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...
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
81,188 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 2003 Ford Taurus. While pulling out of the driveway at approximately 5 mph, a loud sound emitted from the front passenger side tire. The contact discovered that the front passenger side coil spring fractured and punctured the tire. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while reversing from a garage, a loud abnormal noise was heard from under the front end of the vehicle. The contact discovered that the front passenger's side coil spring was fractured and punctured the front passenger's side tire. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who discovered that all four coil springs were damaged and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 144,000. Updated 04/02/14
On or about May 5th of 2012 the front passenger coil spring fractured. Which then punctured a six month old tire. Then not more than 50 days later, on aproximately June 20th of 2012 the drivers side front coil spring fractured and punctured the drivers tire which was aproximately seven months old. If this were to happen on the road on either occasion it could have easily led to one or more fatality.
2003 Ford Taurus station wagon. Consumer states while backing out of the garage the left coil spring broke sending a piece of broken coil into the tire causing it to rupture the consumer stated the entire coil and strut assembly had to be replaced.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the front driver side coil spring fractured and punctured the front driver side tire. The contact had the vehicle towed to their mechanic who confirmed the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The current mileage is 112,000. Updated 08/31/11 updated 09/09/11
- Brighton, MI, USA
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2003 Ford Taurus. Consumer states coil spring snapped from the strut assembly while the vehicle was parked in the driveway. Updated 10/06/11. Updated 01/05/12. The consumer stated the strut was replaced at a considerable cost. Updated 02/07/12.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. The contact stated while driving approximately 1 mph and leaving his driveway he noticed he had a flat tire. When he inspected the tire he noticed that the front drivers side coil spring had punctured the tire. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where they are waiting for the results of the diagnostic test. The manufacturer advised him that there were no recalls. The failure and current mileage was approximately 59,845 updated 6/8/11 updated 06/23/11
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. The contact stated while reversing from a residential driveway, the front driver side coil spring failed and punctured the tire. The vehicle was not repaired for the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure and the current mileage was 95,000. Updated 09/15/14
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. While attempting to drive out of a parking space, the contact smelled rubber burning when he noticed the front drivers side coil spring had fractured the side wall of the tire, causing the tire to deflate. The failure was similar to NHTSA campaign id number: 04V332000 (suspension front springs:coil springs). The dealer advised the contact that his vehicle was not included in the previous recall. The manufacturer confirmed that there were no recalls associated with his VIN and offered no further assistance. The current and failure mileages were 74,900.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. While the driver was traveling approximately 20 mph, she heard a loud ping sound followed by a clanking sound as if metal was bouncing on the ground. The driver stopped the vehicle and noticed a piece of unknown metal had fractured from the vehicle. The vehicle was able to be driven home and was not taken for inspection or repairs. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that the front passenger side coil spring had broken. There was an open investigation for the failure NHTSA action number: EA08018 (suspension: Front: Springs: Coil springs). The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the front drivers side coil spring punctured a hole in the tire, causing it to deflate similar to NHTSA campaign number 04V332000 (suspension:front:springs:coil springs). The dealer was notified and informed the contact that his VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileages were 98,000. Updated 4/4/11 updated 04/28/11
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. While driving in reverse 2 mph, the front coil spring broke and punctured the driver side front tire. The contact exchanged the tire with the spare. The vehicle was taken to a discount tire company to replace the tire where the contact was informed that the coil spring broke and advised him to have it replaced. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the two front coil springs and the strut assembly were replaced. The failure mileage was 112,300 and the current mileageias 112,310. Updated 04/15/11 updated 10/12/11
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked in the drive way the drivers side front tire became flat and the front end of the vehicle fell down. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated that the failure was caused by the drivers side front coil spring which also damaged the tire. The dealer replaced the driver and passengers front coil springs, struts, and the front tire. The failure mileage was 225,000 and the current mileage was 230,000. Updated 2/28/11 updated 05/19/11
Tue 28dec2010 outside temp = 21F I entered driver's seat & immediately heard loud "bong!" sound of lf coil spring breaking. I am familiar w/ Ford recall# 04V332000 (NHTSA reference #04V332000) and have been waiting similar recall for newer models during NHTSA action number: EA08018, ongoing for over two years now. I tried to drive off slowly to avoid tire damage but could not, as within the first tire rotation the broken spring slashed the entire inside sidewall of the lf tire. Repairs will cost $300 for strut/spring replacement + $60 tow + $150 for tire, total = $510, and I expect rf to break identically at any moment. It is outrageous that the investigation of a safety hazard identical to vehicles two years older has taken two years!
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. The vehicle was in the driveway where the left front spring broke and punctured the tire. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where who replaced both front springs and four new tires at her expense for $1405. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that there was a recall but it did not include her year, make or model vehicle. The failure mileage was 159,280.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. The contact stated while driving at 70 mph, the driver side coil spring fractured and caused the vehicle suspension to drop. The tire and axle were damaged as a result. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the contact was awaiting repairs. The contact also stated that prior to the failure, he noticed the rear spring exhibited signs of rust. The manufacturer would not provide any assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000 and the current mileage was approximately 120,000.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. While driving approximately 4 mph and making a turn, the contact heard a loud grinding and popping noise. The front end of the vehicle dropped down and the contact observed that the front drivers side tire blew out because the coil spring pierced it. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where the front coil springs were replaced. The failure and current mileages were 71,300.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. While reversing from a parking space at 2 mph, he heard a loud pop and the front driver tire went flat. He attempted to change the tire and noticed the coil spring was fractured in three parts. The coil spring punctured the tire and caused it to become flat. There was not a recall for the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 80,156.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. While driving in reverse at a very low speed there was a loud noise near the front driver side tire. Upon examining the vehicle, the contact noticed that the front driver side coil spring broke and pierced the tire. The coil spring was replaced by an independent mechanic. After the vehicle was repaired, the contact stated that he drove approximately 2 miles when the front passenger side coil spring broke and pierced the tire. The vehicle was not repaired for the second failure. The failure and current mileages were 64,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Marion, IN, USA