2003 Ford Explorer: broken coil spring

Filed Mar 12, 2013 · Suspension · 82,665 miles · IL

Although this defect did not cause an accident or injury, the potential was there for serious damage to this or following vehicles. Specifically, the defect was the rear strut/spring assemblies I.e. Broken and shifted coil spring. As this part sits close to the fuel tank, the piece of spring that broke off could have easily punctured the fuel tank resulting in possible fire. It could also have wedged against a brake line, thus causing a brake failure and/or suspension failure/misalignment causing loss of control and an accident. In addition, if the piece of spring, weighing about three (3) pounds had fallen out, it could have caused severe damage to a following vehicle or it's operator had it bounced up and penetrated a windshield. The reason for the lapse in time in my reporting this condition is because I thought perhaps it was just a one time isolated failure to my vehicle. However, in talking to other ford explorer owners, as well as several auto repair shops, I have learned that this has been a common failure on similar vehicles. If this was a simple repair to a component that had little or no affect on the vehicles performance or did not present a safety condition, I would have probably just written it off to normal maintenance and repair. However, with my knowledge of automobiles, and a condition that could potentially cause damage as well as personal injury, as well as being a quite expensive repair, I felt compelled to report it to the proper people who perhaps have a larger data base than I do, and take action against ford motor company to mandate a recall or reimbursement to those ford explorer owners who have experienced the same failure as I have.

Filed Feb 5, 2013 · Suspension · 94,356 miles · MI

Both rear coil springs rusted through and broke.

Filed May 17, 2012 · Suspension · 54,000 miles · NY

Brought vehicle in for routine maintenance ( brakes ) when it was discovered that both rear coil springs were broken. While having springs replaced it was discovered that the rear wheel bearings also needed to be replaced along with the rear shocks. This vehicle has been driven only less than 55,000 miles under normal driving conditions on paved city and highway roads. After inspecting the broken springs we realized that the damage wasn't a recent occurrence. They could have been defected at 40,000 miles or less.I believe ford motor company should be made aware of possible defected rear suspension parts it may be using in some of it's vehicle models and the potential safety risks this may pose on the general public.

Filed Jan 4, 2012 · Suspension · 10,585 miles · MI

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. The contact stated that both rear coil springs fractured. The rear passenger side coil spring failed first and was repaired. The rear driver's side coil spring was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 10,585 and the current mileage was 129,000. Updated 02/27/12*lj updated 02/28/12

Filed Aug 5, 2011 · Suspension · 235,000 miles · 00

Broken coil springs front and rear causing the vehicle to try and swing around to the right on slippery surfaces. Extremely dangerous.

Filed Dec 14, 2010 · Suspension · 78,000 miles · CT

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. The contact noticed that the passenger side rear coil spring was abnormally covered by an unknown plastic sheet. The dealer was notified and informed the contact that there were no recalls for the vehicle. The contact did not inform the manufacturer of the failure. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who advised the contact that the rear coil spring would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The current mileage was approximately 80,000 and the failure mileage was 78,000. Updated 02/03/11*lj updated 02/04/11

Filed Jan 13, 2010 · Suspension · 140,000 miles · NH

I suggest you check the one url shown below - there are over 400 examples of ford springs fracturing because of a defect in the spring material. Http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/ford_springs.html I have two broken springs - I called ford to ask if they would fix the defect of course they said no way - the federal safety agency has not forced us to do a recall.

Filed May 8, 2009 · Suspension · 100,000 miles · WI

2003 ford explorer 4 dr. Rear coil spring is broken. No rust on outside of spring, but its broken due to bad metal used to make it.

Filed Sep 19, 2007 · Suspension · 52,000 miles · NY

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. As a mechanic was repairing the emissions module on the vehicle, he noticed that the coil springs failed. The failure was repaired. The current and failure mileages were 52,000. Eq-10203418-4200, received 12/12/07 (2 doc). Updated 12/12/07