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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.

2002 Ford Taurus suspension problems

suspension problem

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2002 Ford Taurus Owner Comments (Page 4 of 15)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #237

May 242010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 117,000 miles

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

Own a 2002 Ford Taurus. Car parked in parking garage while at work. After work went to car, started it, put into reverse, moved not even three inches, sound like gunshot, front spring blew through front tire on driver side. My son said I had guardian angel...would have been killed if car had actually made it to the road. I have only had car three years. Towed to repair shop, mechanic said looks just like recall situation on 2001 Taurus, same spring incident..mine naturally not covered, but this is wrong. I was not aware of recalls on 2001 vehicles. I have no money, this repair will set me back quite a bit. I am thankful that nobody was hurt by flying parts!

- Columbus Grove, OH, USA

problem #236

May 252010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 134,135 miles
My car is a 2002 Ford Taurus ses, today I sat down in the drivers seat, but when I did I heard a loud crash much like if someone dropped a metal pan on the drop, and the car sunk noticeably. I wasn't sure what to do, so I was going to drive it around the block to test it, but I barely made it three feet. As soon as I put it in drive the car began shuddering and making a shrieking noise. I immediately stopped and put it in reverse, but as I soon I took my foot off the brake it made a nasty noise and the tire was shredded. We got it towed to the mechanics and he said the spring snapped. He said that fixing it would require replacing the front strut assembly, springs, sway bar and the links.

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #235

May 222010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 108,000 miles
Front coil spring broke, puncturing adjacent tire and breaking the suspension linkage.

- Milan, IL, USA

problem #234

May 172006

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 60,000 miles

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

Front and rear coil springs broke in 2006. The front spring broke and went through the side wall of the left front tire. Had to be towed to the Ford dealership. Cost was around $450 with every thing. Then in 2007 or 2008 the rear coil springs broke and had to be changed along wit the struts. And that bill was also around $400 to $450. And it has never stopped it eats front tires up like it's candy. This car is like a money pit.

- Willard, OH, USA

problem #233

May 162010

Taurus

  • miles
2002 Ford Taurus front coil spring failure, resulting in punctured and brake line. Extremely unsafe due to lose of steering and braking. This vehicle should have been recalled as previous model years were.

- Cambrisge, 00, USA

problem #232

May 122010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 135,850 miles
1) driving on a residential street going approx. 25-30 mph. 2) only occurrence of incident, car was serviced. 3) replaced both front coil springs and replaced passenger side front tire where incident happened. Old part I don't believe is available.

- St.Paul, MN, USA

problem #231

May 152010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 93,829 miles

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

Front passenger side spring broke destroying tire.

- Sandwich, IL, USA

problem #230

May 032010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 98,000 miles
Broken front spring on 2002 Ford Taurus. Fortunately, the spring did not break on the freeway!

- Avon Lake, OH, USA

problem #229

May 112010

Taurus

  • 130,000 miles
While backing out of a driveway, the right front coil spring broke allowing it to slip past the bearing plate and rip open the front tire. Required a tow and replacement of the spring, sway bar stabilizer and the tire. Also had to have a front end alignment. Because the 2002 Taurus is notorious for this problem, I had to replace both front springs.

- Trevor, WI, USA

problem #228

May 012010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 87,000 miles
I, like thousands of others, have experienced a failure in the front coil springs of my 2002 Ford Taurus. This can be very dangerous and potentially fatal, as the spring rips through the tire when it fails/break. I understand that Ford recalled all 1999-2001 models for this very issue but despite it continuing to occur on 2002 and 2003 models they have done nothing and do not honor the repair as a manufacturing defect, which is very costly. There are many people at risk on the roads with this condition and something should be done.

- Southgate, MI, USA

problem #227

Apr 252010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 103,000 miles

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

2002 Ford Taurus SE station wagon front left coil spring broke while driving at 25 miles per hour on city street. Severally gouged, but did not puncture, left front tire. Tire, however, did have to be replaced in addition to the spring and strut assembly. Also replaced right front spring and strut assembly due to safety concern.

- Minneapolis, MN, USA

problem #226

May 032010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 109,494 miles
I have a 2002 Ford Taurus station wagon. While pulling out of the driveway there was a loud noise. I immediately pulled back into the driveway to get the vehicle off the street and called a mechanic. Upon removing the left front wheel he discovered that the left front coil spring had snapped and that the jagged edged of the spring had sliced through the tire side wall. The car was towed the mechanics garage where upon further investigation he found that the left front sway bar link and the left front strut assembly were also damaged. The failure has occurred only once - so far. The consequence in this case were not catastrophic - loss of use of the car for 2 days and a $950 dollar repair bill although I hate to think of the consequences had I been driving at highway speed and had this happen. I'm afraid it would have resulted in complete loss of control of the vehicle and a serious crash perhaps with serious or critical injuries or death. My research shows that Ford recalled the 1999-2001 Taurus models in northern states for this same defect and paid to replace both right and left front coil springs modified with a guard to prevent such catastrophic damage should a spring break again. This recall should be extended to include at least the 2002 model year which I'm told uses exactly the same springs as the 199-2001 model Ford Taurus.

- Pleasant Hill, IA, USA

problem #225

Feb 142009

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 85,000 miles
Last February I had to replace the 2 front coil springs in my 2002 Ford Taurus after the drives side broke puncturing the tire. The vehicle had about 85,000 miles then, and I was making a right hand turn into a parking lot at about 10 mph. Now my 2 rear coil springs have broke and are in need of replacing. The car has about 114,000 miles, and when the passenger side broke, I was driving about 60 mph.

- Cuyahoga Falls , OH, USA

problem #224

May 022010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 66,344 miles
I backed out of a parking space at work and my left front tire blew out after backing up about 2 feet. Come to find out my coil spring had broken and gashed the inside of my tire and ruined the stabilizer link. I had the coil spring replaced (quick strut) along with a new stabilizer link and a wheel alignment done. I also had to purchase a new tire today.

- Syracuse, NY, USA

problem #223

Apr 282010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 80,040 miles
I was driving my 2002 Ford Taurus (with my family in the car )when I heard a loud bang and I slammed on the brakes almost hitting the car in front of me. I got out of the car and retrieved a piece of a suspension: Spring coil. It appears to be one of the front springs. Disaster was averted, barely.. I noticed that this particular part was recalled in 1999-2001 models. I cannot understand why this part (which is essentially the same part) was not recalled in the 2002 model. Repairs have not been completed as I feel this should not be my responsibility to pay. This was dangerous and could have been a lot worse....

- Millis, MA, USA

problem #222

Apr 242010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 120,000 miles
I had to replace a front passenger side coil spring on a 2002 Ford Taurus after it collapsed while she was backing out of a parking lot. She had traveled @200 miles in the previous two days with passengers in the car without incident and had no indication there was any problem with the vehicle. As an owner I think we should have been notified of any potential safety hazard by the manufacturer so we could have had the vehicle inspected and work done to prevent the failure. I would rather have the option to replace the springs before the coil failed, as had this happened when she was traveling it could have been a catastrophic event.

- Robinson, IL, USA

problem #221

Apr 042010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 112,000 miles
The front driver side coil spring broke and punctured the sidewall of tire resulting in a blowout.

- Northville, MI, USA

problem #220

Apr 162010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 48,500 miles
Front coil spring snapped and punctured tire. Resulting in a flat tire. Fortunately the vehicle was moving slowly from a parking spot. The spring was replaced.

- Belle River, Ontario, Canada, 00, USA

problem #219

Apr 052010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 123,617 miles
Driving 2002 Ford Taurus with 3 kids in car and going 55 miles an hour when the front driver's side spring popped and strut went into tire. Barely got off the road because it would not steer. Was told it was under recall but it wasn't. it was the 2001 Ford Taurus that was on recall. Had to pay $545 to get fixed. Was told by dealership that the engine etc is 2001 model but shell of car is 2002.

- Ashville, OH, USA

problem #218

Apr 072010

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 88,513 miles
I was backing out of driveway and heard a pop and air releasing from tire. While changing the tire my husband noticed that it wasn't just a normal flat but the spring had broken and pierced the tire. The car was towed and is currently with my mechanic and they are attempting to only replace both the springs and the one tire.

- Cleveland, OH, USA

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