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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:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
100,218 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 suspension problems

suspension problem

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2002 Ford Taurus Owner Comments (Page 6 of 8)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #55

Aug 162010

Taurus

  • miles

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

Inspection for front end alignment revealed both rear coil spring broken.

- Xenia, OH, USA

problem #54

Jun 252010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 118,000 miles
I was backing my 2002 Ford Taurus out of a parking space when the tire blew. I had to have the car towed. The front coil spring broke and put a hole in my new tire. Had to replace broken spring, sway bar link, new strut and new tire for a cost of $441.82. Had replaced the back springs a month earlier.

- Coraopolis, PA, USA

problem #53

May 142010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 58,000 miles
When I was backing my Ford Taurus 2002, the driver side front coil spring broke and went through my new tire.

- Quincy, MA, USA

problem #52

May 232010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 76,097 miles

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

My 2002 Taurus with 76,097 miles that has been garage kept for 7.5 years had the front drivers side coil spring rupture. Fortunately it broke when I put it in gear and moved about three inches in my driveway. If I had been driving down the highway, I would have flipped and rolled as I would have had no time to brake. When it broke, it took only about a half second to shred my tire and drop the rim to the ground. The ruptured coil spring put a 5-6 inch gash in my tire and broke the sway bar link. I had to have the vehicle towed to the dealer. The dealer told me that they (Ford) knows that there is a problem and they refuse to issue a recall. My service representative also had this happen to his car. I asked the dealer to replace both front springs, broken sway bar link, and struts. When I was leaving the rep told me that I still have two of the same springs in the rear and that I may experience the same problem with one of those, as was his experience too. I also had to buy a new tire. Total cost of $989. When I started to research the problem, I noticed that this had happened to so many other people and that there was no recall, I was deeply concerned. I believe that this should be investigated fully as it has the ability to cause loss of life. Thank you for your time.

- Livonia, MI, USA

problem #51

Mar 062010

Taurus

  • 81,781 miles
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that as she was driving in reverse at approximately 5 mph, the front end locked up on the driver side breaking the strut assembly spring and the left sway bar link. As a result, the tire on the driver side separated from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a local repair shop where the strut assembly spring and the left sway bar link were replaced. The contact called the manufacturer and was informed that the vehicle was outside of the warranty and had no open recalls. The failure mileage was 81,781.

- Mukwonago, WI, USA

problem #50

Mar 062010

Taurus

  • 117,500 miles
I have a 2002 Ford Taurus SE V6. The left front spring broke and began to rub the tire. I was only doing about 30 mph at the time on a small road and could pull over in about 300 feet. This car also had two rear springs break about 6 months ago. The car has 117,000 miles on it. I had a 1999 Taurus that had a recall that installed a shield around the spring to prevent a spring break from shredding the tire. This is an unsafe design. If I were going highway speeds when this happened, I probably would have been severely injured, possible rollover.

- Spring City, PA, USA

problem #49

Dec 242009

Taurus

  • 94,000 miles

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

2002 Ford Taurus. Both rear coil springs broke December 2009 and January 2010.. had to have both coils and struts replaced and stabilizer bar, over $2,000. Front one broke and punctured/ruined tire February 2010, requiring a tow to dealer mechanic. Luckily the front one broke while in driveway and not while driving. Seems a bit too coincidental for 3 to break in such a short time. I don't feel safe, so had the other front one replaced before it snaps. Another over $2,000 bill.

- Waltham, MA, USA

problem #48

Feb 102010

Taurus

  • 131,000 miles
I was driving my Ford Taurus 2002 and the front left coil spring broke resulting in the broken coil spring puncturing my tire causing it to go immediately flat. This rendered my car immobile, required towing, and replacement of both front coil springs and mounts that hold the coil springs. (cost: $695) so far, this has only happened once, and I really hope it never happens again. I have a portion of the coil spring that broke off from the rest of the coil spring. The remaining spring was kept by the auto repair shop. The portion of the coil spring that I have shows the slightest amount of rusting on the inside of the coil spring. Apparently, it does not take much to damage these coil springs.

- Okemos, MI, USA

problem #47

Feb 072010

Taurus

  • 96,000 miles
I was backing the car out of the garage when I heard the left front tire blow out, after removing the tire I noticed that the coil spring associated with that tire was broken into 2 pieces, with one of the pieces puncturing the tire. The car is a 2002 Ford Taurus, and the spring has no corrosion or other damages to it at all. Thank goodness I wasn't driving down the road when this occurred, I have not done anything yet to fix the car, I was hoping there was some sort of recall notice on it, after searching the internet I noticed that there is no active recall on the 2002, but several hundred people have had the same problem.

- Elida, OH, USA

problem #46

Dec 312009

Taurus

  • 103,000 miles
The front right coil spring broke on my 2002 Ford Taurus, causing my tire to have one side completely sliced off and blow out. Upon getting this fixed, the mechanic noticed the back right spring was also broken. I had not had any collisions or anything to cause this. Upon searching the web, I discovered that there was a recall on years up to 2001 for Ford Taurus's on this problem. I believe the recall should be extended to at least 2002. The parts were replaced on both broken springs, but it took 12 days to get it done!

- Lincoln, IL, USA

problem #45

Jan 152010

Taurus

  • 99,361 miles

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

On Jan 15, 2010, my wife pulled out of our driveway to go to work in our 2002 Ford Taurus sedan. The left front tire went flat immediately. I quickly put on the compact spare tire so she could get to work on time. Two days later, the right front tire went flat all of the sudden about a mile from our house. Further investigation showed that each of the tires went flat because the coil spring of the front strut on the associated side of the vehicle broke and stabbed the tire. I know it is hard to believe but within two days, the spring on each of the front struts broke. We are very grateful that this happened at a low speed. It could have been deadly if it had been the week before when we were traveling at 65 mph on a trip to des moines. At the time of the breakage, the Ford Taurus had 99,300 miles on it. I was able to get the car home and plan to replace the front and rear struts myself. Since I will do the work myself, the cost of the repairs will be about $1,000 dollars, which includes 4 new struts and two new tires. I will not use Ford replacement parts, but will use monroe or moog.

- Garwin, IA, USA

problem #44

Jan 132010

Taurus

  • 140,348 miles
I have a 2002 Ford Taurus I have had to replace all 4 coil springs due to them breaking. My mechanic told me he has seen this problem over and over in this model of car. The most recent break I had involved the front drivers side coil spring and destroyed a front tire as well fortunately I was not driving fast when this occurred as I'm sure it would have resulted in a more serious end. All 4 springs have been replaced in the last 7 months I do not drive my car wrecklessly.

- Upper Sandusky, OH, USA

problem #43

Dec 312009

Taurus

  • 115,700 miles
I have a 2002 Ford Taurus. While backing out of the driveway, the left front coil spring broke and ripped apart the whole front tire. The car was undriveable and had to be towed to a garage. I was told by the mechanics that this is a pretty common problem with 2002 Taurus and that the front strut assembly had to be replaced on both sides and also sway link installed. Total cost for labor, parts and towing was $910.54 plus the cost of a new tire. The mechanic also said that I will need a wheel alignment. The broken coil spring looked brand new and was not rusted. I, M lucky this happened in the driveway and not when the car was being driven 65 mph down the highway. When I called Ford Motor Co. They said that there is no recall on bad coil springs for 2002 Ford Taurus. I checked the internet and found alot of complaints about broken coil springs on the 2002 Taurus and feel this is a safety issue because the broken coil spring will immediately rip apart the front tire and could cause serious injury if traveling on a highway.

- Bemidji, MN, USA

problem #42

Nov 262009

Taurus

  • 70,000 miles
Broken coil springs front and rear on a 2002 Ford Taurus. Resulting in punctured tires in both cases. They broke within 7 months of each other. Living in mass.

- E Taunton, MA, USA

problem #41

Dec 262005

Taurus

  • 49,417 miles
Drove car over 110 mi, parked the car, next morning, noted that tire was flat due to broken coil spring. I live in western New York where roads are treated by salt. I was informed by Ford dealer that these conditions most likely caused front passenger coil spring to break and puncture the front tire sidewall which was not repairable. (police notified due to alternate parking restriction. Vehicle required tow.)

- West Seneca, NY, USA

problem #40

May 102009

Taurus

  • 115,000 miles
Both my 1995 and 2002 Ford Taurus front coil springs snapped in normal conditions while parked. This relates to your ongoing investigation #EA08018. The two repairs cost nearly $2000. I have the '02 broken spring. The first occurrence, I thought was bad luck - the second sent me to your website where I learned more of the history. I hope you can push Ford to deal with all the snapped coil springs. It's just shoddy quality control. Your online forms allows for the entry of just one of my vehicles. If you want the VIN for the older one, let me know.

- London, 00, USA

problem #39

Apr 252008

Taurus

  • 125,000 miles
When brakes are applied the front end and steering wheel shake. Replaced rotors and brake pads and front end alignment. One month later front end and steering wheel shake when brakes are applied. Replaced parts again, at least 7 times in the past year and a half.

- Acushnet, MA, USA

problem #38

Jul 152009

Taurus

  • 104,000 miles
The rear coil spring broke on my 2002 Ford Taurus damaging my tire.

- Story City, IA, USA

problem #37

Jun 222009

Taurus

  • 65,000 miles
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While driving 30 mph, the front end of the vehicle collapsed onto the front tire. The driver nearly crashed because she had difficulty maintaining control of the vehicle. The dealer stated that the repair would cost more than $340. The current and failure mileages were 65,000.

- Massillon, OH, USA

problem #36

Jun 112009

Taurus

  • 85,000 miles
When I got into my 2002 Ford Taurus ses, I put the car into reverse. I heard a "rubbing" sound from the front passenger tire. I got out and looked at it and didn't see anything. I got back into the car and put the car into drive. I moved forward a couple of inches and heard the "rubbing" sound again, followed by a pop. As is turns out, the suspension coil had snapped and the end of the coil was rubbing against the tire. It punctured the tire and rendered the car immobile. The vehicle has not been repaired yet. The estimated repair cost is $1200 to replace both front struts and both tires. This comes less than two months after I had the rear passenger side suspension coil snap, nearly causing an accident. The costs to replace both rear struts and tires was $1148.24. Based on complaints I read online, this is a common problem and should be recalled.

- Saint Paul, MN, USA

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