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:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
94,796 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.
I the owner of a 2002 Ford Taurus, the tran is crap, second time replacement, what R U going to do about a recall.will not move at all.trans gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Driving out of town the vehicle showed no signs of any problems including no dashboard lights or warnings displaying any need of maintanance. While turning onto another street at a low rate of speed then pressing accelerator to go, the drivetrain suddenly stopped pulling and the car stopped. The engine was still running at idle speed but the rpms were fluctuating up and down then stabilized at about 1,200 rpms. There were no sighns of any fluid leaks or pinched lines. Just a sudden stop, leaving me and my family stranded in the middle of nowhere. The expenses of hiring a wrecker to tow the vehicle to the nearest shop, and the actual repair expense was well over our family budget and has caused us a great deal of unnecessary hardships in our daily lives.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the gear shift hesitated to switch into the reverse position. As a result, the vehicle failed to respond intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be flushed and the transmission filter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 190,000. MA 10/25/15
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the vehicle would lose power without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician stated that the spline and torque converter needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 152,000.
I purchased this car new in 2002 after previously owning several Ford vehicles. On July 20, 2012, I attended a family funeral a little over two hours away from my home. While returning home via I-75 in middle Georgia, the transmission completely failed. While traveling at 70 mph, the engine suddenly increased to over 6000 RPM. I immediately let off the gas and looked in the rear view to see white smoke boiling from the rear of the car. After safely getting the car off the interstate, I raised the hood to see transmission fluid all over the left side of the engine. It's simply a miracle the car did not catch fire. I waited for two hours in 100 degree heat before a tow truck arrived. After being towed to the nearest dealership, the service manager told me and I quote, "we see a lot of Taurus transmission problems like this at around 120,000 miles." If this is so, why can't Ford do something about this problem" I realize the car has some age on it, but the transmission should last much longer than this. Since day one, I have "babied" this car and have never once abused it in any way. I have never driven it recklessly and have always serviced it on regular intervals. This car has been in my shop for over 3 years because we can't afford to get it repaired. I wish Ford would man up and do the right thing to fix this problem for me and many others. However, I certainly won't hold my breath. "have you driven a Ford lately"" I haven't.
- Moultrie, GA, USA
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The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While driving 50 mph, the transmission failed without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 99,700. Updated 9/12/14
Transmission will not shift into gear even though the shift lever feels as if it is shifting. When lever is in D or R, engine just revs. In N the car can be pushed. In P the vehicle cannot be pushed.
Sudden and complete loss of transmission power - no secondary actions caused the problem, nor was there any indication of a problem. No leaks, no transmission slipping, no other indicators of a problem.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving 70 mph, the transmission failed without warning. The vehicle was towed to the contact's home but was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 78,000.
The car had been sitting in the driveway for about a month waiting to get a new transmission. When it was backed out, the tire gave out. Thinking it was simply a flat I tried to change the tire to realize the front drivers side coil spring had broken. Has not been repaired yet.
Sept 18, 2001 we purchased a new 2002 Ford Taurus. In one day radiator hose popped off. Thirty days after the firs repair the hose popped off again. The dealer wanted to replace the engine to correct the problem. On 10-29-01 the car started to make a hiss noise and smoke would come from the front end when it was parked or turned off. The vehicle was taken to the dealer dirks motors. They asked if the could replace the engine again and we said no. We left the car and they told us they would let us know but we did not hear nothing from them, when we would call to ask them what was going to happen they did not know at all. On 11-5-01 the car was returned to us and with leaving the service center and not being less then 20 miles from akron, Iowa the car got hot and started to smoke and I called dirks service center on my cell phone and told them I was bring it back and this time I wanted the car replaced no questions.. but the car was taking back and they looked over it and they did not call us at all while it was in service, we called everyday to see if they knew what was wrong with it and the funny thing about it was the car was at dirks motor Inc from 11-5-01 to 11-16-01 and they could not find nothing wrong. On 11-16-01 this would have been the 4th time this car had been serviced and it was getting old.. on 12-27-02 the car started the hissing noise and short cuts on and the cd player stopped working and that was it.. I called the Ford company at 1-800-392-3673. While talking with the call center they called dirks service center and edu'd them to have the cd player replaced and look at the engine. This car has been service for the same issue more then 3 to 4 times.. we wanted the car replaced.... we rec'd a call back from Ford call center (natalie) and she edu'd to me they were going to order a new cd player and have the car looked at to see about getting the car replaced. Steve irwin afitchboy1@iw.net P# (605) 761-0268
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Huntingdon, TN, USA