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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:
118,406 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 wheels / hubs problems

wheels / hubs problem

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2002 Ford Taurus Owner Comments

problem #7

Jan 272016

Taurus

  • 80,000 miles

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

Driving down the interstate coil spring on front drivers side fractured. Coil spring punctured tire and the tire immediately deflated resulting in loss of control of vehicle.

- Fargo, ND, USA

problem #6

Jun 102014

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 153,940 miles
While driving my front passenger side dropped & my tire exploded. It was discovered that the coil spring failed which torn the inside of my tire almost completely off. I know this has happened to other Ford Taurus however was told by Ford my VIN number was not included in the recall so they would not be checking into the issue. This happened without warning & had I been going faster, been in heavy traffic or on bad road conditions this would have been worse. I'm not asking for them to pay for it. Just include more vehicles in the recall to prevent fatalities.

- Kewaskum, WI, USA

problem #5

Oct 252012

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 85,541 miles
Left front spring broke and punctured the tire and a link.

- Midland, MI, USA

problem #4

May 172011

Taurus 6-cyl

  • 168,000 miles

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

Happened while the vehicle was parked in garage; heard a loud sound and suspected the coil spring suspension, since I knew about this problem from previous owner complaints from this website. Left coil spring broke and tore a big gash on tire and went flat. Called Ford dealer in dearborn, mi and they told it was covered as a recall; towed my car out there and they changed their story and told this VIN was not covered and 2001 model year was. What a joke. Promptly, I towed it out of there (did not want to give them anymore business) and got it replaced outside. Cant believe Ford does not want to acknowledge this problem even though it is a extremely dangerous situation especially while driving at high speeds and can happen to any of the coils. Very bad quality steel used in coil spring and problem seems to be prevalent in salt-belt states. Even the tow-truck driver was casual about it saying he is seeing it too often (especially with cars with high miles). Ford has lost a possible future customer and switching over to a quality oem from now on. Bye bye Ford.

- F Hills, MI, USA

problem #3

Apr 292011

Taurus

  • 106,000 miles
At 7:30 am on April 29, 2011, I left my apartment and got into my car to drive to work. I turned on the ignition and went to back out and immediately I heard a scraping noise. I got out of the car and noticed the tire was completely flat. I called aaa and they arrived by 8:00 am and the gentleman removed the tire and found that it was tore in half in a semi-circle shape. He then looked at the spring and realized that it was completed broke in half as well. The spring was completely cracked and was broken off from the top where it was mounted as well. He then called a tow truck to come, which took the car to a nearby mechanic to repair the issue.

- Windsor, CT, USA

problem #2

Jan 192011

Taurus

  • 140,811 miles
Just as with NHTSA campaign id number 04V332000 for the 1999-2001 Taurus, three of the four coil springs broke in this 2002 Taurus shredding the right front tire while driving on the interstate. The car had to be towed and four new quick struts, new front stabilizer links, a new rear sway bar link, new front right inner and outer tie rod ends, and a new tire needed to be installed. Owner repaired vehicle. Manufacturer unwilling to repair or recall at this time. Failure mileage was 140,811.

- Westerville, OH, USA

problem #1

Jan 162010

Taurus

  • 94,550 miles
Heard a loud bang while driving a 2002 Ford Taurus. Car leapt to the left and I heard loud screeching. I braked and slowed, and when stopped I discovered a flat left front tire. When I removed the tire to put on a spare, the tire was stuck on something in the back. After turning it to view - I saw that the coil spring was running right through the tire! apparently, the coil spring had snapped and immediately punctured the tire. Car was towed to a shop and lots of repairs ($$$) were needed. I called Ford, and they said there was no recall on the 2002 model, only on 1999-2001 (same widespread problem). After looking online, I see many, many people have written about this same issue on the 2002 Taurus - but Ford refuses to extend their recall to that year's model. This was a serious issue while driving - I can only imagine what would disaster might have occurred if I was on the highway when it happened!!

- Racine, WI, USA

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