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...
2.9
hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
48,260 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.
Car has a faulty windshield installation as described in recall number 03V087000. There is excess wind noise and squeaks and rattles at speed, and the window leaks on the passenger side during heavy rain and in the car wash. The local Ford dealerships have been unresponsive, as they claim the VIN number does not appear in their system as being eligible for this recall.
I was online checking for an ac/heater blower motor as it only works on high. I discovered a recall for the Mercury Sable (03V087000) regarding the windshield leaking water onto the passenger side floor. The leak drips on the ac/heater fan motor causing it to short out and to stop operating. I live in wa, I found water on the passenger side floor several times but never found the leak. I see there have been many complaints about this problem. For a temporary repair, I can replace the blower for $500. For a permanent fix, I will also have to replace the windshield, another $500. Thanks Ford, you recalled the problem on the Mercury Sable, why not the Taurus.
Heavy rain caused water to appear on front passenger side floor in my 2003 Ford Taurus. Heater blower motor stopped working at same time. Ford repaired at a cost of $580, including replacing blower. Reference recall #03V087000 and complaint #10184014.
1) normal use. 2) water leaked into heater blower motor of 2003 Ford Taurus. Blower motor failed. Heater resister also failed. 3) installed new blower motor and resistor. Need to purchase additional parts from tsb 04-15-3 so problem does not repeat. Appears to be poor original engineering that would cause this to occur. There is a related recall, 03V087000 and also a prior complaint 10184014. Thank you!
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. While driving 30 mph he noticed rain entered into the vehicle through the windshield, which caused damage to the blower motor. The dealer stated that the rain entered through the seals of the windshield. The dealer replaced the weather stripping panel and blower motor. There is a recall for the windshield (recall #03V087000). The contact stated that he has not verified if his vehicle was included. The failure mileage was 56,700 and the current mileage was 57,000.
- Billings, MT, USA
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- the contact noticed water leaking on the passenger's side floorboard of his 2003 Ford Taurus. The contact noticed more water when it rained or when the vehicle was wet. The dealership informed the contact that there was a water leak due to there being no deflector over the pollen filter. The dealership made the repair, and there has not been any more leaks. The contact stated that the air conditioner fan had stopped working. He took the vehicle to a mechanic, and was informed that the resister switch needed to be replaced. The mechanic replaced the resister switch. The air conditioner resister switch failed again approximately two months later. The contact stated that the mechanic informed him the blower motor needed to be replaced due to rust from the previous leaks. The vehicle currently had 61000 miles. The consumer has provided the repair bill and wants to reimbursed for the work performed on the vehicle. The water leak shorted out the blower motor. The consumer discovered there was a silent recall regarding the windshield leak. Update/20/07 updated 09/19/07.
: the contact stated while driving various speeds in rainy weather, water leaked through the cowling around the front passenger side of the windshield. Additionally, the rainwater leaked into the defroster/defogger motor which shorted out afterwards. The dealer and manufacturer were notified.
: the contact stated the front windshield glass leaked during rainy weather and puddles of rainwater form in the floorboard. The vehicle was inspected by the dealer. The dealer replaced the sealant around the windshield glass. Afterwards, the problem persisted. There was a NHTSA recall # 03V087000 regarding visibility. The VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not alerted. The battery needed to be replaced, because the vehicle would not start. The air condition failed. Updated 09/22/06.
I own a 2003 Ford Taurus ses. It has always had a front window water leak, however in the last few months the leak has made the vehicle impossible to drive when the weather is inclement. The VIN of this Taurus is [xxx]. today I had the windshield removed and the glass installer told me that the reason the windshield leaked is that there was no adhesive at both of the bottom corners of the glass, and that this allowed the water to enter the cabin area. It was so bad that during the last few weeks, there would be water dripping from the lower parts of the dash board and the water had filled the heater fan housing, frozen and made the fan totally inoperable. This is definitely a safely issue as the fan was totally inoperable and would not allow the de-fogging of the windshield. Updated 07/17/2012 information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The windshield has a glare. The glare mirrors the dashboard onto the windshield. There is a light tint, but the consumer says one can not tell that there is. The dealer said they could not correct the problem, it was manufactured that way. No corrections or repairs have been made at this time. The consumer has taken the vehicle to the Ford dealer for this, and they simply said they could not do anything about it.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Virginia Beach, VA, USA