Problems with 2002 Ford Taurus SUSPENSION

2002 ford taurus ses with aprox 125k miles front left coil spring broke about six inches from the bottom end, the spring extended to the next coil, the broken end cut through the front left tire. the front left tire looked as if it was cut with a razor, the spring completely severed the tire at the junction of the top of the side wall and the tread. both sides of the tire remained seated on the rim. the spring broke when backing out of a drive that is level with the street. the operator heard a clunk and thought that ice had broken free from the fender, as experienced in winter operations. the car was operated 100 feet then the operator felt the flat tire. the front left corner of the car was low to the ground without the full support of the spring the left front sway bar link broke under the extra weight. the broken piece from the link was about 60 degrees of the outer ball retention cup (upper end of the link). it is plastic. this car is the model year after an established recall for the same issue, a report was filled with ford. the fl strut and spring where replaced. the right spring was bought with the left and will be installed with a new strut shortly. also the left front sway bar link will be replaced. all failed components are retained by the owner, (we where able to get the stuff out of the drive)with the exception of the tire. the owner has photos of the tire and the spring ( still installed ) the morning this happened. inspection of the spring at the break shows signs of intergranlure corrosion through the spring emanating from filiform corrosion on the surface. owner bought the car used, it is unknown if the spring was original or a replacement. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the contact stated that after entering his vehicle, he noticed that the driver side of the vehicle was sitting lower than normal. he went to inspect the vehicle and saw that the coil springs punctured the driver side tire causing it to deflate. the vehicle was then towed to a dealer who informed the contact that he needed to replace the coil springs. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 55,000. the vin was unavailable.

Rear passenger side coil spring broken

2002 ford taurus coil spring fracture. same problem as 2001 ford taurus recall. *tr

We were leaving our home on saturday, december 18, 2010 and after putting the car in reverse heard a noise and found the drivers side front tire had suddenly gone flat. after removing the tire we found that the coil suspension spring had broken and punctured the tire. ford has recalls on the taurus for this same problem but does not include the 2002 yet they are having the same problems as they did through 2001.

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. when the contact parked the vehicle, the front passenger side coil spring broke and punctured the tire. the contact stated that there was no prior warning. the failure was not diagnosed or repaired. the vin was unknown. the failure and current mileages were 58000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the contact stated that after purchasing 4 new tires he noticed that while driving the front drivers side became flat. the vehicle was towed to a tire dealer who advised him that the front coil springs had punctured the tire causing the flat. the front drivers side coil spring was repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and advised him that there were no recalls on his vehicle. the failure mileage was approximately 76,000. updated 06/16/11 *bf the consumer stated he was in the garage. when he shifted the vehicle in reverse, the left front tire exploded. the consumer took the vehicle took goodyear where they infromed him the both coil springs needed to be replaced. also, the drivers side window would not go up or down and anti-lock brakes were not working. updated 11/16/11

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. while driving in reverse at a very low speed she heard a loud popping noise. while examining the vehicle the contact noticed that the drivers side front tire was flat. a spare tire was installed and the vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop where she was told that the front drivers side coil spring fractured. the vehicle was in the process of having both front coil springs replaced. the failure and current mileages were 126,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. all four coil springs were broken on his vehicle. the right rear and left front tires were damaged by the coil springs. he repaired the vehicle. the manufacturer was called and stated that there were no recalls and offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 56,500. updated 02/02/11 *cn

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the contact stated that front suspension coil snapped. the vehicle was sitting in the garage when the contact heard a loud bang. the spring had punctured the front passenger side tire. the vehicle was towed to a local repair shop where the spring with replaced with a used one. the contact called the manufacturer who offered no assistance. the current and failure mileages were 143,282.

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the contact stated that while driving in reverse the front drivers side coil spring broke causing damage to the front drivers side tire. the contact was concerned about the complaints regarding the front coil spring on her year, make and model vehicle. the coil spring was repaired by a local mechanic. the contact did not call the manufacturer regarding the failure. the contact stated that if the vehicle was driving on a highway and the coil spring broke it could have caused a crash. the failure mileage was 164,000. updated 03/07/11*lj updated 12/14/11 *cn

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. while driving 5 mph in reverse the front coil spring broke and punctured the driver's side tire. the vehicle was towed to a local mechanic. the mechanic replaced both front suspension assemblies. the vehicle was repaired. the contact referenced recall 04v332000, suspension:front:springs:coil springs and wanted to know why the 2002 was not included in the recall. the vin was unavailable. the failure and current mileage were 120,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. while driving approximately 8 mph the front passenger side tire exploded. the contact stated that a coil spring punctured the tire and caused the failure. she changed the tire and was able to drive to her residence. the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who replaced the front suspension assembly. she referenced recall 04v332000, suspension:front:springs:coil springs and stated that the recall was for the 2001 ford taurus. the vin was unavailable. the failure mileage was 101,900 and the current mileage was 101,903.

2002 ford taurus ses front left coil spring snapped while backing up in driveway. sharp end of broken spring gouged tire, causing an immediate flat. ruined tire has been replaced. new coil/strut assemblies will be installed at all four wheels for fear of catastrophe should another spring break while driving at highway speeds! punctured tire and broken spring have been discarded and are unfortunately no longer available. *tr

2002 ford taurus coil spring broke and sway link cutting a hole in the sidewall of the tire something needs to be done such as recall. *tr

Driver was backing out of a parking space leaving work. upon pushing the gas pedal to back out of the parking space (traveling approximately two feet) there was a loud bang and the front left front of the car fell. the car was towed to a local garage, where the mechanic said that the front left spring had broken, puncturing the front left tire and causing it to blow. in addition to the broken spring and punctured tire, the front stabilizer link was also broken.

I purchased a used 2002 ford taurus two years ago. about 4 weeks ago, i was driving down of a driveway at work and heard a loud popping noise. i ended up having the car towed to a mechanic and he found both front springs broken and two shredded tires. both of the springs were broken in exactly the same place. he had never seen anything like this. the cost of the repairs was $600.00: $400.00 for the two springs and $200.00 for the two tires. luckily i was driving at a very slow speed when this happened and not doing 70 mph on an interstate highway. i have read dozens of consumer complaints online about the same thing happening to other owners of 2002 taurus's but ford has not done a recall yet. i am requesting that a recall be made and the cost of repairs be reimbursed to the owners of the cars. the recall should include the rear springs, too, as many owners have had the rear springs break also. *tr

Tl* the contact owns 2002 ford taurus. the contact was exiting a residential carport driving 2 mph when she heard a loud noise and the front passenger side tire burst. the contact was able to install the spare tire and discovered that the front coil spring had fractured and pierced the tire. the vehicle was towed to a local mechanic. while at the repair facility, the driver side tire also burst due to the spring piercing the tire. the vehicle was repaired and the tires were replaced. the approximate failure mileage was 107,000 and the current mileage was 108,019. updated 06/24/11

I was pulling my wife's car out of the garage when the left front tire blew. i thought it was just a flat till i noticed that the front strut (spring) had broken. i could tell that this happened because of a manufacturing defect (the steel was not heat treated properly). i know this because i spent 40 years in the auto industry as a quality control manager. i took the car into my mechanic and had all four struts replaced at a cost of almost $800.00 this is a true safety defect because my wife travels to work on i-75 at 70 mph and drives 60 miles one way to work. if this happened on the highway, she surely would have flipped over! *tr

Broken front spring on 2002 ford taurus. only 40,000 miles on it & it ruined a brand new tire. $700. repair cost that i couldn't afford but had to have a car, therefore had no choice but have it fixed. why isn't something done about this problem, repair man said it's common on the taurus. has something been done to fix this problem, no one was hurt or killed but it sure could have happened. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the contact stated when driving 10 mph or more, there was an abnormal rubbing noise from the rear tire. the contact later discovered that the coil springs were fractured and damaged the rear passenger side tire. the dealer advised that the vehicle was not under recall. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and the current mileage was 117,000.

Inspection for front end alignment revealed both rear coil spring broken. *tr

Driving down a straight road, hit a small bump, left front coil spring broke. loud bang and car became hard to control. a piece of the broken coil spring jammed into the cv (constant velocity) joint and destroyed it. also the stabilizer link was broken. car was towed to dealership & approximately $1000 worth of damage had to be taken care of. same issue as nhtsa action number: ea08018. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the contact stated that the vehicle was being serviced by a local mechanic for routine maintenance when the mechanic advised that the passenger side of the vehicle was sitting much lower than normal. the mechanic further inspected the vehicle and discovered that the rear passenger side coils spring were fractured. the vehicle was repaired. the failure mileage was 80,469 and the current mileage was 82,000. updated 03/22/11*lj updated 1/3/11 *cn

Two nights earlier i was in my garage working when i heard a loud bang. i was startled enough to go outside. believing it was a vehicle that had just driven by i went back to work. that evening my son was going to borrow our 2002 ford taurus sel. as he was backing out to leave the front passenger tire blew out. further investigation revealed the spring snapped in half. you could see by the tire that the spring rubbed a groove on the tire and once he turned the steering wheel the spring tore a huge long hole into the tire. the tires have approx. 20,000 miles on them. i went on-line to see what it takes to replace a spring when i saw a bunch of forums where this has been a fairly common occurrence/problem. i will purchase a new spring and have it installed but actually it seems like the safest thing to do would be to replace them all. i will also keep my receipts for the work if there is ever a recall. it sounds to me like until there are some tragic accidents ford doesn't see this as a big problem. i just warned a coworker whose wife owns a 2003 taurus about this and she had one snap a year ago but the tire wasn't punctured. this is crazy!! i can't believe this hasn't been taken care of. thanks! *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. while driving at approximately 50 mph, there was an abnormal grinding noise near the rear driver side tire. the contact moved off the roadway and went to inspect the vehicle. the contact was unable to determine where the noise was coming from. the contacts personal mechanic inspected the vehicle but was also unable to locate the origin of the abnormal noise. the contact stated the failure would occur intermittently and only when attempting a turn. the dealer found that the coil spring was rusted and fractured. the noise was caused by the soil spring rubbing against the interior of the tire. the coil spring was replaced as well as the rear stabilizer links. the failure mileage was 94,000 and the current mileage was 94,225.

2002 ford taurus taken to repair shop for routine service: oil change and multipoint inspection. received a call from repair shop indicating that during the multipoint inspection they found that the left rear coil spring was fractured and separated. they indicated that this could have punctured the tire during normal driving. rear and front coil springs are original as installed by the vehicle manufacturer. repair shop was authorized to replace the left and right rear coil springs. ford motor company was contacted. there was no promise made of restitution. email indicated they work closely with nhtsa. portion of repair bill dealing with the replacement of both rear coil springs was $640.00. both coil springs have been saved and in our in my possession. a couple of photos have also been taken of the one that fractured. *tr

On july 18, 2010, while putting my 2002 ford taurus into reverse, the coil spring on the front driver's side snapped and punctured my tire. this happened as soon as i took my foot off the brake to begin backing up. i currently have it at a body shop to look into the repair. *tr

My car was parked in a driveway and as i was about to back out my front driver side tire blew. a new tire was purchased and replaced on my car. while attempting to back out again, the brand new tire blew as well. after reaching into the wheel well, we found that the coil spring had broken and punctured the tires. the car showed no signs of upcoming failure prior to this event. it was driving perfectly fine and was just in for an oil change and inspection 3 days prior. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the contact was reversing at an unknown low speed when he heard a loud, abnormal pop. he then discovered that the front driver side tire was punctured by a broken strut. upon further inspection, the contact discovered that the front passenger strut and both rear struts were fractured and severely rusted. the contact was informed by the dealer that his vin was not included in nhtsa campaign id number: 04v332000 (suspension:front:springs:coil springs). the vehicle was repaired by the contact. the failure did not recur. the failure mileage was 89,000 and the current mileage was 90,000.

My front passenger coil spring broke and cut a slash in my tire. my husband says we all could have been killed had i been going faster - as in down the highway. my car just missed the recall and ford won't do anything about it. i'm worried that the back springs will break and we'll all die. *tr

I was backing my 2002 ford taurus out of a parking space when the tire blew. i had to have the car towed. the front coil spring broke and put a hole in my new tire. had to replace broken spring, sway bar link, new strut and new tire for a cost of $441.82. had replaced the back springs a month earlier. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. while driving at approximately 25 mph, the front driver side tire experienced a blowout and the vehicle collapsed onto the frame. upon further examining the vehicle, the contact stated the front driver side coil spring broke which pierced the tire. the contact called the manufacturer who advised him that there was not a recall on the failure for earlier model vehicles and he would have to pay to have his vehicle repaired. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were 144,008.

Driving 20 mph down sidestreet with wife, 3 and 6 year old kids in car. very loud bang, car dropped a couple inches and we pulled over. the left rear coil spring had broken and the spring was rubbing on the inside of the tire. i just had the 2 front broken coil springs replaced about 3 months ago, and the mechanic told to watch out for the rear ones, there is a known defect with them. as soon as it happened i immediately knew what it was from what the mechanic told me. i put the doughnut on, and drove home. tire is probably unsafe now as the spring has been digging a groove in the sidewall. this is a real safety hazard, as i have been reading up on the large number of complaints online, and the recall of prior year models with the exact same problem. ford needs to address this before someone is killed, and a lot of owners are forced to pay for an obvious engineering mistake. i have not had the car fixed yet because it just happened today, but i am expecting the repair cost to be similar to the front strut replacements plus the cost of a new rear tire - probably in the vicinity of $1400.00. this is unacceptable for a manufacturer to allow this to continue when there is an obvious problem, they should have learned from the damage this is doing to toyota. i am going to write a complaint to them as well. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the contact stated that the front passenger coil spring snapped and punctured the front tire. the contact installed the spare tire. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted but would not provide any assistance. the failure and current mileages were approximately 80,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. while the vehicle was parked the front coil spring broke. the vehicle was towed to a tire repair shop. the local repair shop replaced the front coil spring, struts, the sway bar links and the lower ball joints. the approximate failure mileage was 79,687 and the current mileage was 80,500.

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. as the contact was attempting to move out of the driveway, he heard a loud clanging noise. the contact noticed that the tire was flat and was advised by aaa that the right spring clip had broken loose. the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealership where the contact informed that the vehicle was not included in any recalls and he would be responsible for repair costs. the vehicle was being repaired at the time of the complaint. the current and failure mileages were approximately 94,000. updated 11/29/10 *bf the consumer was informed that the right front spring had rusted loose, which caused the frame to collapse onto the tire, blowing out the tire. the consumer has since traded the vehicle. updated 12/08/10*jb

I have a 2002 ford taurus. i discovered on june 7, 2010 that both rear coil suspension springs are broken on the rear of the car. i had a flat tire that i took to have repaired. the side wall was cut and the tire could not be repaired. i had the tire replaced and before i could leave the parking lot the broken spring had cut and ruined the new tire. this defect could result in serious injury. i could have had a tire blow out, i was lucky that i did not leave the parking lot of the tire repair center. the car is at the ford dealership being evaluated for repair. at this time there are no recalls on my car. this is a common problem with these ford cars and i understand that several complaints have already been filed. i am very concerned about the safety of this car. i understand that there have also been problems with the front coil suspension springs breaking and puncturing tires. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. while driving at approximately 5mph, the contact heard an unusual noise and noticed that the vehicle suspension was sitting lower than normal. the front drivers side coil spring had also broken. as a result, there was also a dent in the front drivers tire. the manufacturer advised that the vehicle was not under recall and would not provide any assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were 98,500.

The passenger rear spring busted on my 2002 ford taurus while just sitting in the driveway. about 2 months ago the front driver's side spring busted while i was backing out of the garage (i already filed a complaint for that incident). *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. while driving at 40 mph, the contact heard a popping noise when turning. the contact stated that when she arrived at her destination, she noticed that the front driver side coil spring had broken. the contact called the dealership and the dealer stated that they would not assist with repairs costs as the vehicle was no longer under warranty. the vehicle had not been inspected or repaired at the time of the complaint. the current and failure mileages were approximately 150,000.

When backing out of my driveway my left front tire on my 2002 taurus exploded. my car has under 64,000 miles on it and my tires were less then 6 months old. the spring broke and cut the tire half way around. i was just stopping to look for traffic when it happened. had this happened 3 days before i would have been on the freeway with my grandchild. ford knows of this problem and recalled all cars up to 2001 even though these are the same springs. how needs to die before they fix this. i am afraid to even drive it because i see someone had it happen 2 times . it may cost up to $1,000 to repair it and that is not counting the towing and the new tire. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the contact stated that on may 27, 2010, while driving at 20 mph, the front suspension broke and punctured the tire which caused a loss of vehicle control. the contact was able to bring the vehicle to a complete stop. the vehicle was then towed to a repair shop where the front suspension and coil spring were replaced. the contact called the manufacturer who stated that the vehicle was not included in any recalls. the current and failure mileages were approximately 98,000.

My car is a 2002 ford taurus ses, today i sat down in the drivers seat, but when i did i heard a loud crash much like if someone dropped a metal pan on the drop, and the car sunk noticeably. i wasn't sure what to do, so i was going to drive it around the block to test it, but i barely made it three feet. as soon as i put it in drive the car began shuddering and making a shrieking noise. i immediately stopped and put it in reverse, but as i soon i took my foot off the brake it made a nasty noise and the tire was shredded. we got it towed to the mechanics and he said the spring snapped. he said that fixing it would require replacing the front strut assembly, springs, sway bar and the links. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the contact stated he heard an unusual noise in the vehicle and it was taken to a local repair shop. he was advised that the rear suspension had fractured and would need to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired and neither the dealer nor manufacturer were contacted to report the failure. the failure and current mileage were 107,000. updated 11/16/10 *cn updated 11/26/10

Own a 2002 ford taurus. car parked in parking garage while at work. after work went to car, started it, put into reverse, moved not even three inches, sound like gunshot, front spring blew through front tire on driver side. my son said i had guardian angel...would have been killed if car had actually made it to the road. i have only had car three years. towed to repair shop, mechanic said looks just like recall situation on 2001 taurus, same spring incident..mine naturally not covered, but this is wrong. i was not aware of recalls on 2001 vehicles. i have no money, this repair will set me back quite a bit. i am thankful that nobody was hurt by flying parts! *tr

My 2002 taurus with 76,097 miles that has been garage kept for 7.5 years had the front drivers side coil spring rupture. fortunately it broke when i put it in gear and moved about three inches in my driveway. if i had been driving down the highway, i would have flipped and rolled as i would have had no time to brake. when it broke, it took only about a half second to shred my tire and drop the rim to the ground. the ruptured coil spring put a 5-6 inch gash in my tire and broke the sway bar link. i had to have the vehicle towed to the dealer. the dealer told me that they (ford) knows that there is a problem and they refuse to issue a recall. my service representative also had this happen to his car. i asked the dealer to replace both front springs, broken sway bar link, and struts. when i was leaving the rep told me that i still have two of the same springs in the rear and that i may experience the same problem with one of those, as was his experience too. i also had to buy a new tire. total cost of $989. when i started to research the problem, i noticed that this had happened to so many other people and that there was no recall, i was deeply concerned. i believe that this should be investigated fully as it has the ability to cause loss of life. thank you for your time. *tr

Front coil spring broke, puncturing adjacent tire and breaking the suspension linkage. *tr

Car was parked,when i went to get into car to go to work,i heard a bang! i went to inquire,i noticed a piece of broken white nylon stabilizer link,then i went to put car in reverse,and the drivers side strut spring went into tire,if i had been driving,a serious accident could have occurred! please help taurus owners with this problem. thank you! *tr

About 5 months ago i filed a complaint about my strut spring breaking and going into tire! i was told that issue is still under investigation! please give me a status! i have friends with same issues,and these cars should be recalled,its obvious that the strut or springs are defective. im afraid of driving the car and i should not have to pay for this defective part! *tr