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...
2.8
hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
51,485 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 SE. The contact stated the vehicle was having a routine oil change performed when he was advised by the mechanic that the rear coil spring had fractured. The coil spring was repaired. The manufacturer would not provide any assistance. The current and failure mileages were approximately 21,000.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. While driving at 10 mph, the contact noticed a rubber burning smell. He then noticed that rear left tire had become flat and that the cause of the flat was a coil spring that broke. The contact spoke with the dealer who stated that it would be easy if the contact purchased the part himself and repair it. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The failure and current mileages were 26,837.
2003 Ford Taurus. Consumer states problems with coil springs the consumer questioned the lack of a recall for an obvious safety problem and perhaps defective material. The front and rear coil springs ruptured on the consumers vehicle. The ball joints, front stabilizer and serpentine belt all had to be replaced on different occasions. The caliper froze, and the rotors were warped. Updated consumer letter 10/27/10.
- Sanbornville, NH, USA
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- Westerville, OH, USA