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:
89,395 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.
The left front coil spring broke while backing out of my driveway. The coil spring punctured the tire. Upon inspection the right coil spring needed to be replaced also. Went to taylor Ford to get reimbursed and was informed that the prior year Taurus was covered in a recall not my 2002.
Front coil springs failed as car was being backed out of drive. Broken springs punctured both front tires. Dealer reported the failure was identical to what was seen under a recall for previous model years Ford Taurus's. since this vehicle was not covered by the recall, dealer charged me for new coil springs and tires. I kept the springs and tires. The springs clearly show signs of fatigue and cracking prior to failure.
I have investigated and discovered an updated customer satisfaction program 03M02 - supplement regarding additional coverage for front coil springs on my 2002 Ford Taurus. However, I am unable to get any satisfaction from Ford as to how to claim this. My original ODI confirmation number is: 10234221.
Strut broke on 2002 Ford Taurus, which in turn punctured tire causing the tire to shred, Ford has recalled this in the 2001 series but not in 2002, yet it seems to be the same issue and have impacted many people in the same manor, so why no recall on this years model. It makes no sense to me. Now this repair will cost over $700 to fix (including tire replacement), seems to me (from what I read) that the recalls are based in part on the impact to safety, had this blow out occurred at a high rate of speed on a highway for example, it could have been a tragedy, why is Ford not recalling this proactive to avoid a disaster, rather than what appears to me they are waiting for disaster before reacting (in my opinion of course).
- North Chelmsford, MA, USA
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Ford Taurus 2002 front spring coil snaps and punctures front tires. Luckily the car was parked otherwise the incident could have led to severe injury and possibly death.
My 2002 Ford Taurus station wagon, broken coil spring on front shredded tire, had to replace both springs, strut and tire. I understand there was a recall on years 1999-2001, but from what I've discovered, it should have been extended for the 2002 models as well.
Bought 2002 Ford Taurus sel from used car lot, had about 43,000+ miles in excellent condition. I have had this car less than a year. It presently has 68,000 miles (700 miles driven weekly), all highway driving. At about 55,000 miles ( I am guessing), I started hearing a clunk. Today I went to change the brakes and found the drivers side rear suspension low to the tire. I carry no weight in the car. I took the tire off to find the spring had snapped and coiled around the strut perch. The car has not been abused or mistreated. I find it strange that this car would snap a spring so easily in such a sort time. Luckily it didn't pop a tire while driving. I have read up on the internet to find this is a known problem for this year and make car. I have also read, that I should expect the front struts to collapse. I feel Ford should be held accountable for selling a car with known dangerous and potential problems. There should be a recall on these vehicles for a potentially dangerous and faulty suspension. I have also been forced to replace the blower motor to the cars HVAC system. The system has been working intermittently. I have read on the net that this also is a known Ford problem. I am fortunate that I am a federally licensed airplane mechanic, therefore I do my own repairs. The parts in question are not cheap, nor is my time. Ford needs to be forced to reimburse all expenditures to repair these known problems. Ford needs to recall and address these known problems.
The left front spring on the car broke while backing out of the driveway and tore the entire inside portion of the front left tire causing the left side of the car to collapse. The Ford dealer replaced both front springs as well as the ABS sensor which was damaged due to the collapse. The car was driven home but the next morning when backing out of the driveway the brakes failed due to a ruptured break line, presumably also from the broken spring. The dealership repaired that at no cost but refused any reimbursement/repairs for the springs or other repairs necessitated by the damage caused due to springs breaking.
Driving home for a lunch break, and as I am driving it sounds/feels like something snaps I lost control of my car hit a tree. Got out of vehicle and noticed the passenger side front tire looked shredded. Once tow Agency arrived they noticed the front coil had broke which was the cause of the tire being shredded. My veh is now in repair and needing a new front coil. Phone interview updates (July 9, 2008): The consumer said that it was a clear day, the road was dry and there was very little traffic. She was traveling at about 40 to 45 mph on the left of two North bound lanes. Suddenly a corner of the front of the vehicle dropped and the vehicle spun counter-clockwise about 90 degrees crossing the two South bound lanes, hopped over the curve (rounded corner) and struck a tree. The consumer said that she paid $900 to replace the right front fender. The consumer indicated that she had no time to react to prevent the crash when the front coil spring broke on her vehicle.
I have a 2002 Ford Taurus which has experienced 2 suspension spring failures in the last year. The rear left occurred about 8 months ago and the most recent was the front left on 6/26/08. The front spring failure was in a parking lot as I was backing out, with the spring puncturing the tire with complete loss of pressure. The vehicle has 105K miles on it and has been well maintained at the local Ford dealership. In both cases the springs and struts were replaced, alignment performed and in the case of the front, I had to have two new tires in order to have a matched pair.
My husband was driving home from work today traveling at 60mph when the left front coil spring broke. He said he heard a loud noise then followed rubbing and more loud noises. He also said that he could feel the car pulling into on coming traffic when this happened. He pulled the car over to find out what happened and he noticed that the spring was busted. He then had to call aaa and have the car towed. The vehicle is a 2002 Taurus with around 64000 miles. This is unacceptable and something needs to be done about this so called spring problem. We feel that this should be covered by Ford especially since we had to pay for new springs on my 2001 Taurus about two weeks ago. When we contacted the dealership they said the car wasn't covered under the coil spring recall and that we would have to pay for the repair. Why isn't this particular car under the recall and our '01 Taurus is? this car was made in 2001 and we purchased it new in 2002. I am looking for answers and im not having any luck getting any straight ones. I think all these cars with these particular springs should be recalled even if its the rear springs also. Im afraid to drive the Taurus now. My family doesn't feel safe at all traveling in them and neither do I. this is again a major safety issue and I hope that you recall these vehicles so no one else has to go through what my husband had to go through. He also said that the front end is now lower and the fender is rubbing since the spring broke.
My daughter was driving my 2002 Ford Taurus to the store & felt the tire going flat. She stopped to put air into the tire, & the tire would not hold the air so she called me. When I got there I tried to put the jack under the tire to see what the problem was & I couldn't even get the jack under the car. With some additional help I did finally get a jack under & got the tire off to see a huge tear in it. I then noticed the broken coil spring. I contacted Ford about the broken coil spring because I had an older Taurus that Ford had recalled for the defective coil springs. All the Ford garages said that their computers were down & I would have to call them back. I contacted the garage at the dealer that I purchased the car from for a repair & they checked with Ford & said that there were no recalls on that year. I got the front coil spring replaced along with the strut that was broken in the process of the spring breaking & as the dealer was checking the car they said that the rear coil spring was also broken so I had them replace that along with the strut. I have talked to a few other Taurus owners who have had this problem also. Why has Ford never fixed this problem" is it going to take a large number of people getting fatally injured or killed before something is done about this"
I have a 2002 Ford Taurus that had the driver side spring broke this morning, fortunately in the drive way, resulting in a broken axle as well. In researching on line, I found that model years 1999 to 2001 had a recall for this problem and although it is apparently happening on 2002 models (based on internet data) I checked my VIN number on Ford's website and there were no recalls. My son uses this car as well and I cannot imagine what could have happened if he was on the road driving when this spring broke.
June 2007 discovered both rear springs on our 2002 Ford Taurus were broke resulting in rear strut failure (47124 miles). June 12, 2008 (54193 miles) right front spring broke puncturing the tire. Car was again repaired at C & M Ford in massena where I discovered 1) that there was a recall on 1999-2001 Ford Taurus for this problem and 2) that there were three (3) including myself 2002 Taurus' that had broken front spring this week. Three failures in one week for the same model and year seem extremely high for a small town like massena, NY. When I researched the web I discovered numerous reports from all over.
Owner of Ford Taurus 2002 sel, defective right front spring broke and punctured tire in 2 places. Locking up front right tire at low speed. Could have been a catastrophic accident at higher speed. Ford presently has recalls on 2000 and 2001 springs but none on 2002. Want compensation for damages to my vehicle. Wayne N. wallace. Updated (6/24/2008): Mrs. Wallace clarified that there was no crash involved. Mr. Wallace just had new tires put on two days prior to the spring failure. He drove home from the tire place, parked the vehicle on the driveway. The car sat for two days. When Mr. Wallace went to the car, he discovered a flat tire. The car was put on a hoist and the mechanic found the right front coil spring was broken.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Taylor, MI, USA