2003 Ford Taurus: broken coil spring

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 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 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.

Filed Aug 10, 2015 · Suspension · 60,479 miles · CT

Tl* 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.

Filed Apr 11, 2015 · Suspension · 62,000 miles · OH

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.

Filed Feb 18, 2015 · Suspension · 130,000 miles · IN

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. While pulling out of the driveway at approximately 5 MPH, a loud sound emitted from the front passenger side tire. The contact discovered that the front passenger side coil spring fractured and punctured the tire. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000.

Filed Jan 5, 2015 · Suspension · 140,000 miles · PA

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.

Filed Jun 14, 2014 · Suspension · 100,000 miles · WI

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.

Filed Feb 24, 2014 · Suspension · 144,000 miles · MN

Tl* 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*lj

Filed Dec 23, 2013 · Suspension, Wheels · MN

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..