2003 Ford Taurus suspension problems

Filed Jan 27, 2020 · Body, Steering · 74,029 miles · NY

On october 23 2019, I retained mavis discount tire to inspect my new york state registered 2003 ford taurus. Mavis discount tire passed the vehicle, determining the vehicles condition complied with ny state safety standard of roadworthiness. 12/12/2019, after repairing the transmission at gorilla auto works, I was informed of a serious structural situation, control arm assembly "severely deteriorated". On january 20th 2020, I again referred the vehicle to caskinete ford carthage new york for further evaluation, at ford motor company standards, as was informed, that the control arm assembly was not repairable, at the present condition, did not meet new york state or federal safety standards, contrary to the original status, and inspection , issued 10/23/2019 mavis discount tire arsenal st. Watertown new york. Further evaluations, study revealed, that failure of this condition, underway, at us interstate average speed of traffic, potentially catastrophic incident would result, eminent risk of loss of life. Per us agency standards, I have made all reasonable efforts to resolve this complaint with relevant state agencies, dmv. Etc. Additional efforts included relevant new york state political representatives, to include new york state senate. *please note the, possibly intentional omission by mavis staff, of the vehicles mileage. Obtained by other records.

Filed Jan 8, 2020 · Suspension · MN

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.

Filed Nov 24, 2019 · Suspension · 112,000 miles · WI

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.

Filed Dec 29, 2018 · Suspension · 143,060 miles · KS

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.

Filed Jul 20, 2018 · Suspension · TN

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

Filed Feb 12, 2018 · Suspension · 73,600 miles · MN

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.

Filed Jul 14, 2016 · Brakes, Steering · 140,000 miles · TX

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.

Filed May 18, 2016 · Suspension · 174,000 miles · IN

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.

Filed Mar 15, 2016 · Suspension · 74,000 miles · NY

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 federal safety agency 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 the federal safety agency may be equally liable with ford for wrongful death lawsuits for not requiring ford to address this safety issue. In their investigation, the federal safety agency also mentions the relatively small number of complaints on this topic. That is because consumers do not know about filing a complaint with the federal safety agency. I advise the federal safety agency 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.

Filed Jan 18, 2016 · Suspension · WI

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.