2001 Ford Taurus: ball joint or control arm failure

Filed Apr 8, 2014 · Airbags · 157,000 miles · MI · crash

Car accident -- deer hit front passenger side -- damage to hood, light, small bar inside hood. Air bag did not deploy. I was informed that air bags do not deploy on all accidents. Car was totaled due to age and mileage on vehicle, but it ran well. Had all of the front end looked at to be sure that I could still operate it, so kept the vehicle. Feb. 10, 2014 I had gotten an oil change at walmart. Also had added coolant. I noticed on the wednesday (2/12) that the car had smoke coming from under the hood when I parked the vehicle at the same walmart. Took it back to the automotive department the coolant level was completely gone and had to take it to an independent business to have a number of items replaced - water pump, oil gasket pan, new oil and coolant added and a few other things. Was told by the independent that walmart should have informed me when I had gotten the oil change that there was a problem. Also dec. 31st, I had two tie rods installed (outer if I recall correctly), then I happen to notice on march 13th my front tires seemed low. Went in and was told that I needed two new tires and suggested a wheel alignment (which this company did not do). Took it to a tire company and they informed me that a ball joint and one inner tie rod needed to be replaced. The february and march incidents happened while I was out of town (father in hospice and death).

Filed Sep 24, 2010 · Suspension · 80,000 miles · OH

My most recent contact with ford was highly unpleasant and discouraging. I own a 2001 ford taurus with 80,000 miles that had 2 front coil springs and 1 rear coil spring break. I contacted ford customer service to inquire what I needed to do regarding the recall on the coil springs; I gave my VIN # to the agent and was told that this car does not have any recalls and ford could not offer me any service for the broken springs. I then contacted airport ford in florence, ky and explained what I was told by ford customer service and the 3 broken coil springs, they told me I could not be helped since ford customer service said that there was not any recalls on this vehicle. Recall 04v332000 recalled the front coil springs and extended the warranty to 10 years or 150,000 mile, which this car is still covered. Rather than continue driving an unsafe vehicle, I decided to get the car fixed. I had the coil springs, wheel bearings, ball joints, tie rods, drive shafts, and rotors replaced on this car. The 2 broken front coil springs destroyed each of these components by placing unnecessary stress on these components. The rear coil spring was inches away from puncturing the tire of this vehicle; this was an accident waiting to happen. I believe that at a minimum the front coil springs should have been replaced by ford due to the recall and extended warranty on these fractured springs; this cost me $343.12. I feel that ford should cover the total cost of this repair to make this vehicle whole again at my cost of $986.28. Ford motor company's response to this complaint will make or break our mutual relationship. I look forward to hearing your response and hope a mutual agreement can be reached.

Filed Aug 26, 2008 · Steering · 43,700 miles · MD

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford taurus. The contact started the ignition and heard a loud noise coming from the steering wheel. There were no warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and they stated that the failure was related to the steering wheel rubbing against the steering column. The vehicle was repaired for the malfunction. Recently, the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for identical failures on a separate occasion. The noise level was more intense. The technician stated that the failure was related to the driver side tie rod end. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 43,700 and current mileage was 62,441. Updated 09/24/08 *bf updated 09/26/08.

Filed Mar 27, 2008 · Body, Suspension · 138,245 miles · KY

The engine cradle, or subframe on my vehicle completely rusted into, the frame rusted from the inside, showing no obvious indications on the external, visible part of the frame, this incident came without warning, until the front control arm mount broke loose from the frame, while my wife was driving down the road, causing her to loose control... The body is solid with no rust, and vehicle is kept under carport...

Filed May 27, 2006 · Steering, Suspension · 74,188 miles · MO

Strange sound from front right tire in terms of loud squeaking when going over bumps and rolling road. Took car to dealer. It was found to have a broken tie rod at the front right end. However they also found the right rear coil spring was broken. The broken spring had cut a deep groove into the inner sidewall of the tire. I had the broken spring and tie rod replaced by the dealer under the terms of my extended warranty but they were not obligated to pay for the tire. I paid for a new tire. On the way home a loud hammering sound now came from the right rear tire area when riding over bumps. Took car back to dealer and he found that the right rear strut was ruined due to the broken coil spring and replaced it. The dealer said the left rear spring was good and did not need to be replaced. My main concern is not that I was not covered for cost of the replacement tire but rather that this broken spring be allowed, by design to ruin a tire that can result in an accident. A new spring can still break and puncture the tire. I now have to spend my own money as soon as my warranty runs out (in a few weeks) to replace the coil spring on the left rear side. If these things were not designed right or made right, we should at least be told to change them after a certain number of miles rather than wait for a failure to occur and risk a tire blowout.

Filed Mar 24, 2006 · Body · 65,000 miles · NY

2001 ford taurus 65,000 mi vehicle inspected observed frame right side of vehicle where lower control arm attaches is severely corroded to point where vehicle is unsafe to operate. This is an extremely premature condition for this vehicle even with the fact that it is operated in a northern climate.

Filed Jan 4, 2006 · Suspension · 54,664 miles · MO

Re: 2001 ford taurus...my rear coil spring on the passenger side popped through my tire causing a flat. I had to get a new spring, strut, strut mount and tire. This was the second time such an event happened. The first one was in may 05 on the front driver side which did cause me to hit a median on the highway. I had to replace a control arm, strut, strut mount, tire and spring coils. I called ford directly in that case and think there should be a recall on the rear spring coils as well as the front. I feel very unsafe in this vehicle.

Filed Apr 12, 2005 · Suspension · MA

Consumer received recall 04v332000 concerning front coil spring. Remedy failed. *ak the ball joints had excessive wear and had to be replaced at the consumer's expense.

Filed Mar 24, 2004 · Suspension · NY

Car experiences vibration at highway speeds and has a rattle in the "front end". Dealer inspected the vehicle and found the front end "link pins" to be worn. These pins attach the lower control arm to the frame of the vehicle and in turn, hold the front tires in position. These pins have been replaces twice on this particular vehicle. Once at approx 21,000 miles and again at approx 56,000 miles. The dealer says they see this "a lot on the taurus" and state that ford has now changed the part due to excessive wear. This is a critical component as failure of this part could result in the front wheels coming off the vehicle (per the dealership). Again - symptoms are front end vibration, which is not corrected by tire balance.

Filed Jan 15, 2004 · Steering, Tires · 39,415 miles · NE

Bought used 2001 taurus in aug. Of 2002. On the test drive I noticed the car pulled to the left and there was vibration in the steering wheel. The dealer at no cost to me did a wheel alignment and wheel balance. I drove again and it was fine. Approximately 4500 miles later the steering wheel vibration returned and the car was again pulling slightly to the left. I took it in to the dealer again and was told that the likely cause of the vibration was that a wheel weight was lost, but had no explaination for the pulling. They rebalanced the wheels and rotated the tires. Again everything was fine until nov. 2003 as I was driving I once again felt the vibration in the steering wheel and it was much more severe on cornering. I took it to an independent repair shop(nearest ford dealer was 25 miles away). They found the left front tire to have a flat spot on the outer tread area(slipped belt) and both outer tie rod ends to be loose, the left one being extermely worn. They indicated to me that they have seen numerous problems with the continental oe tires not holding balance, having bad wear problems, etc. They installed two aftermarket, greasable tie rod ends and did a wheel alignment and rotation. At this point I have submitted the repair bill to a ford dealer for possible reimbursment, however I am not holding my breath. My opinion is that continental tires are junk and ford knows it. The ford dealer indicated to me that they have had no othe problems like mine, a much different opinion than the independent garage. Also tie rod ends usually don't fail at 39k miles for no reason. I have a friend that has a 2002 taurus with continental tires and has had to have them balanced several times due to steering wheel vibration.