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.
On 7/27/11 while driving my 2002 Ford Taurus which has approx 41000 miles I heard a loud bang from the front of the vehicle. After arriving at my home I discovered that the right hand front coil spring had broken. Although I was able to safely drive the vehicle to my house this could have turned into a dangerous situation had the broken spring punctured the tire.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus XL. The contact stated while driving 5 miles per hour making a turn the driver side front coil springs broke, and punctured the drivers side front tire. The vehicle was repaired by a private mechanic. The manufacturer was contacted. The failure mileage was 80,000, and the current mileage was 83,000. Updated 10/03/11 updated 2/21/12 updated 3/27/12
We discovered our 2002 Taurus in the driveway with a completely flat tire. Upon removal of the tire to put on a temp tire we discovered the coil (front passenger) had broken and had punctured the tire (it was actually through the tire and we had to work to get it out of the tire). Luckily no one was driving the vehicle at the time.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus ses. The contacts stated while driving approximately 25 mph he heard a loud noise, then the front left side of the vehicle fell onto the ground. The vehicle was coasted to the side of the road where he noticed that the front spring had fractured. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor was it repaired. The dealer was contacted and advised him that there were no recalls. An independent mechanic advised him that he was aware of the failure and the spring needed to be replaced. The failure and current mileages were approximately 118,000.
- Faribault, MN, USA
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This morning as I was backing out of my driveway, I heard a grinding sound coming from the front passenger tire. I stopped the car and looked under the car to check for obstructions. I then turned the car around and backed it back into the driveway. I began to pull forward slowly, attempting to determine if the noise was from the brake. At that point the tire blew, and the was a loud pop. Upon removing the tire, I was able to see the coil around the strut had embedded itself into the sidewall of the tire, and tore a ring all the way around. It looks as if I tried to open the tire with a can opener. After removing the strut and the coil, I was able to see that a piece of the coil had snapped off up near the top. After looking at the point of the break, I was able to see that there was no erosion, or rusting. The mechanic who is repairing the strut is quite stunned, as is everyone else who has seen the pictures of the tire, and the coil. Apparently something like this happening is quite rare. In fact, they all have said that they have never heard of something like this happening. I am grateful that it did not happen as we were driving on the road. Yesterday evening the car was fine, and not making any of the grinding noise at all.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact was driving approximately 5 mph when he heard a very loud banging noise. The vehicle was stopped and the contact noticed that the front driver side tire had been punctured by the coil spring. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileages were 148,000.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While driving approximately 30 mph, the contact heard a loud clanging noise outside of the vehicle. The contact continued driving and upon reaching her residence, she noticed the front passenger side coil spring had completely fractured. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and repaired. The contact planned to notify the manufacturer of the defect. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact was driving approximately 40 mph when he noticed that the front passenger tire was flat. When inspected, he noticed that the coil springs were fractured and had punctured the tire. The vehicle was not driveable and was towed. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they advised him that he was not included in any recalls and would provide any assistance. The failure and current mileages were approximately 80,000.
Broken left front coil spring while driving at 35 mph which resulted in damage to the left front tire as well as other suspension and drive axle components. This is similar to the current investigation NHTSA EA08-018. No injuries or crash resulted.
The front drivers side spring broke and punctured the tire on my 2002 Ford Taurus. It was parked in my driveway and when I went to drive it failed. I have seen on forums that this has been an issue with other people and Ford had recalls until 2001 for the exact issue. There is a defect investigation going on. Please reference NHTSA action number : EA08018. Mine is the exact issue.
The spring of the front strut assembly on my 2002 Ford Taurus broke in half while driving the car. There was no rust of any kind around it. The strut assembly was the original one form the Ford factory. I saw online that this is a common and extremely dangerous issue for which Ford issued a recall that goes up to 2001 models. I wonder why newer models were not included if the issue was never resolved.
Driving veh on road, front spring busted, causing damage to tire+possible damage to other parts of vehicle in that area. Had to replace strut and springs, and of course it is highly recommended that both front struts + springs be replaced. Veh is 2002 Ford Taurus---Ford did recall for exact problem-but only for 1998,1999,2000, +2001 years.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while leaving the driveway he heard a loud noise and pulled to the side of the road. He then looked at the front drivers side and didn't see anything. When he entered the vehicle and drove a few more feet the noise recurred. He decided to place the spare tire on the vehicle and noticed that a wire was fractured that had punctured the tire. The vehicle was inspected by a independent mechanic who advised him that the coil springs fractured. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were approximately 79,000.
Just starting backing up and heard and loud sound and then the tire went flat. Tried to change the tire but could not get it off. I found that the spring had broke and went through the tire. Called aaa and they said this was common with the 2002 Taurus and that I was lucky it happen while I was not driving on the road. Very dangerous problem that needs to be addressed before people get killed.
2002 Ford Taurus sel: Driving at 40 mph, passenger's side spring broke and immediately cut entire inside diameter of car tire. Car immediately pulled hard to the right and was not drivable. Car was damaged as well as lawn that car swerved onto. Had to have spring and tire replaced, replaced driver side as well. Cost was over $550. 6 months later at inspection rear spring was broken and had another $450 expense. Online search shows this is a common complaint and re-call should be extended to 2002 Ford Taurus.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving, the front coil spring suddenly fractured and punctured the front tire. The failure recurred twice and the vehicle was repaired by a local dealer the first failure. The vehicle was not repaired for the second failure. The contact called the manufacturer in reference to an unknown related manufacturer recall but was informed that the vehicle was not included. The current mileage was 121,200 and the failure mileage was approximately 71,000.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While driving approximately 60 mph, the contact heard a loud noise when she noticed that the front coil spring had fractured, causing the tire to blow out. She notified aaa, who towed the vehicle to a Ford dealer. The dealer advised the contact that her vehicle had not been included in recall number: 04V332000 (suspension:front:springs:coil springs). The contact did not inform the manufacturer nor was the vehicle repaired. The failure mileage was 75,000.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that there was an abnormal squeaking and low growl from the front end of the vehicle. The contact believed that the failure was caused by a faulty coil spring that would eventually fail. The vehicle was not inspected or repaired. The current and failure mileage was unknown.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- North Bergen, NJ, USA