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 contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While backing out of the driveway, the coil spring failed and punctured the front driver's side tire. The contact called the manufacturer to get the vehicle repaired. He noticed online that there was a recall for the front coil spring, but only for the 2000 and 2001 models. The contact feels that the manufacturer should be responsible for the repair because this is a safety issue. The speed was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 128,000.
Started to pull out of parking space, felt and heard a pop, pulled back into space. Got out and saw front suspension coil had broken and shredded tire. When called for a tow, the company guessed it was a 2002 Ford Taurus, due to all the repairs they have been having to do.
My wife was backing out of the garage when the left front tire went flat almost in instantly. Upon trying to change it I noticed the front coil spring had broke. Fortunately it happened in the drive way and not on the road. The car is a 2002 Ford Taurus with 63,000 miles and after several emails and phone calls Ford was absolutely of no help in fact they almost seemed defensive and I could understand this after searching the web and seeing the number of people with the same problem. The cost of the repairs were approximately $1300.
I have had both rear coil springs and one of the front coil springs break on my 2002 Ford Taurus. The front one broke yesterday and damaged the front tire and I just bought the tires three weeks ago. Now I have to replace both front coil springs and buy a new tire which is not cheap. Coil springs if made right should not be breaking this easy.
Our 19 year old daughter was backing out of the driveway on the morning of March 29th 2008 in her 2002 Ford Taurus ses when for no apparent reason, the left front coil spring snapped in two, puncturing the tire and also broke the stabilizer link. The vehicle was towed to the local Ford dealer, where the stabilizer link and both front springs were replaced as recommended by the dealer. Also a new tire was put on.
- Plymouth, MA, USA
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Front spring on 2002 Ford Taurus wagon broke without warning puncturing tire. 1999-2001 Ford springs recalled...car only has approx. 36,000 miles on it. Ford would not take any ownership of the problem eventhough there are numerous complaints by other owners with the same issue. Thank god car was not moving.
I placed my car in reverse to back out of the driveway when I heard a swoosh and the front of the car dropped. I got out and noticed I had a flat tire. I removed the tire and found part of the coil spring on the ground and a white cap. After removing the lug nuts the tire was stuck to the remaining coil spring. I twisted the tire off the coil spring and found the coil spring had broke in two. The strut assembly and the sway bar linkage was broken as well. I am sure there may be more damage once I get the car towed to a garage. I am glad I was not driving at any speed when this happened.
The drivers side front spring on our 2002 Ford Taurus just blew apart. The car dropped down the road, we were on I-465 on the West side if indianapolis in heavy traffic with a semi passing us and behind at 65 mph. Thank good no one hurt, just in less than a second the front of the car was on the interstate. The state police got us a toe truck and the repair shop being a Firestone store said they get several Ford Taurus in with the same problem.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. Upon entering the vehicle, the contact noticed that her front driver's side tire was flat and severely punctured. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and they determined that the front driver's side coil spring failed. The vehicle was repaired at the cost of $600. The manufacturer would not provide compensation because the vehicle was not under recall. The failure mileage was 104,157 and current mileage was 104,203.
Had a flat tire on 2002 Ford Taurus. Aaa came out to change, and discovered the front coil spring busted. Mentioned another member had same problem and discovered there was a recall on them. However, there was a recall on 2000 and 2001 models, not 2002. It appears the problem was not fixed since we have experienced the same issue, but it's not under recall.
Front driver's side spring on my 2002 Ford Taurus ses failed. When it failed the spring broke and punctured the driver's side front tire. Almost had to have vehicle towed to service station since I had difficulty in moving the broken spring to get the doughnut on the vehicle. Luckily this occurred when I was backing the vehicle out of the garage and not when driving down the expressway. I have 129K miles on the vehicle.
Left front coil spring broke with only 24,862 miles on one-owner 2002 Ford Taurus ses 4-door sedan. Fortunately it did not happen on a major highway when car was being driven or during local driving. Car had been backed into residential below house garage without any indication of problem. Next morning car was started in garage and as soon as it was driven 3-4 feet it was quite apparent that something serious was wrong due to the loud scrapping sound. Car was brought back into garage and aarp towing service was called for service. Arrangements were made to tow it to the Ford Agency from where vehicle was purchased new on 10-11-02. Total cost to repair damage is $617.71.
I reversed my car this morning, and my front driver side tire blew out completely. I took the tire off, and the front coil spring had shattered and ripped through my tire. I contacted Ford with my VIN, and they stated that there was no recall about this for my car. I have done extensive research on the internet regarding this, and 2001 Ford Taurus ( I have a 2002 Taurus) were recalled for the exact complaint. Is there a known issue with 2002 Taurus registered with your branch? as a result of this, I cannot drive my car as the coil spring would rip through another tire. The rip in my tire is approximately 4 inches long.
Driving a 2002 Taurus with 64K miles. Was backing out of the driveway when I heard a noise and pop and front left end sank down. Thought at first that I just had a flat tire. While trying to change the tire, had difficulty removing tire. Found that the coil spring broke and sliced into and nearly all the way around my tire. Put on spare and carefully drove to local station to repair coils. Thankfully I was not driving at any great speed when this occurred. Called dealer and they could find no recall information for 2002 Taurus. Called Ford customer service and no warranties, recalls, or customer satisfaction programs available to provide assistance for the repair. Replacement cost for coils, tires, and alignment was $750.
I pulled away from my house and was traveling approximately 20 mph when I heard a loud noise. Drivers side front coil had broke and caused tire damage. At this time I do not know if any additional damage was incurred as vehicle will have to be towed to repair shop. Upon researching coil failures I am very angry to learn that this is a very common and known problem with 2002 Taurus vehicles. Consumers need to be made aware of this problem and Ford needs to take responsibility for their defective parts.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Taurus. While driving approximately 55 mph, the coil springs failed between the front driver's side tire and the frame rail. The vehicle inadvertently moved to the right and caused the driver to apply pressure to the brakes. The vehicle was pulled over to the shoulder and then towed to the owner's residence. The vehicle was not inspected by a mechanic. The dealer stated that no recalls were available; therefore, the contact would be liable for the repairs. The manufacturer was not notified. The current and failure mileages were 103,123.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lowell, MI, USA