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.
While driving at highrate of speed my son was nearly killed when front spring broke and went into the tire. There is no recall on Ford Taurus 2002 for this.
Pulling car into the driveway 2002 Ford Taurus: Front suspension coil springs fractures and sliced tire. Car towed, tire replaced as well as 2 coils and 2 shields put on.
While vehicle was parked, the right front coil spring broke and the end of the spring punctured the right front tire. The spring, strut and strut tower were replaced along with the tire and wheel alignment done. Repair costs total $425. I have the spring from the vehicle and looks like had a weak/rust spot at the break.
The front end of my 2002 Ford Taurus had been making some creaking and groaning noises. We thought possibly that it could be the transmission, but as I found out, it wasn't. on June 7, I had just gotten off the highway to stop for something on my way to work, and as I pulled into the parking space, I heard a loud crack. I looked to see if I had run over something, and I started back to work. A few blocks later, the front left started smoking, and my tire went flat. I went to jack the car up to see what happened, and the front left coil spring had snapped. The smoke had been coming from the spring rubbing against and also puncturing my tire. I consider myself very lucky that this didn't happen a few minutes before as I was coming down the highway at 60 mph, as my steering was greatly affected. We checked with the Ford dealership, but they did not have any safety recalls for this particular type of situation, which I realize now is definitely a safety hazard. We bought new shocks/struts for both the left and right front of the car, and also are replacing both ball joints on each side; I also have to buy new tires.
I own a 2002 Ford Taurus ses under 100K miles. Last week, when I was pulling out from the parking lot of my apartment and the car has just moved inches, I suddenly felt something punctured my tire and the tire was losing air very quickly. I stopped immediately and tried to replace the flat tire with the spare one. I then figured out that it was the broken coil spring of the left front suspension that punctured the tire, which was only 20K miles.
- Rolla, MO, USA
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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.
2002 Taurus passengers side front coil spring broke at highway speeds nearly killing all of us in the car. Only 80,000 miles on car. We were just going down the road and heard a bang, which took out the tire. I am being told 2002 model years are not covered by recall, and obviously the same problem has existed for many years prior, covered by recalls.
I have a 2002 Ford Taurus. The front spring on the drivers side broke while sitting in the laneway. It punctured the front drivers tire(which I just had installed a month previous at $200per tire) I did not know of recalls for this particular year of car.. had I been driving down the freeway, I probably would not be sitting here writing you this E-mail. I also just paid a repair bill for the front springs for $410. I have the old parts to inspect if need be. I would appreciate a response from you.
Failure of right front spring and puncture of adjacent tire on 2002 Ford Taurus in ann arbor, Michigan. Approximate mileage on vehicle was 81,500. No prior warning or occurrence. No external property was damaged. Was backing the car out of a parking space in a lot and was proceeding to enter the roadway when a loud explosive noise occurred. Looked like a flat tire on the right front. Tow truck attendant stated the that the right front spring broke and punctured tire and took the car to our local Ford dealer. The dealer service attendant stated that there was a warranty on this failure and checked if our vehicle qualified. The attendant stated that the vehicle build date was outside the qualified warranty period. The dealer replaced both front springs, right front strut bearing and the right front tire. Not sure if the parts are still available. We would appreciate if the warranty period could be extended to include our build date.
I was backing out of the driveway today and my left front spring 2002 Ford Taurus 140,000 miles let go and punctured my tire. Thank goodness that this did not happen when I was driving down the highway, for it could have been disastrous. There are numerous postings by Ford owners on this issue. Do Ford owners have any recourse, since this yr. (2002 Ford Taurus) is not covered by recall but the earlier yr. Cars are?
Front left coil spring broke and slashed tire with no warning at all; could have caused a horrific highway accident while traveling at 65mph. Ford has recalled coil springs for Sable and Taurus model of 2001 no further. There is clearly a serious problem. Snow states have had recalls due to salt corrosion to spring causing sudden fractures. The out come for repair; replaced coil spring, shock;bearing and new tire totaling $780. My concern now is do I replace the other 3 coil springs to the tune of $150 before the same issue arises again!!! Ford should take the blame and offer the replacement before too many more serious accidents occur.
I own a 2002 Ford Taurus and when I took the car in for brake service my mechanic discovered that 3 of 4 coil springs were broken. The left rear spring spun and cut a gouge in a tire with less than 100 miles on it. There is no recall on this item so for replacement of the springs I was socked with a $400 bill. I researched the problem and discovered this has been a problem with these springs for several years. See below associated press tue, Oct. 04, 2005 Washington - the government is investigating whether the rear coil spring can fracture and punch a hole in the rear tires of some models of the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable, federal auto safety officials said Tuesday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it opened a preliminary investigation into the 2000-2001 models of the Taurus and Sable sedans after receiving 131 complaints about broken coil springs. The inquiry involves about 467,000 vehicles. The Taurus was among the best-selling passenger cars in the United States during the two model years. Most of the complaints came from northern states where vehicles are often subject to salt corrosion during the winter. About half of the owners who filed complaints said there were punctures in the rear tires because of the broken coil springs. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
My wife drives a 2002 Taurus ses. In December the front coil spring broke. Thankfully, it was parked and did not cause the tire to blow out while driving. Yesterday a rear coil spring broke causing damage to the tire but the tire did not blow out. I understand there was a recall (id#14649) through the model year 2001 Taurus but not including 2002. I have had two springs fail and I'm concerned that the scope of recall #14649 was too limited in scope. There may be a very serious safety issue the model year 2002. I have notified Ford Motor Company about the potential safety issue and have asked for reimbursement. Initially they said no, but I have asked for a call back from the customer service supervisor. I have the broken coil springs if a metallurgical check makes sense. I can also send pictures.
Started my car, put it into drive, turned right to exit my parking space, right front coil spring blew out and punctured tire, deflating it immediately. Luckily I was not going at high speed or I could have had a major accident, as I would have lost complete control of vehicle.
As my wife started the vehicle in the garage, driver's side coil spring broke tearing the inside of the tire and puncturing it causing a blowout. When the tire was removed, I found a tear in the inner wall approximately 14 inches long and a puncture. Fortunately, it occurred in the garage, but had we been going at highway speed, it would have been deadly. The tow truck operator, our mechanic and the tire store were familiar with this problem in these vehicles.
When pulling 2002 Ford Taurus out of driveway on 4/13/2009 noticed scraping noise in driver side front wheel area. Then front tire went flat. When removing tire to repair, noticed coil spring was broken and inside wall of tire had been shredded. Broken piece of coil spring fell to ground when tire was removed. Vehicle has not been repaired as of this date. Tire and broken piece of spring are in my possession.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- North Ridgeville, OH, USA