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...
7.3
pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
$190
Average Mileage:
135,650 miles
Total Complaints:
3 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
add a transmission vent (1 reports)
not sure (1 reports)
replace the transmission rubber pan seal (1 reports)
The transmission leaked whenever the car was cold and was moved just a few feet like backing it out of the garage or just pulling it into the garage after it was cold and set on the driveway for hours.
It would leak a spot about 12" diameter.
I had it fixed at a non-Ford shop. I had to have take it back 4 times. They finally called Ford and Ford told them to add a transmission vent to take the pressure off of the transmission.
So far after the $245 fix plus a new transmission gasket ($200 installed) it has not leaked.
- Larry S.,
Overland Park, KS, US
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
It somehow ran out of transmission fluid, but it isnt leaking, hasnt since.
- Azalea S., Atchison, US