2001 Ford Taurus: doors won't lock, open or latch

Filed Apr 11, 2013 · Body, Locks · 185,000 miles · CO

2001 ford taurus door lock not latching during winter weather. Very serious and scary safety issue, very much so when their is ice and snow on the roads. Attending work and appointments is mandatory. Holding the door shut while driving is not acceptable. After minimal research online I have found thousands with the same problem. Ford needs to address this very serious issue. The news & media must be alerted and a recall should be issued.

Filed Nov 13, 2012 · Body, Locks · 170,000 miles · MN

Vehicle doors will not latch when the temperature drops below 30 degrees. This has been an ongoing problem and well is reported throughout many model years for ford taurus. It is a dangerous defect that needs to be addressed.

Filed Jul 25, 2012 · Wheels · 148,500 miles · NM · crash

Rim (wheel) ripped apart with the lug nuts and center of rim still attached to car / rotor: my son was traveling at approx. 70 MPH on the highway when the front right passenger wheel started to shake. Before he could step on the brake the tire and most of the rim was detached from the car causing excessive damage to the front end. From the center lane, the car went skidding out of control to the side of the highway barely missing a large pole and eventually coming to a stop. The mechanic on the scene had never seen anything like this in his long career of mechanics. He told my son that he was very lucky he was on even pavement because the car could have easily flipped causing major injury and probably death. Hood or driver side door won't open. Brakes are not functional. Frame, rotor and lower suspension are damaged. It is presumed that the cost to repair will be more than the car is worth (total loss). I found that another incident just like this was reported to the federal safety agency on july 27, 2001, VIN-[xxx], so this isn't just a one time occurrence. I felt compelled to report this because I feel that many more are at risk and that this has happened to others who didn't know to report it. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Dec 16, 2011 · Body, Locks · 152,000 miles · MN

Once again my door latches will not close when the weather is closed. I have to drive around holding my door shut. I reported this to ford and they said that they will not fix it. It is a known issue to this vehicle and is incredibly dangerous. Please do something about this!

Filed Jan 13, 2011 · Body · 90,000 miles · MN

Vehicle doors will not latch closed when weather is cold. Doors will eventually close shut after vehicle interior has been warming up for in excess of 20 minutes. Forced to either let car idle and warm interior to make doors close or drive while holding doors flush with frame. Ford motor company would not address the issue after contacting them via email and telephone.

Filed Sep 23, 2010 · Locks · PA

I first noticed the right rear door of my 2001 taurus was not unlocking with the automatic feature, about one year ago. Thought that maybe one of my grandchildren had caused the problem. Then, about one month ago, the same thing happened to the front passenger door. My grandchildren do not travel in the front compartment of my car. Nor do I have very many passengers. Also, my grandchildren have not been in my car much in the past 14 months, as they have moved to another county. I then had my mechanic check it out. He did some research and found that he could not order the parts to replace the door locking actuator. The part was out of stock, because a large number of other ford taurus owners were having the very same problem. I'm sorry that I did not contact you earlier. My mother had been in the hospital for a week, and I had lots of catching up to do. Anyway, my mechanic did not recommend installing a used part, as the same thing would very likely happen. When I contacted ford motor company regarding this problem, I explained that I thought it was a safety issue. They pretty much told me "sorry for the inconvenience, lady ... But, you're on our own". In the event of an accident, I would not be able to unlock all doors on the right side of the car by way of automatic feature, either on the door handle or the hand-held remote. Children are not always swift in being able to unlock a car door and then opening the door in an emergency. I feel that this is a safety issue and should be looked into. Everyone that I have mentioned this problem to has said, without me mentioning the safety issue first, this was a serious safety issue. I look forward to your response to this matter.

Filed Dec 29, 2004 · Locks · 66,000 miles · NY

Both rear door and front pass. Door latch springs will not retract handle/latches. Passenger thinks they have closed door, but handle is up/out and door is not latched. Door flies open on a turn in road.

Filed Mar 16, 2004 · Locks · 48,000 miles · OH

Rear doors won't stay closed. Consumer states that he had to tie the two door handles together to keep them closed.

Filed Jul 5, 2003 · Locks · 38,000 miles · LA

Rear driver's side door latch. Door does not fully latch unless abnormal force is used to shut the door.