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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...

1.7

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
98,238 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.

2003 Ford Taurus suspension problems

suspension problem

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2003 Ford Taurus Owner Comments (Page 6 of 8)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #47

Apr 172009

Taurus

  • 49,500 miles

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

2003 Taurus, front drivers side coil spring failed, punctured tire. 50,000 miles on vehicle.

- Grosse Pointe, MI, USA

problem #46

Apr 152009

Taurus

  • 103,290 miles
My 2003 Ford Taurus ses broke a front LH side strut coil spring when I was backing out of my garage. I only moved the car about a foot, the spring broke and punctured the tire. The tire will need to be replaced also because there is a large hole in the side wall. I have not had the car fixed yet. I am trying to decide what all I should replace including the other side spring. Ford said they would not do anything and there is no recall on this car.

- Williams, MN, USA

problem #45

Apr 062009

Taurus

  • 140,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the front passenger side coil spring snaps. Without the retainer, the springs dropped and punctured the tires. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in a recall and advised the contact to call NHTSA. The failure mileage was 140,000.

- Hamlin, NY, USA

problem #44

Mar 192009

Taurus

  • 139,700 miles

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

I was driving my 2003 Ford Taurus at 30 mph, suddenly, there was a loud series of cracking noises, followed by a bang as the nose of the car dropped and it veered to the right. I brought the car under control, and had it towed to a repair shop. The driver's side front coil spring had shattered - pieces of it tore the cv joint boot, broke the plastic sway bar and the strut itself was damaged. The sidewall of the tire was cut, but it did not lose air pressure. The cv joint, strut, spring and sway bar needed to be replaced, and I felt it prudent to take the shop's advice and have the passenger side done also (they told me that they have seen a number of these failures) total cost was $1380. My Ford dealer told me that there is not a recall for this problem on the 2003 model years (yet). He also told me that Ford was not responsible because they didn't make the spring! yes, but they put it in their cars that they made! I was told by the repair shop that my rear springs need replacing as well, but I will get a second opinion on that. The car has 140,000 miles on it, but I still don't feel that these springs should break like this. Thanks,

- Dundee, MI, USA

problem #43

Mar 092009

Taurus

  • 98,500 miles
The vehicle was stationary and unoccupied in our attached garage when a loud noise was heard from within the house. We did not find the cause of the noise at that time. A short while later when attempting to drive the car out of the garage, there was a rubbing noise and it was noticed that the front end of the car was sitting lower. The finding was that the left front coil spring had fractured. The broken spring did not damage the left front tire. The vehicle was towed to the local Ford dealer for repair. Both front springs were replaced. Fortunately, the spring did not break while someone was driving the car.

- Wind Lake, WI, USA

problem #42

Feb 212009

Taurus

  • 80,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. While reversing out of the driveway at less than 5 mph, the vehicle suddenly stopped and the contact heard the tire flatten. She attempted to move the vehicle back into the parking space, but it would not move. After jacking the vehicle, she realized that the coil spring failed and punctured the tire. The mechanic came to the site and replaced the front passenger side coil springs, struts, and tire. The manufacturer stated that they were not responsible for the repair since her vehicle year was not included in the NHTSA campaign for the 2001 Taurus (suspension:front:springs:coil springs). The contact believes that her vehicle should have been included since the failures were identical. The current and failure mileages were 80,000.

- Muncy, PA, USA

problem #41

Feb 092009

Taurus

  • 57,543 miles

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

Ford Taurus 2003 failure front coil spring fractured and punctured tire resulting in a flat tire. Front suspension needs coil spring struts and wheel speed sensor and sway bars. Ford refuses to help even though there is a recall NHTSA action number ' EA08018' recall # 04V-332.

- Gettysburg, PA, USA

problem #40

Feb 272009

Taurus

  • 82,500 miles
Went out to car in the morning, thought I had a flat tire when in fact the coil spring was broken & punctured the tire. The tow company driver had mentioned that it was a common occurrence for that type of vehicle. Contacted local Ford dealer who regularly works on the vehicle and said the recall did not include 2003 Ford Taurus.

- Minersville, PA, USA

problem #39

Feb 202009

Taurus

  • 129,959 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. While backing out of the driveway at an unknown speed, the contact heard an extremely loud noise coming from outside of the vehicle. She stopped the vehicle and noticed that the front driver's side tire exploded without warning. Roadside assistance was called to the scene. In addition, the tire exhibited uneven wear. The front suspension and coil spring were damaged, which could have possibly caused the failure. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 129,959.

- Lakeville, MA, USA

problem #38

Jan 272009

Taurus

  • 47,500 miles
I went out to take my daughter to school and noticed I had a flat tire. I tried adding air but no go, so I got the spare out and tried to change it and could not get the tire off it was stuck here the dam coil spring broke and was stuck thorough the tire I had to replace the spring and all parts attached and a brand new tire. And the tires I just purchased a few months before. Ford needs to issue a recall on this right away.what if my daughter and I if the had been moving, it could have pulled us into the ditch, a tree, on-coming traffic, who knows hurting or killing us or someone else. But I guess Ford doesn't care about our safety looked it up online found a place where 355 people had the same complaint.Ford wants $400 dollars to repair. This car only has a little over 47,000 miles on it, I've had it with Ford 3rd Ford car 4th problem all with low miles just out side warranty range. But when my children's safety come in to play sorry Chevy here I come.......

- Celina, OH, USA

problem #37

Feb 062009

Taurus

  • 77,000 miles

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

I have a 2003 Ford Taurus. Was leaving my parking lot the other day when suddenly I heard a loud clunk and felt the car lower in the front driver's side. Luckily, I was only about a block from home so I immediately turned around and parked it. Upon inspection, I noticed the spring had completely snapped off the strut and took off a good chunk of my tire. I'm going to attempt to change it but should I take pictures just in case? I've had springs crack before on other cars but never anything like this. Last time I purchase a Ford.

- Cherry Valley, IL, USA

problem #36

Feb 072009

Taurus

  • 136,309 miles
Front, driver-side suspension coil spring fractured entirely, resulting in tire gouging and deflation.

- Sandy Lake, PA, USA

problem #35

Feb 032009

Taurus

  • 94,358 miles
The left front spring broke on my 2003 Ford Taurus while sitting in the garage. When my wife started to back out the tire blew because the spring was rubbing it.

- Morristown, IN, USA

problem #34

Jan 302009

Taurus

  • 140,089 miles
2003 Ford Taurus wagon driverside fornt coil spring snapped and punchured tire luckly it was in my garage overnight, I hoeard a boom and checked tire was flat, took tire of and there was the broken coil. Lucky I wasnt on the road going highway speeds. Im leery of getting another Taurus, after having 3 of them.

- Warwick, RI, USA

problem #33

Jan 242009

Taurus

  • 102,706 miles
Started to leave work. When I put my car in drive there was a loud bag from the front drivers side. Pulled tire off and found broken front coil spring.

- Quincy, MI, USA

problem #32

Jan 212009

Taurus

  • 70,000 miles
The left front strut on my 2003 Ford Taurus failed in that the spring broke and punctured the tire causing the tire to go flat and nearly caused a very serious accident. We reported this to our local Ford garage and were informed that Ford models of 2002 and before were recalled but that no recall had been issued for 2003. It is my firm belief that the failure was due to defects in manufacture because my vehicle has never been subject to misuse or abuse.

- Irvine, PA, USA

problem #31

Jan 182009

Taurus

  • 57,000 miles
Right front coil spring failure while car was parked. Shredded tire upon movement.

- Rochester, NY, USA

problem #30

Jan 152009

Taurus

  • 43,000 miles
While backing out of my parking spot I noticed that my right front tire didn't seem right. It appeared to be a simple flat but after it was removed and inspected by the mechanics they noticed that the front right suspension coil spring fractured. The broken coil spring punctured the adjacent tire and sliced it nearly completely off. The fractured spring also cut the wiring of the ABS rendering it inoperative. The coil spring was fractured in 2 places. The mechanics mentioned that it was lucky that I had as much left on as I did or it would have been a serious accident had it gone out while I was on the road. 43,000 miles on the car.

- Lorain, OH, USA

problem #29

Jan 132009

Taurus

  • 99,200 miles
In parking lot backing up and front coil spring broke and ripped 10inch gash in the front passenger tire. Getting it fixed for $600 including tire by repair shop because Ford dealer said it wasn't on the recall list.

- Nova, OH, USA

problem #28

Jan 122009

Taurus

  • 95,210 miles
Upon attempt to back out of garage, front driver's side spring broke and punctured brand new tire beyond repair. Coil spring and tire need to be replaced.

- Fowlerville, MI, USA

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