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...
9.1
really awful
Typical Repair Cost:
$1,930
Average Mileage:
93,200 miles
Total Complaints:
340 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
replace transmission (157 reports)
not sure (81 reports)
replace torque converter (37 reports)
sitting in drive way trying to figure something out (33 reports)
rebuilt the transmission replacing only failed parts (20 reports)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - The more of us that call or go online and file a complait about this issue with Ford Taurus Transmissions The better chance we have of getting this taken care of by the responsible manufacturer. Also even if you already fixed your car if a Recall is issued then Ford will have to reimburse you for the cost Just Save All Reciepts. Also I not sure If we all stand to gether
Another story of a full stop in a highway situation. No warning light, nothing. Luckily, had just pulled into a rest stop, in a rural area, and had a cell phone. Too few miles to have such a problem. Had another Taurus, 1997, with 250,000 miles. Thought we were going the right direction buying another Taurus. Hope this year/model is not a lemon.
This problem is just as bad as the Toyota issue. Recently received $500 compensation on bad paint for a Mitsubishi over 10 years old. You'd think Ford would be all over this. I am writing to Ford on behalf of all, and letting Clark Howard know...this sucks and people's lives are in danger-think of how many police departments that buy these!
I was driving home last week and my car stopped dead. I live on a very busy road and was lucky to be able to get my car off the road. Earlier that day I was out on a major highway with a lot of construction and nowhere to move my car if something had happened. It's now in the shop and it will cost somewhere between $1200-$1800. Something needs to be done, since this happened I've heard about a lot of transmission problems in the Taurus.
my 2003 ford taurus transmission failed without notice i was driving on the highway and my vehicle stpped running properly i pulled over put the car in park because it would not move foward then i put it in drive nothing happened even in reverse nothing i had it towed into a transmission shop they charged me 1500 dollars to rebuild my transmission damn it needs to be a recall
Coming to work yesterday, not more than a 3 minute drive. Slowed down for a stop light and when I reengaged the accelerator nothing. There may have been a small noise, I don't recall for sure. Transmission refused to engage. Coasted into a parking lot. Turned off motor, turned back on. No warning lights, everything looks good. Only gears that worked are park and neutral. Not even the typical noise that occurs when you shift from park to reverse or drive. Have been advised that this is a typical ford problem and will likely need a serious repair. Low end estimate $800, high end, $2200. I can't afford either, having spend $600 in the last two weeks on normal wear/tear repair. Will probably junk it and drive around in my ancient old pickup truck with no a/c. I love the car, but don't by one if your finances are tight like mine.
Update from Sep 10, 2010: It was the torque converter. Luckily I live in a low cost of living area and the repair was $810 rather than $1K. I hate asking my father for a loan when I am 48 years old! I replaced the starter and the alternator right before the transmission problem. Now I need to do the brakes and get new front tires. This was not a good time to have a tranny problem! I love my Taurus, but I saddened by the lack of quality on something like the drivetrain. Ford you can do better!
Just like a lot of the others here, driving it down the road....bam, nothing.....just like it was in neutral......no warning....nothing! Who the hell is going to pay $2,000.00 to fix it? Sure as hell, not me! I guess I was fortunate to have as many miles on it that I had. Saw a lot of other complaints with a lot less miles. Very sad for me....I fall in love with my cars.
- Diane G.,
Byron Center, MI, US
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i was driveing from jackson where i work. i was going down 23 and put the car on cruise control at 70. then all of a sudden the rpm needle jumped speedo dropped. i made it to the side of the highway car would run but would not go forward or backwards. had to pay to get it towed home. after reading everyting on here. ive relized we all need to get something done about this someone is going to get hurt or killed.
Going down the highway at 60 mgh and without warning the engine revs but the car will not go forward. Hot day, no cell service in the middle of nowhere> No good. Torque converter shot. $1400 to replace. Ouch! A week without my car, when I have a job to get to. With a the complaints I've seen on the same problem, it should have been recalled! I have been a loyal ford customer, but I won't buy another.
I hope this turns out well.I am taking out the tranny tomorrow. My wife was driving thru a intersection when the car just stopped.No forward or reverse motion.However,I will continue to buy Fords.Just read all the other complaints, on all the other makes. Calm down and try to fix it yourself.It really is not that hard.
I have owned 3 Ford Taurus - 2 have had blown transmissions with low miles 61K and 65K miles. Will never buy a Ford again. Transmission specialist says flush your Tranny especially with Ford.
We were driving and the transmission just stopped.+ Mike Knapp Ford offered to fix the transmission for $2000.00 and then give me $1000.00 for a trade in. This vehicle has been a nightmare. New oil pan rusted gas tank struts springs transmission
Yep, me too! I was driving down the interstate at about 75 mph with the cruise on when suddenly the tach pegged. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind l to disengage the cruise control and it was night and traffic was light. I was able to coast up the exit ramp and park it on the shoulder. Under other circumstances this could have been a disaster! I ended up with two gears--park and neutral. Now it was just one more problem for my Ford. I bought it used with 54k in '06. Let's see...A/C hoses failed, air bag computer died, bad oxygen sensor, windshield washer hoses rotted, broken wire in the door allowed the windows to go down, but not up, bad tie rod ends, and the tranny. One or two of these things, I could attribute to an old car. Now, I just think Ford doesn't make very good cars and I'm just waiting for the springs to go.
My car only has 41,000 miles and I was at a stop. When I went to put my foot back on the gas, it would not drive, it was acting as if it was in neutral. I tried placing the car in all gears and nothing woudl work only neutral. The car needed to have the transmission rebuilt and it cost me 1800.00!! The car has 41,000 miles...SERIOUSLY??? The transmission place I went to said that he sees this all of the time with Ford Taurus. I filed a complaint with Ford and I am thinking about putting together a class action suit. Anyone interested in joining, please email me!!
I was lucky enough to be driving on a side road when the RPM's spiked and the car acted like it was in neutral. Read the other complaints for the rest of the story. I hope someone at Ford and the parts manufacturer loses sleep over this at night, and my prays are with those who may have lost their lives to cheap parts that may be designed to fail intentionally simply to make profits on parts sales. Now I'm worried for my own life and cannot wait to get a new car...too bad I won't be able to afford a new vehicle after this bill. I don't think I will let passengers ride with me anymore, as I do not want to put their lives at risk in a dangerous vehicle.
On the bottom of this page is an advertisement to buy Ford. Maybe hold off on advertising for awhile and help your customers, Ford.
For those who read this after I post please take the time to add your complaint. Lives are at risk.
This POS Ford is the biggest money pit I have ever owned. Fuel tank? yep, replaced the entire damn thing. Heater Core? yep, replaced it. Front coil springs? yep, replaced them both because one of them snapped and put 5" of coil straight into the sidewall of my driver side front tire. Dodged a bullet because it happened in my driveway. Replaced the other front one because I was scared to death I would be going down the highway at 70 MPH and end up killing myself, my family and possibly other motorists. A week after the heater core was replaced, what the f*ck?! There goes my damn transmission. Right now it is sitting at the shop. The car is paid off and has been for awhile, but the blue book is like $3,500..why the hell would I pay $2K to get the tranny fixed. My taurus has been treated very well and still...issue after issue.
Ford can kiss my ass. I'll never buy a Ford again. "Fix Or Repair Daily" is actually quite accurate. I'm going with Honda. F*ck american cars
man f*ck that car its a piece of sh*t. all it ever did was f*ck me over. f*ck you ford for even selling this crap! built tough huh? not tough enough. it worked all day just fine then in the evening as i sparked a joint and open my 40 ounce and started to reverse the car suddenly stopped and proceeded to act as if in neutral. i shifted to drive and the same thing. i dont know what happend and it killed my high???? f*ck u ford may hell raise upon u and may u burn motha f*cka
Pretty disappointing really, pulling on to Highway 15 in St. Cloud the car quit moving with out any warning. The garage said it was the torque converter and about a $1000 dollar cure. This car has also had the front spring break puncturing the tire and that whole trip. I was told by the dealership that the recall was only good on 99 thur 01 taurus's. That was a $850 dollar cure for a pair of struts and new coils and of course we have had the blower repaired with the leaking blower compartment issues to the tune of $400 dollars.
What can you say really Other then when life gives you lemons make lemonade. Unfortunately I get heartburn from lemonade. I've had a lot of heartburn with this auto.
started down the road and only got 3 blocks away from home when the transmission stopped working gonna cost 2grand to fix and some people just don't have that kind of money laying around
DON'T BUY FORD PRODUCTS>>>PROBABLY JUST AS DANGEROUS AS TOYOTAS!!! Transmission failed today on my old lady (who is a fairly new driver) leaving her coasting to a stop in the middle of the road. No warning whatsoever...shop says to junk the car because the whole tranny will need replacing even though they think it's the torque converter that went bad...they stated this is very common with Fords and is very expensive to try to fix. Ford's quality department needs to be looked into. I will never buy another piece of sh*t Ford vehicle again!!
why ford do something about this problem they know the transmission goes out why not replace it and keep customers happy because if they dont and im not saying me but ford is a good car my father had 7 fords myself ive had 4 and HEVER
My 2003 Ford Taurus has also just stopped working out of nowhere. I was going over a railroad track following a truck like 5mph over it and all of a sudden it stops than moves again so I pull over and that's when it just decides not to move whatsoever! I turned the car off and turned it back on in which the engine sounds perfectly fine and no emergency lights were on so I was baffled! And it turns out the transmission is out and now I have to replace it... awesome! NOT! Ridiculous.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Another story of a full stop in a highway situation. No warning light, nothing. Luckily, had just pulled into a rest stop, in a rural area, and had a cell phone. Too few miles to have such a problem. Had another Taurus, 1997, with 250,000 miles. Thought we were going the right direction buying another Taurus. Hope this year/model is not a lemon.
This problem is just as bad as the Toyota issue. Recently received $500 compensation on bad paint for a Mitsubishi over 10 years old. You'd think Ford would be all over this. I am writing to Ford on behalf of all, and letting Clark Howard know...this sucks and people's lives are in danger-think of how many police departments that buy these!
- Kristin G., Ridgeland, MS, US