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...
4.0
definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
29,513 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.
In my 2003 Ford Taurus water leaks in through the cabin air filter, and basically settles within the housing where the blower is shorting out the blower so the heater doesn't work.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the vehicle leaks on the passenger side when it rains. The leak causes a shortage in the ac resistor. The resistor has been replaced twice. The mechanic was unable to diagnose the cause of failure. The purchase date was unknown. The current mileage is 70,000 and failure mileage was 65,000.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. While driving 65 mph the contact attempted to turn the heat on and it failed. The mechanic stated that water was in the blower motor. The motor and resistor was replaced. The dealer stated that this failure will reoccur because it was ongoing, and the filter will need to be replaced. The damage included water stains on the motor. There were no warning indicator lights present. The failure was related to recall# 03V087000. The failure mileage was 100,000, and the current mileage is 113,000.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the defroster failed to operate when activated. The vehicle was brought to the dealer, who stated that the blower motor, rain hood, and resister assembly needed to be replaced. The contact conducted some research and found several complaints along with tsb # 031506 from Ford, and another from NHTSA. The contact stated that the dealer originally quoted a repair cost of $443. However, the contact was able to negotiate, and only paid $182. The contact stated that the tsb failures should have been mentioned before purchasing the vehicle. The current mileage was 16,300, and failure mileage was 1,600.
- Canton, OH, USA
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The heater was unable to function, making it difficult to see the road in inclement weather. Took vehicle to dealer for check up, and results indicated that the heat motor tended to get water or ice in it, causing it to malfunction.
The interior of the vehicle has a strong smell of gas when the heat and defroster is on. Consumer feels nauseous, making the ability to concentrate on the road difficult. Taken to dealer, but the cause is undetermined.
Consumer complained about windshield problem. Windshield leaked water, causing a short in the heater coil. Vehicle was taken to the dealer several times for repairs. However, windshield still leaks.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- West Lawn, PA, USA