10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 92,426 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
I was backing out of my parking space at work and I heard a loud noise and then fthe air wwnt out of my tire on the front driver side real. Once the tire was removed it revealed a large gash in the side wall of the tire as a result broken coil.
- Champlin, MN, USA
Driver's side front coil spring broke and punctured tire. Vehicle was thankfully parked when this happened. There was a recall no. 04V332000, for 1999-2001 models - curious why it stopped there? multiple online forums indicate this issue continued past 2001. Photos available if needed.
- Delafield, WI, USA
A strange grinding noise was coming from the passenger front tire area which was very noticable trying to back out of driveway, so pulled back in and looked to see what might be wrong. I noticed a burning rubber smell and that the wheel clearance was significantly less on passenger verse driver front tire. Drove up onto ramps to look from beneath and could clearly see the end of the coil poking into the inside edge of the tire with a worn mark all the way around where it was pushing into the rubber. After carefully backing off ramps, it was jacked up and placed on jack stands, at which time it was clearly visible the coil spring was snapped in two. It is a miracle this was found before my sister drove 70mph on the highway she was about to. This would've certainly caused a blowout and potentially a fire, and at those speeds could've certainly been deadly.
- Towanda, KS, USA
Keep shutting off randomly while during in the city sitting at a traffic stop. Doesn't start all the time. There's rattling and clunking noise under the front of the vehicle
- Jackson, TN, USA
I regret to report that my daughter-in-law experienced a catastrophic failure of 3 coil spring assemblies and a subsequent front driver side tire failure due to a puncture a few months ago while was driving at a low rate of speed in her parents' neighborhood in winona. Fortunately no one was injured and she was able to pull the car into the driveway. We are thankful she wasn't driving at highway speeds on the interstate. The corrosion of the coil springs has been a known design problem for years. I have done some research and found that the 2003 model year is not on a recall at this time. However earlier model years of Taurus have been recalled for this same issue in the past, so corrosion of the coils is a known problem. The car is a 2003 Ford Taurus, 73,663 actual miles, well-maintained, no visible external rust, garaged nightly. This car was purchased from the Ford dealership in rochester, Minnesota.
- Rochester, MN, USA
Takata recall: Car stops not accurately and makes sound whenever applied the brakes, feeling some suspension issues as well as transmission issue, car is fully maintain and have under car fax report system.
- Frisco, TX, USA
After the driving my car on April 22 (a Friday), I parked the car for the evening. On April 23, 2016 (a Saturday morning), I came outside to find my 6-mo.-old left front tire flat after sitting overnight. A friend took off the tire and it was discovered that the strut spring was broken. I had the car towed to my mechanic on April 25, where it was determined that the strut spring was indeed broken, and I had it replaced. Research and talking with others brought to light a recall for this exact issue on vehicle years 1998-2001, however, other drivers were reporting the same problem with newer models of the same vehicles. This claim is for reimbursement of the cost of replacing only the broken left strut spring (a quick strut) and the tow to the garage.
- Indianapolis, IN, USA
When backing up from being parked, the front drivers side tire exploded and the front left corner of the car dropped. The cause was a broken coil spring which punctured my new tire. 74K miles. I am upset that the NHTSA has investigated this problem that has been occurring for 15 years with Ford Taurus' vintage 2000 through 2005 and concluded its not a safety issue because there have been "no serious injuries or deaths". previously I had three spring failures on another (2001) Taurus. I had a front spring break and had both front springs replaced. One of the replacement springs broke two years later. Both failures caused tire failures. Shortly before getting rid of the 2001taurus, I noticed a rear spring had failed, but did not damage the tire. I do expect a few "serious injuries or deaths" to occur in the future because of this serious safety issue. It's too bad some of us will have to sacrifice our lives or limbs for the good of the rest of us. If such a dreadful thing happens, I feel NHTSA may be equally liable with Ford for wrongful death lawsuits for not requiring Ford to address this safety issue. In their investigation, NHTSA also mentions the relatively small number of complaints on this topic. That is because consumers do not know about filing a complaint with the NHTSA. I advise the NHTSA to request the number of replacement parts from Ford along with parts suppliers such as advance and autozone. I would estimate millions of springs have been replaced for just the 2002 and 2003 model years. I'd bet my craft beer money on it. Btw, the true cause of failure is that road dirt and salt causes the ball bearings in the mount to bind which in turn restricts the springs free movement. The spring does not rust, the binding of the ball bearings against the spring surface causes the failure. Poor design causing a very dangerous situation if driving at highway speed.
- Webster, NY, USA
On about 15 Jan 2016, the driver'side side front coil springs broke. When it broke it punctured through driver'side side front tire. Luckily the car was sitting in the driveway at the time the coil springs broke and no further damage or injuries were sustained, just the broken coil spring and puncturedrives tire. From my research there was a previous recall for the exact same issue on earlier model years of the Ford Taurus but not for the 2003 model year and after talking to Ford customer care there are no existing recalls for this suspension issue.
- Sun Prairie, WI, USA
We had several close calls where the car would not stop, and slide on dry pavement, and wet conditions. The car had new brakes, rotors, tires, but still would have trouble stopping, unfortunately my daughter was driving the car today, and hit another car. I just replaced the tires again a few months go, thinking the tires were the problem. I had several close calls myself, and I think there is a big problem with this car stopping. Thank god nobody was hurt, but this could have been much worse. My daughter was going approximately 30 miles an hour, and she was on a city street, conditions were wet, but she had plenty of time to stop.
- Perrysburg, OH, USA
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while parked, the coil spring fractured without warning. The failure recurred on one other occasion. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, who diagnosed that the strut assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,479.
- Haddam, CT, USA
The front strut spring broke and punctured the front tire causing $462.55 worth of damage, all other years of the same make and model but a few, including this one were covered by a recall or warranty. A serious accident or fatality could have occurred if this were to happen at highway speed.
- Coldwater, OH, USA
While driving my 2003 Ford Taurus around a sharp turn the passenger front tire exploded. While trying to change tire to spare it was noticed that the cause of the explosion was a broken spring sticking in the sidewall. I had it replaced. A few months later I saw a piece of a spring in my driveway, when I looked at my car I found the piece of spring came from the drivers side of the Taurus. Then later that year at state inspection the mechanic found a rear spring broke. I had both rear springs replaced. All four springs replaced at my own cost.
- Tyrone, PA, USA
Traveling in reverse at approximately 5 mph when front left (driver's side) suspension spring coil broke and punctured the tire. Reference: Investigation: #EA08018.
- Westlake, OH, USA
The vehicle suffered a broken passenger side front suspension spring. It immediately cut through and deflated the front tire. It is luck that this happened at very slow speed, if it happened at highway speed, loss of control would have been likely. The broken coil spring "hooked" the tire and cut the tire on the inside sidewall a full 360 degree separating the inside of the tire from the tread surface. It was difficult to move the vehicle in a desired direction. It was easier to park the vehicle safely by backing up to the curb. I understand that earlier model year Ford Taurus' were recalled for the same type of spring failure.
- North Fond Du Lac, WI, USA
Put car in reverse to move the strut assembly broke the spring went thru the tire multiple times.a 90,000 mile tire that only had 1900 miles on them. I am the one owner of this car with reg maintenance with no warning or prevention of this happening.
- Milton, IN, USA
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
- Vadnais Heights , MN, USA
Son was backing car down driveway and heard a noise and felt front end sag. He got out and noticed that the drivers front tire was flat. Tire was a year old and cut on inside of sidewall. Took tire off and had it replaced at my cost. When trying to put it back on the car I noticed the broken spring. This is what caused the tire to blow. Very sharp edge on spring facing tire. Glad it did not happen at highway speeds or in tight area so as to avoid injury or accident. Very inconvenient and an obvious metal fatigue issue. Rust not noticeable. Bought this car used from a dealer and I wish they had corrected this ongoing problem before selling the car again. Looks like I will have to look at other manufacturers as this is the second major expense on a Ford for problems they knew about but did nothing to correct or to help compensate customers for their expense or inconvenience..
- Rosemount, MN, USA
Just bought the car and doing some routine service, oil change, brake inspection etc. Noticed that the rear body mounts on the subframe had rust rot. And looking over the rest of the subframe noticed that the lower control arms on the front mount of both left and right sides were rotted out completely. The repair work is more than what I paid for the car. I can't even put the car on the road. It will not pass inspection. For a car that is only 10 years old the subframe shouldn't be rotted out like this.Ford should give some kind of assistance with this problem.
- South New Berlin, NY, USA
- Watertown, NY, USA