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:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
50,177 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.
Air conditioner blower motor stopped working. Checked fuses they were good, started engine - up and blower started working rest of day. Then it only worked when it wanted to. Had diagnostic 08/03/07 needs blower motor.
My wife noticed water poring out in the passenger floorboard of her 2003 Ford Taurus. She was aggravated by this, but had no mechanical failures and did not worry too much about it. Then she had her defroster fail while driving. This caused an issue, because she was not able to get home immediately and had to use a rag to clear the windshield to drive home. She told me about it and refused to drive anywhere with our children until the problem was resolved. I found water in the vent and had to replace the blower motor. The fan now runs, but only runs on high because another component failed that controls the fan speed. When I contacted the Ford dealership, they stated they were well aware of this issue, but no recall had been filed. I looked up recall info on the Ford site by VIN and it stated none were active. A quick search on the web will show I am not the only one with this issue. I believe this is a major safety hazard an inability to clear the windshield impairs the ability to see where you are going and recognize any hazards.
My 2003 Ford Taurus has had water leaking in to the passenger side floor board ever since I purchased it, not thinking a whole lot about it when I returned from over seas due to a deployment there was rust stains in my carpet and the blower then would only work on high, about a month ago the blower motor quit working so I asked my mechanic and he told me that it should be covered but I have 40,000 miles on my car right now and the dealership is refusing to fix it under the tsb's or under any recalls.
Rain water leaked into the passenger's compartment via cabin air filter. Water passed through electrical circuits controlling heater and air conditioning systems. A short could occur, possibly igniting a fire. Finally, a puddle will form on the passenger's side floor; the size of the puddle was determined by the amount of rainfall.
- Broomall, PA, USA
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Our 2003 Ford Taurus started to leak from somewhere. The floors became wet when it rained. We took the car to the Ford dealership and they fixed"the problem. This happened 3 more times each time they claimed to have fixed the problem. We were left without a car for a week the last time, and still we have problems with the car. The water damage has left my car with a foul smell and has shorted out our blower for the second time. Ford in waterbury ct has given up on the car and claimed that they cannot find where the water is coming from. This happened over the course of about 1 1/2 years. Since this time our warranty has ran out and the problem is not fixed. We are aware of recall # 03V087000, but we are not sure if this is part of it. I have researched the internet to find many descriptions of Ford models 2001-2003 with this same problem. At this point the value of my Taurus has dropped significantly, and I cannot trade in this car knowing that this problem has not been resolved. I'm not sure anyone would even want this car at this point. We are very frustrated and feel "ripped off" by Ford. This was a beautiful car when we bought it but is now plagued by water damaged carpets and unhealthy mold. The heater/ac/blower does not work and on very cold, icy, or hot days it cannot be driven due to safety hazards. Please help us to resolve this problem we have nowhere left to turn. Ford Taurus 4 dr sedan tan.
Rain is entering the heater/ac box shorting the heater/ac fan. Window fogs suddenly creating hazard. It is not antifreeze or heater core. After heavy rain you can hear water sloshing around in the heater box. There is also a faint odor of a burnt electrical component. I suspect blower motor.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. The defroster blower motor failed to operate while driving. The contact was forced to clear the windows manually. The failure occurred suddenly and with no warning indicators. Ford Motor Company was aware of this failure, and issued technical service bulletin (tsb)#13-031506 to the dealer, indicating that water could get into the blower motor. Ford stated that the failure was not a safety issue worthy of a recall. Additionally, the contacts warranty expired. The vehicle will be diagnosed by the dealer on March 30, 2007. The contact was aware of the safety risk involved due to the lack of visibility while driving. The current and failure mileage were 16,300. The contact has provided the invoices for the repair and further states he wants to be reimbursed for repairs which is totaling $182. Update 4/23/07
Water shorted out my blower motor in 2003 Ford Taurus. We had a slushy Friday and I went through a few small puddles and had no heat or defrost in 8 degree weather. Needless to say no defrost in winter is a hazard.the fix cost me $400+. simply google 2003 Ford Taurus cowl and you will see that I am not alone. My local Ford dealer told me that it was not a recall but a service bulletin. Doesn't that admit that they are aware of a problem ? a water leak may seem minor but no ac in the desert or heat in the North is a major problem.
I noticed a puddle of water in my passenger side floor board. Shortly after, the heat started to kick off and on, then eventually kicked off completely. Now, we just replaced the heater and air conditioner motor blower and relay because the motor burned out due to excessive water damage. This water damage is apparently caused by a design defect that has not yet been recalled by Ford on the 2003 Taurus. I found this out by other 2003 Taurus owners and by the auto repair shop employee who mentioned that this is very common with the 2003 Taurus. Now I'm out $300 in parts and repairs for a design defect that can continue to cause water damage and keep putting me out of money for repairs.
Blower motor failure due to water leaking into blower case on my 2003 Ford Taurus, I took my car to the Ford dealer to get the blower repaired or replaced. After they replaced the blower, they told me that it wasn't covered under my 6 yr/ 75000 mi. Bumper to bumper warranty because of water leaking into the blower case. I'm going to fight this because Ford co. Knew there was a problem with leakage into the blower case which means Ford should have replaced my blower/motor for free, instead I got a bill for $508 and I'm taking it to small claims court. If anyone else wants to get on the bandwagon let me know. My email is: Dbgoode1@hotmail.com. I'm in pittsburgh pa and by the way my car had 57,000 miles on it.
Water collects in blower case of the climate control system, shorting out the motor due to defective HVAC air intake design. This is dangerous because there is no way to keep the windshield clear of condensation while driving, limiting visibility.
2003 Ford Taurus ses. Ford tsb 4-15-3, NHTSA #10011149. Blower motor resistor failure. Moisture causes the resistor to short out. Moisture and electrical short is a fire hazard. Resistor and blower motor must be replaced and blower motor housing must be resealed. This same problem has occurred in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004 model years. Defective workmanship and materials.
Defrost blower motor quit in my 2003 Taurus. Began by acting sluggish, when wetness appeared on floor assumed it was due to the rainy weather but have since discovered this is an ongoing design defect which Ford has yet to address. Have received 1 estimate on cost to replace blower fan only $264 resistor another $75 loss of car for minimum of 3 hours. Have not had repaired yet but will request that old parts be returned to me.
Blower motor switch quit working. Is due, as I understand, to a defect in manufacturing and/or design in blower motor case which allows water to get in and ruin the resister switch. Eventually blower motor switch quits working altogether. When this happens there is no defrost or defogger which affects visibility. This happens according to a google search and tsb# 031506 frequently. Ford in the case of the 1996 Contour gave a ten yr. Coverage due to similar problem.
: the contact stated water leaked onto the passenger floor board through the blower motor vents causing the defroster/fogger blower motor to short out. The vehicle stalled out suddenly without warning while driving 55 mph on two occasions. Also, the engine will stall while idling. All of the warning lights blinked on/off prior to stalling. An independent mechanic replaced the blower motor and ran a diagnostic test, but could not duplicate the stalling problem. The dealership was aware of the problem.
I have a 1993 Ford Taurus that leaked water from under the passenger side dash. Then my ac switch went out. I took it to a mechanic and he said water had gotten into the blower motor and shorted out. He also had a 1992 Taurus that he just repaied with the exact problem. The mechanic said it will need a new blower motor and resistor. Also some kind of cowl is needed to prevent this again.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Blakeslee, PA, USA