldn't go anywhere. I almost got hit by a car heading on the freeway, and someone helped me push the car to the side. Needless to say, I am thankful I didn't actually get on the freeway or I could have got into a major accident.
There was no indication that the transmission had anything wrong with the car at all. No warning lights, sounds, or jerky feelings. One minute the car worked, the next it didn't. I think this is absolutely ridiculous! Ford needs to start warning people this will happen. With as many complaints about transmission failure out there, you would think they would warn us. This is irresponsible on their part. The car was in great condition, but the cost to get a new transmission is not even worth putting into the car. I might as well get a new one.
- Sally V.,
Elmwood Park, IL, US
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It's crazy that so many people have had this same exact problem and nothing has been done about it.. I bought my car used 1 year ago. I've had several problems since, some normal (flat tires, engine oil leak, check engine light for leaking fuel injector) and some notorious for Ford Taurus' (broken coil spring on front passenger tire and most recently transmission failure).
I had no warnings of a transmission problem( slipping, rough shifting, etc..), but as I was driving down a busy street with my 3 small children in the back seat at about 40 mph, my car suddenly was idling, speedometer decreasing, like in neutral. I coasted into an abandoned parking lot barely having enough juice to make it. At this point I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to get the money to fix this insanely expensive problem but also I thank my lucky stars this didn't happen on a highway as we travel frequently to visit family all around.
I find it outrageous that multiple people would have to die for this even to be considered a safety hazard! Ford needs to step up and take responsibility for this problem!!
Dropped my daughter off at school, turned the corner and it was just like someone slipped the tranny into neutral. The common problem of the torque convertor splines shearing off. The crappy thing about this is Ford recalled the identical trans for this on the Freestar, but not the Taurus. Of course, there's a whole lot more Taurus' than Freestars on the road. I was a Lincoln Mercury technician for 20 years and if anyone has a lawsuit and needs expert testimony that this is a defect that has the potential of a safety concern, I'm your guy.
PRETTY SURE WE ALL THAT WERE DRIVING A 2003 FORD TAURUS AND ARE ON HERE. WE HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM. LUCKILY I WASN'T ON A PACKED INTERSTATE WITH CAR RUNNING 70 TO 90 MILES PER HOUR. WAS NO WARNING WHAT SO EVER..NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT INDICATOR OF ANY KIND. NOTHING AT ALL TO EVEN THINK TRANSMISSION WAS GOING BAD. PULLED OUT OF GETTING HAIR CUT AND THOUGHT I JUST HADN'T PUT IT ALL THE WAY IN DRIVE AND IT POPPED INTO NEUTRAL..BUT NO, COME TO FIGURE OUT THE TRANSMISSION HAS WENT OUT....96,000 MILES..WHAT A JOKE...
THEY DEF. NEED A RECALL ON IT, IF THIS MANY OF THEM ARE DOING IT. ONE THING, IT'S VERY DANGEROUS SECOND THING, VERY COSTLY...THIRD THING, VERY INCONVENIENT. IT'S BUNCH BS. THEY DRIVE FOR US TO BUY AMERICAN MADE CARS BUT THIS IS WHAT WE GET FOR IT. THX FORD
Was driving 2003 Ford Taurus when transmission failed completely. Car just idles in any gear. I can shift the car but the the car doesn't move. Car gave no warning signs of any problem at all. Car has been well maintained. I've been told everything from replace just the Torque Converter to replace entire Transmission. Between $1,100 to $1,600.
Update from Mar 21, 2014: The car had to be brought by flat bed truck to the transmission shop. I had the Torque Converter replaced at Klopps Transmission Repair Shop in Corning NY. I was very happy with their service and work. The total cost was approximately $1,100-$1,200. I still feel Ford Motors should issue a safety recall for this problem. Someone could be killed if this problem continues.
I have a 2003 Ford Taurus, with 66K that my daughter was driving. She was headed for home with my grand kids when the engine acceleration increased and the car stopped moving forward. Lucky she wasn't on a busy highway and was able to coast to a wide spot in the road. The transmission quit working without warning, which could have been disastrous had she been on the expressway or in a major intersection. The car had to be towed. After this happened I researched other complaints of this same year Taurus and there have been many! I strongly feel this is a definite safety issue with this car and intend to report this to Ford and the auto safety administration. I also intend to make a post on www.carcomplaints.com and suggest others with this problem do the same. This car should be recalled for this safety issue!
Was on way to hospital to see grandson came off expressway no problem at all no slippage of transmission at all stop at red light turned right went about 100 feet and the transmission just stopped working with no warning at all . Got off road and it would not move at all the vehicle. no clicking or slippage of any kind at all. Really a pain to have to deal with.
I have a 2003 Ford Taurus the transmission went out on June 9, 2013. I bought another transmission on October 11, 2013 with 82,000 miles and just found out that transmission is going out. I'm not going to go off. Better yet I'm a 38y/o black female with no children, just graduated from RN school (May 2013), out of work do to two torn tendonitis in my foot (off for 3mths & counting) & can't go back to my job as a telemetry tech nor get a job as a RN. I need my car to get to therapy, doctor appointments & get away from the all the people that thought I wouldn't amount to anything in life.
To Ford, if you are a company that have standards you will look at all of our complaints, consider we bought American, the bail out helped you and now (FORD) you should HELP US!
First of all, I can tell you that I had the most frightening experience of my lifetime on Friday morning, July 5, 2013. It was about 7 o'clock am and I was driving on the U.S. 215 at 65 mph [miles per hour] while traffic was going around and passing me at 80 to 90 miles per hour. I was in the process of departing the freeway SW at St. Rose Pkwy, in Henderson, NV. Then I made a left turn in the left fast-lane ongoing... on St. Rose Pkwy and suddenly, the transmission of my 2003 Ford Taurus began '...idling...' as if the automobile was in neutral . . . slowing.... stopping; ----as cars began breaking behind me to avoid running into my rear end. I immediately found myself in a dangerous situation . . .in the fast-lane without any gears; ---for more than an hour I was diverting traffic around my car and thinking... Only God knows why this did not happen moments before on the U.S. 215 ---I would have been killed. Now I'm sure, if no one makes Ford or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration do something about the defective transmission in the 2003 Ford Taurus; sadly, someone is going to be killed, very soon.
The major concerns now . . . there is no warning --- I experienced it ...the most frightening moments of my life: 1) there is no warning whatsoever; 2) it's sudden and happening instantly as you are driving; 3) I'm immediately in a state of confusion... having no sense of what is actually happening? It's extremely dangerous when its happening while you're driving!
Today, right now --- I'm working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA to get a recall on the 2003 Ford Taurus; it's potentially dangerous after advanced mileage... like 90,000 on... it could happen at any time. -----If you've got a 2003 Ford Taurus---- Let's all keep in touch about this matter. You never know what might develop?
Update from Nov 20, 2013: Today, Wednesday, November 20, 2013 -- Now as I prepare to begin discussing the serious safety defects I have experienced with my 2003 Ford Taurus on July 5th if this year, I really wanted all owners of the 2003 Ford Taurus that has experienced any transmission problems of the kind I have explained, please let me know if you have had your transmission repaired? If so, how much did it cost? If you have any information or concerns regarding this matter... PLEASE send me an EMAIL: counselorlyons@aol.com -- regarding your concerns?
Turned the corner into my driveway (thank God!) and it was like it went into neutral, coasted to a stop, no noise, no previous warning, engine running fine, but no gears. Was able to push over to the side with help. Haven't gotten the results from the garage yet. At first look they are puzzled. No leaks, transmission fluid clean, no clunking when it happened, and no gears.
I know this may be a moot point, BUT, I just emailed Ford and would hope that if enough people did the same, just maybe they would listen. There are enough of us 2003 TAURUS owners who are pissed off to make a difference. Go to this website and find the tab for 'contact ford' Unfortunately you can't use profanity :) so keep it clean and get your point across. Good luck everyone, sitting here figuring out what I am going to do with my POS....
Well, same as all the others. Daughter was driving it, had already climbed two hills, came downhill, noticed a surging as only warning, wouldn't climb the last 220 yard hill to our house. No previous indications that a problem was imminent. Put the selector anywhere you want, it acts like it's in neutral. Reported problem to Ford. Went to NTSA site to report defect, site didn't work p[roperly, no report. Bought car as 2nd car ayear ago with 75k on it, didn't find this problem when I was searching for reliability issues; guess you gotta put the right search terms in. Can't afford to NOT fix it. Used trannys much less than rebuilt, but who wants the same problem in a few 100 miles?
We were stopped at a traffic light and when the light turned green the car would not go forward or backward. The car only had 54,000 miles. From the reports I have read this is a common problem with the ford taurus. We all know what ford stands for. Need I say any more. This problem should be taken care of by a recall so all of us victims can be reimbursed.
Same complaint lost transmission without any warning, wife work goes to college. Daughter goes to college, I work! We need reliable cars, not cars Ford new that transmissions were failing, I've been put in a bad spot right now, how can you help us Ford.
After reading ALL the other complaints on the 2003 Tauras transmission issues - seems I am far from alone! I have to say this is ridiculous if all of these problems are occuring and seems to well documented. You can't tell me with all of these SAME problems that there isn't a major issue with the transmissions in the 2003 Taurus......
First let me stress - I just had my car serviced yesterday - All was good - my car was doing fine - drove fine.. Haven't had any issues to speak of. But......
Driving to work this morning my car is going along just fine - then, all of a sudden and of course with NO warning my car stops accelerating then I roll to a stop right a light and there I am left sitting in the road. It will not go into gear-forward/reverse. Then I get to wait for a wrecker to drag my car away. A perfect way to start a morning. I'm just thankful for a wonderful son-n-law who didn't leave me stranded!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Like main other complaints I have just read there was no way to know that "BAMM!! " all the sudden the transmission in my car went out! There was no problems occurring before hand, no weird noises and it was running normal. I am a single mother of 2 young boys, I drive over 430 miles every other Friday to pick my boys up for the weekend and then another 250 miles on Sunday to meet there father. Now that my car is not running because of a "faulty transmission" I have no way to pick my kids up and spend time with them. Ford needs to recall the 2003 ford Taurus, and do what is right. I am one pissed off Momma.
- Amanda G., Porterville, CA, US