From a parked position in my driveway put the car in reverse. Heard a loud hiss and left side of vehicle dropped down. Upon further investigation found coil spring had failed and cut sidewall of tire. If this had happened at highway speed results could have been disastrous have had this happen on 2 ford vehicles why hasn't ford issued a recall for this issue very unsafe.
2003 Ford Taurus suspension complaints
Page 3 of 12: complaints 41 to 70 of 313, newest first, as owners wrote them.
When driving down a public road the front driver spring broke before I could safely stop this in turn cut the tire ,this is a long standing problem with ford taurus, prior recalls, yet not corrected in latter model years this could have resulted in a fatal accident at higher speeds.
Brought my car in for an oil change and the mechanic informed me that both of my rear coil springs are broken. Not sure when this happened but notice a couple of weeks earlier that the back end of the car was sagging.
Car sitting in driveway and we noticed a flat tire. Upon further inspection the drivers side coil spring broke and was stuck in the tire.
2003 ford taurus station wagon. Consumer states while backing out of the garage the left coil spring broke sending a piece of broken coil into the tire causing it to rupture *tgw the consumer stated the entire coil and strut assembly had to be replaced.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH in reverse, the front drivers side coil spring broke and damaged the tire. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where they diagnosed the failure and stated that was a common problem with the coil springs. The vehicle was repaired at the owners expense. The failure and current mileage was 78,000.
Car began making noise while driving. Local garage found broken rear spring and replaced both rear struts and rear springs.
Front spring broke while in garage,puncturing front tire.local garage replaced both front struts,springs,and tire {1]. Contacted local dealer to inquire about recall or warranty.they where not helpful.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH in reverse out of his driveway he heard a loud banging noise. After inspecting his vehicle he noticed that the front drivers side coil springs fractured and punctured the tire. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who advised him that the shocks, struts, the stabilizer links for the front driver and passenger side had all been damaged as well and needed to be replaced. The coils springs were repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The failure and current mileage was approximately 109,800.
Left front spring cracked/broke, shredded front left tire.
While backing up in my 2003 ford taurus ses, front driver side coil snapped and slashed tire.
Coil spring busted, went into my tire.
Driver's side coil spring snapped while sitting in the cold. Thinking tire was flat moved car over a few feet in driveway and shard of metal from coil spring shredded inside of tire. This is our third taurus (also have an '01 and '02) that the same thing has happened to.
At approximately 126000 miles first of two coil springs broke in the front driver's side of the car. Had both front coil springs replaced. Three weeks later was backing out of parking space at work only to have the transmission pump fail. Car acted exactly as described in many other complaints here, sudden loss of power, high engine rev and an inability of the car to work in any gear. Had the car towed to my mechanic and was then told that not only did the transmission need to be rebuilt but I also had a rear coil spring that now was broken. Have purchased many ford vehicles but this is enough to make you look at a different manufacturer.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. The contact was driving 5 MPH, when the front driver side tire blew. The vehicle was stopped and the contact noticed that the front driver side coil spring was fractured and had pierced the tire. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the coil spring was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure and current mileages were 68,250.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. The contact stated that while stopped a loud noise emitted near the drivers side front tire. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic, who confirmed that the coil spring fractured in half. The mechanic replaced the coil spring. The contact also stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate while driving in reverse. This failure was diagnosed by a second private mechanic, who stated that the transmission needed to be rebuilt. The manufacturer was notified; however, the transmission was not repaired. The failure mileage was 65,000 and the current mileage was 80,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. The contact stated while driving at low speeds out of his driveway, the front driver and passenger tires became flat. After inspecting the vehicle he noticed that the coil springs fractured causing the tires to flatten. The vehicle was towed to a dealer who advised him that the coil springs fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired for the front driver and passenger side coil springs and stabilizer links. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 58,100. Updated 10/27/11*lj updated 12/06/2011
Left front spring broke while driving 25 MPH. Spring contacted tire and shredded sidewall. Control affected but no crash. Mechanic estimates $525 for repair/ replacement of both front spring/shock units and alignment.+
No event(s) leading to failure, only standard driving conditions. Front coil spring broke while car was parked. Moving the vehicle caused the sharp end of the spring to cut the inner sidewall of the tire 180 around. Dealership refused to cover repair and indicated 3-4 days to get replacement springs and complete repairs. Had work done by local mechanic in one day for ~ $1200 to replace both front struts and springs with (better) aftermarket replacements.
I heard from an acquaintance that there were several issues posted on the federal safety agency website regarding the failure of coil springs on the ford taurus. I too experienced the complete loss of control of my 2003 taurus while driving in heavy traffic due to coil spring failure. With the initial jolt and subsequent dragging of the car to bring it to a safe area to bring the car to a stop, I actually thought I had hit a person or large object. When I got out of my car I found the the front end of the car sitting on top of my tire. My mechanic actually took pictures of the car as he could not believe the amount of damage that had occurred. I had to replace the struts, springs, sway bar links, lower ball joint and axle shaft. All of this at 61k miles!! For a cost of $1300.00. In closing, my 2003 ford taurus has been involved in 2 serious malfunctions posted to the federal safety agency website which could have easily resulted in serious injury or death to myself or fellow motorists if I was not able to react quickly and control the car with a complete collapse of the front end or complete loss of power with the transmission failure (ref #fbn24-10467). Both of these issues occurred within 4 months (5k miles) of each other (66k - 71k) and cost in excess of $4,000.0 to repair. Given the number of coil spring complaints received by the federal safety agency and the open investigation (the federal safety agency action number: ea08018) , I would think either ford or the national highway transportation safety administration take responsibility and issue a notification of these serious issues with this car (and the other year/models listed in nhsta action # ea08018)) and the steps to remediate those issues before the issue causes serious injury or death.
My 2003 ford taurus broke down on the road-upon investigating it, the front springs broke and grease spread throughout the front part of the car. I cannot afford to have it fixed, so it was towed to my home garage.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. The contact stated that the front driver side coil spring fractured and punctured the front driver side tire. The contact had the vehicle towed to their mechanic who confirmed the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The current mileage is 112,000. Updated 08/31/11 *bf updated 09/09/11
Front drivers side coil spring broke and punctured the front drivers side tire.
2003 ford taurus. Consumer states coil spring snapped from the strut assembly while the vehicle was parked in the driveway. *tgw updated 10/06/11. *jb updated 01/05/12. *jb the consumer stated the strut was replaced at a considerable cost. Updated 02/07/12.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. The contact stated while driving approximately 1 MPH and leaving his driveway he noticed he had a flat tire. When he inspected the tire he noticed that the front drivers side coil spring had punctured the tire. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where they are waiting for the results of the diagnostic test. The manufacturer advised him that there were no recalls. The failure and current mileage was approximately 59,845 updated 6/8/11 *cn updated 06/23/11
Driving car, heard a load crash from front end like someone had dropped a tray of socket wrenches. Load popping noise followed. Pulled over to inspect. Found a large portion of front spring drivers side wrapped around the strut. The piece was the shape of a "c". I am glad that the sharp end did not puncture through the tire as it was within 1/8" of the tire. I guess quick reactions prevented an accident. Spring will have to be replaced and front end inspected for additional damage. Old spring and broken off part are available.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. The contact stated that after having the vehicle inspected, the contact was advised that both rear coil springs were fractured. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they advised that that there were no related recalls on the vehicle. The failure and current mileage was approximately 133,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. The contact stated while reversing from a residential driveway, the front driver side coil spring failed and punctured the tire. The vehicle was not repaired for the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure and the current mileage was 95,000. Updated 09/15/14
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. The contact started the vehicle and when shifting into reverse, a loud noise emitted from the outside of the vehicle. The contact noticed the front driver's side tire exploded due to a severe puncture. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the front drivers side shock and strut module assembly were replaced. The tire and front sway bars were also replaced. The failure mileage was 45,708. Updated 06/01/11*lj updated 07/01/11
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. While attempting to drive out of a parking space, the contact smelled rubber burning when he noticed the front drivers side coil spring had fractured the side wall of the tire, causing the tire to deflate. The failure was similar to the federal safety agency campaign id number: 04v332000 (suspension front springs:coil springs). The dealer advised the contact that his vehicle was not included in the previous recall. The manufacturer confirmed that there were no recalls associated with his VIN and offered no further assistance. The current and failure mileages were 74,900.
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