CarComplaints.com Notes: Most people need a car that shifts gears & coil springs that don't shred tires. The Taurus fails in that respect.
The 2003 Ford Taurus has major issues with the transmission failing. Typically the 2003 Taurus transmission failure costs $2,000 to fix by about 90k-100k miles. Not good.
Adding insult to injury, the 1999-2003 Taurus also 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...
5.5
fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
16,365 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.
Vehicle made noise while driving on flat ground. Asked passenger if they heard the noise and they did not. Car continued to drive approximately 2 more miles. Car started to fail while driving uphill. The car made a revving sound and then stopped moving. Turned flashers on and pulled over to the side of the road. Scared that car would not park. Tried to change gears and vehicle went into park. Still scared so hand brake was applied. Called father and uncle to move car. Car had to be pushed backwards down the hill into a parking space at a secondary school. Next day, car was towed to residence. Vehicle will be towed to transmission specialist in February for diagnosis. Had to worry about getting to work to even pay for repair. Scared to imagine the cost.
I was told by the dealer that the problem with my car is a the camshaft sych. It was making a chirping noise and its going to cost over 500 dollars to fix. If this is a problem with this motor why don't we fix it? there is even a service bulletin regarding this issue #04208. Please help me fix this problem.
My 2003 Ford Taurus has been in the shop over 5 times for stalling while driving and not starting on any given day. Everything has been replaced except the car itself. Upon the last visit, I was told it was the starter and that I had to pay for it to be replaced. After it was replaced and the dealership called to let me know it was ready, I went up there and it would not start again. At that time they told me it was the computer in the car and they would have to replace it also. Any information on exactly what is wrong, would be nice. I have driven their loaner car more than the car I bought!
- Keithville, LA, USA
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Starter burned out prematurely because of faulty location of the oil filter right above the starter causing oil to be leaked into the starter and causing failure.
Engine surges under constant speeds. Brakes soft in middle of pedal stroke. Dealer says both are related. Soft pedal alarms driver. 2 inches sudden travel in pedal causes driver to over depress brake to compensate for sudden "no brake" condition.
From the first day I bought the car, there was a vibration in the steering wheel in idle. When I inquired about it, they said it was normal because I have 24 OHV engine. I had a 1999 Taurus and I didnt have the vibration. I asked for another car and they said I could only buy another one not "just get another one". I think this is a lemon.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Goodlettsville, TN, USA