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CarComplaints.com Notes: Most people need a car where the coil springs don't puncture or shred tires while driving. The Taurus fails in that respect.

The 1999-2003 Ford Taurus 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:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
93,841 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.

2002 Ford Taurus engine problems

engine problem

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2002 Ford Taurus Owner Comments

problem #8

Feb 012018

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 110,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the check engine warning indicator illuminated. In addition, the door ajar warning indicator illuminated even when the doors were not open. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but the cause of the failures could not be determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and dealer were not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 110,000.

- Milwaukee, WI, USA

problem #7

Dec 182015

Taurus

  • miles
The key turns over but the car won't start.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

problem #6

Apr 152014

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 141,768 miles
My son was driving my 2002 Ford Taurus on 4-15-2014 at approximately 12:00 a.M. he had the cruise control set to 35 mph. While driving, the cruise control began to accelerate. He tried to disengage the cruise control by hitting the brake. The cruise control would not disengage and the car kept accelerating reaching the speed of about 70mph. As a turn approached he could no longer control the vehicle. He hit a curb and a stop sign before the car came to a stop on the roadway. This was not the first instance with that vehicle and cruise control malfunctions, though this was the only time that the cruise control caused an accident. The vehicle had to be towed from the scene. The vehicle sustained $6005 of damage and is a total loss. Which does not include the cost of fixing the cruise control and acceleration issues.

- Coventry, RI, USA

problem #5

Oct 132011

Taurus

  • 70,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the blower relay switch continuously failed in the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or mechanic; however, the contact made repairs to the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 70,000.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #4

Aug 132012

Taurus

  • 116,500 miles
1st major incident- on September 12th -traveling at approx 50 mph and when I tried to brake the car would not slow down but stayed or even accelerated its speed.I eventually was able to get control of the car and continued to my destination. My wife called the sandy springs Ford dealership and we made an appointment to drop off the car the next evening for service on Wednesday, August 14th. The Ford rep took down all of my information but never mentioned the recall or the repercussions of driving this car after this reported incident. 2nd incident- on September 13th - traveling approx 50 mph and then all of a sudden I lost complete control of the car and for a few seconds I thought I would not only kill myself but other innocent people on the freeway. I managed to pull the car into an apartment complex parking lot. I called aaa and they delivered the car to the sandy springs Ford dealership. My wife called the customer service the next day - spoke with karen. Why were we not told about the recall (did research on the internet)" her response: They just found out about it that very same day. We just returned from vacation and our neighbor just delivered our mail, well there was a letter from Ford about the recall. Then, on Friday September 16th we received an automated call from sandy springs Ford about the recall. Does Ford have any idea in the act of negligence they have created" there could have been fatalities. Our car is still at the Ford dealership - it is stalling out and the brakes were not the same (charged us to fix them). Ford said the speed control cable was completely broken off and they were required to report it and mail you the part. Was this done? for the life of me, I can not fathom that a car manufacturer would not have alerted their dealers about this recall. I should have been alerted and warned on Monday evening and told do not drive the car.

- Dunwoody, GA, USA

problem #3

Jun 202013

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 136,800 miles
I had the experience described exactly in your current investigation PE 12-033. Throttle was stuck open which caused engine to remain between 3000-4000 rpms even while decelerating or stopped. Physical inspection revealed fractured speed control cable collar. I would like to know if Ford as agreed to recall vehicles or fix this problem.

- Whitehouse, TX, USA

problem #2

Apr 152012

Taurus 6-cyl

  • miles
With a hard press on the gas pedal at 55mph..the gas pedal stuck in the fully pressed position after lifting my foot off the gas pedal...I then put the transmission in neutral and stomp the gas pedal a few times and then the gas pedal released from the fully pressed position.

- Bedford, VA, USA

problem #1

Jul 142012

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 175,660 miles
I pushed the accelerator into passing gear to go around a vehicle in the passing zone on a hill. When I released the accelerator the car continued to accelerate and on topping the hill we were traveling over 70 mph. I tapped the accelerator but acceleration continued. Coming down the hill I shifted into neutral and the engine accelerated to over 6000 RPM. I stopped on level ground and shut the engine off. On restart, the engine immediately revved to over 6000 RPM and a transaxle warning icon appeared. By alternately shifting in and out of gear I jerked to an auto body shop. The mechanics knew the problem immediately; broken plastic tabs had allowed the cruise control cable sheath to slip out of the throttle connector. The cable sheath was jammed against the edge of the connector, holding the throttle open. When the sheath was reinserted into the connector, RPM returned to normal. The mechanics wired the cable to the connector so we could continue our trip. Function is normal 3K miles later. The dealer indicated no recalls or tsb's related to the problem and wants $34. For a new cable.

- Greenville, NC, USA

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