Problems with 2002 Ford Taurus SUSPENSION

I was backing my car out of the garage. right front spring shattered, shooting down into and puncturing the tire. i had this incident happened while the car was driving on a highway or even on a side street, the potential that my wife and kids could have been seriously injured is quite probable. per the tow truck driver, this is a known and common problem with ford taurus. if so, given the potential serious safety issue involved, why has there not been a recall? *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the vehicle's front drivers side coil spring exploded while driving. the vehicle was towed to the dealer who performed the repair. the failure caused the vehicle to surge to the left. the contact feels that this is a huge safety risk because someone could have been injured. the current and failure mileages were 40,462.

car was parked when left front sring broke and punctured the tire, resulting in need to replace two front springs, tire, sway bars and struts. *ak

I own 2002 ford tarus. while backing car out of driveway heard a odd sound coming from the front of the car. as i was stopping the car the right front tire exploded. i really was not sure what had happened since i was only going about 2 mph. i got out of the car to see what had happened, as i walked around the front of the car, saw that the right front tire was flat. i was not really sure what to make of the situation, so i began to prep the car for a tire change. as i was loosening the tire something just did not seem right. when i pulled the tire off i was in shock. it was the same thing that happened to this car about seven months ago. the coil spring on the right front broke, and took out a one month old tire in the process. i had the spring on the left side replaced about seven months ago. my blood ran hot! i have two small children, they were in the car with me, both times. as of right now the car is still under a extended warranty and is being repaired. these cars are not safe for a monkey to drive, after all that is who builds them. i have checked out this problem with these cars and lets just say that this isn't the first time this has happened. it happened in 1999,2000,and in 2001. but ford still claimed that there was no problem with the 2002 models. this was not something that just needs checked out, this is not a windshield wiper issue, or a trunk lid issue, this is a going down the road and then your dead issue. i will never own another ford product as long as i live. we are approaching the year 2010 and ford cant even build a car that you can back out of driveway with. good luck in the future, your going to need it.*ak

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the contact stated that while driving in reverse approximately 5 mph, a loud noise emitted outside of the vehicle. the contact noticed that the front passenger's side tire was deflated and exhibited a puncture as a result of the fractured coil spring. the vehicle was not repaired. the contact stated that the failure was experienced several times. the manufacturer had not been notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 100,000. updated 06/18/13*lj the consumer stated the coil springs in the front failed 3 times as well as 2 in the back. this failure punctured 3 tires causing them to go flat. updated 06/24/2013 *js

The left rear coil spring on the 2002 ford taurus fractured two days ago. the car only has 31,249 miles on it. not only did the coil spring break, which in turn, severely damaged left front tire, it also caused the suspension to drop, damaging the rear struts. the right rear coil spring was also rusted and breaking apart. i had to replace both rear coil springs, both rear struts, left rear tire ,and had to have an alignment. i have been informed that since the car was a 2002 model year it was not covered under the nhtsa recall # 04v332000 / ford taurus 1999-2001 regarding coil springs, even though it was the same identical problem. i felt that ford was liable to cover any costs associated with the breakage. nhtsa was investigating at this moment over 131 complaints received of rear coil spring fracture in the taurus 2001 and 2002 models. review of literature indicated that defective coil springs on 1992-2004 aerostar, focus, sable, taurus, and windstar models may suddenly break, puncturing the front tire , and leading to loss of steering control. under safety improvement campaign negotiated with nhtsa ford should replace broken coil springs at no charge up to 10 years/unlimited mileage. *ak

2002 ford, taurus had broken right front spring. *ak

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. while driving no more than 25 mph, the contact smelled burning rubber and then heard a tire pop. he pulled off the road and had the vehicle towed. the mechanic informed him that the front driver side coil springs failed and punctured the tire. the coil springs were repaired. the failure recurred one year later with the front passenger side coil springs. he called ford and was informed of a recall on his make and model vehicle; however, his vin and year were not included. the failure mileage was 100,000 and current mileage was 121,000.

I entered the vehicle (2002 ford taurus), turned the ignition, put it into reverse, moved back approximately 6 inches, and heard a loud popping sound. i realized the front driver side tire had blown out. after calling a tow truck to take the tire off (lug nuts were screwed on much too tight to be taken off by hand), he immediately determined the cause of the flat tire as he removed part of the broken coil spring by hand. it was towed to the local ford dealership where the estimated cost to repair the damaged spring and stabilizer link was $335.

On my ford taurus the left front coil over spring broke taking out tire and sway bar link called ford motor co they said to bad no warranty i think it is unfair given the known problems with ford and front coil springs i have another clam #10267309. *tr

On april 25 2007 started the 2002 ford taurus passenger sedan vechicle in garage aqnd immediately heard a horrendous explosion noise . immediately following the front left tire deflated. i thought that the explosive type noise was excessively high . also, thought t i had a bad tire that blew out. i called aaa to change my tire that evening,and aaa mechanic realized he could not get the tire off the car and looked under with flashlight to see why. he said that he reason he could not get the tire off the car was becasue the spring broke and was embedded into the front tire. he handed me the top of the spring that was broken. *ak upon the ordeal fo getting car out ofgarage and to ford muzi dealership/service department, i was informed by the several of the flatbed drivers that this was a problem with ford taurus and they had seen this happen before. i was further informed by the drivers that ford had recalled other years of this model. one he driver said he had one instance of a 2002 model on the highway also., i consulted with the service department manager who told me that it was a problem with the ford taurus and that other years were recalled for this problem but not the 2002. upon review of the nhts information the 1999 , 2000 , and 2001 ford taurus sedans have been recalled for the exact same thing that has just happened to my car. this is indeed a very serious safety problem with this 2002 ford taurus and most definely could have caused my death as well as others if this happened on the highway, or anywhere else.with fast speeds i am sure this car would have turned over instantaneously as it happended so fast, a matter of less than 1-2 minutes for the tire to delfate. i hope that your safety department will address this issue promptly because i am sure that this can and will happened to other owners of this 2002 ford taurus passenger sedan

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. while driving approximately 3 mph, the front coil spring failed and punctured the tire. the mechanic was unable to diagnose the cause of failure and the vehicle has not been repaired. there is a recall # 04v332000 for the 2001 taurus. the contact feels his vehicle should be included in the recall. the current and failure mileages were 54,000.

Broken driver's side coil spring on my 2002 ford taurus se. *tr

Left front coil spring broke while driving. the problems with the springs breaking is not just the front springs. on 4/2/10 i replaced the back springs with a quick strut assembly do to car sagging and the right rear spring was broke slowly digging in to my tire. i know of a few others that have had the same problem. i just happen to come across this site and thought i would post.

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. while driving 5 mph, the front coil spring failed and punctured the driver's side front tire. there were no injuries. the vehicle has been repaired. the contact has the coil springs and repair invoices. the failure and current mileage was 70,000.

Make: ford, model: taurus, year: 2002, i was told by the manufacturer of these coil springs mubea: this condition has existed since 2002 for my coil springs rusting and breaking causing tire and car damage. i sustained this damage pulling out of my parking lot onto i-75 @ 176 mile marker north. why is there not the same recall as the one listed below. i keep my car in top running order. this is not fair when the manufacturer is well aware of this condition! i spent 536.00 to replace the right side at airport ford not counting the new tire. i want the other side left side replaced by ford. e.g.:nhtsa action number: pe05054 summary: the office of defect investigation (odi) opened preliminary evaluation, pe05-054, based on 131 vehicle owner questionnaires related to alleged rear coil spring fractures. since opening the investigation there have been an additional sixty-three (63) complaints alleging rear coil spring fracture. an analysis of the vehicle owner questionnaires (voqs) submitted to odi reveals that 42% of the complainants allege that the adjacent tire was punctured as result of a rear coil spring fracture. additionally, an analysis of the complaint data received by odi from ford reveals the following: there were a total of 553 unique vehicle complaints of coil spring fracture. 30% of the complaints allege that the rear coil spring fracture resulted in the adjacent tire being punctured. an engineering analysis (ea06-002) is being opened to further examine the potential safety implications of the rear coil spring fractures as related to tire punctures. *tr

Tl*- the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. he noticed the front driver's side tire was flat due to a puncture by the coil spring. the dealer inspected the vehicle, but they were unable to determine the reason for the failure. there was a recall for the same make and model recall # 04v332000 concerning the coil spring. however, the 2002 models were not included. the contact felt this vehicle should be included in the recall. the vehicle currently had 50,000 miles. *ak

Regular maintenance of 2002 ford taurus by a professional mechanic identified a fracture of the right rear suspension coil spring. this failure of a critical suspension component required replacement of both rear coil springs and struts. previous maintenance on the car had been performed in august 2006. therefore, the rear spring failure was thought to occur in the august 2006- april 2007 time frame. prior to the rear spring fracturing both front coils springs fractured. this fracture of the front springs occurred on july 15, 2005. it occurred while the vehicle was being driven at a speed of 35 mph. here the vehicle was safely brought to a stop, and was towed for repair before additional damage occurred. fortunately, tire punctures did not occur in any of the three spring failures described here.*ak

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. while driving 10 mph the contact heard a loud noise and stopped the vehicle. the contact observed that the front coil spring failed. the contact was able to drive the vehicle to the repair shop. the manufacturer stated that this vehicle was excluded from recall # 04v332000 due to the vin. the current and failure mileage were 40,000.*ak update 05/21/07*tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. on april 6, 2007 the contact stated that the front coil spring on the driver's side failed and punctured the vehicle's tire. the failure occurred while driving 5 mph on a cold, windy day. there was a safety recall on coil springs from 1999 - 2001. the current and failure mileage were 111,000. *ak updated 05/04/07. *jb

Front spring on 2002 ford taurus wagon broke without warning puncturing tire. 1999-2001 ford springs recalled...car only has approx. 36,000 miles on it. ford would not take any ownership of the problem eventhough there are numerous complaints by other owners with the same issue. thank god car was not moving. *tr

Events leading up to the failure was a approximately 100 mile round trip on the interstate traveling 65 mph, the evening prior to the incident. the failure consisted of the driver's side coil spring breaking and severly damaging the front diver's side tire and sway bar. the incident occurred while the vehicle was parked in a parking lot and not being driven. the make and model of the car was a 2002 ford taurus se. the dealership had to replace both front coil springs, replace the driver side sway bar, replace the tire, and realign the suspension.*ak

Front coil springs broke on 2002 ford taurus. *jb

My wife started to back out of the driveway in the 2002 ford taurus and heard a bang followed by hissing. she saw the flat tire and called her brother to come help since i was out of town ,and after he jacked the car up they saw the spring had broken and punctured the driver's side front tire. the spring was sticking far enough out that we could not put a new tire on, so we put the doughnut spare tire on and called a tow truck. the car was towed to a ford dealer ,where they replaced the two front springs, two front stabilizer links, and a new tire. total cost was $843.83. *ak

Tl* - the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus ses. the contact stated that the vehicle was parked, and when she got into the vehicle the coil spring on the front driver's side of the vehicle sheared and punctured the driver's side front tire. the contact stated that she had just had the tires rotated in december. the current and failure mileage on the vehicle were 48,000. *ak the consumer provided the invoices for repair and a picture of the defected coil spring. updated 06/25/07 *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. while driving in reverse at 3 mph the contact heard a grinding noise followed by the passenger rear tire blowing out. the contact discovered failure in the rear coil spring once the tire was removed. the vehicle was towed to a ford dealer, who was replacing the rear coil spring. the current and failure mileage were 90,000.*ak

Driver side coil spring broke when i was backing out of the garage. this destroyed the tire, rendering it undrivable. *jb

While moving the car only a few inches when pulling out of the garage a flat tire occurred with a loud noise. investigating the problem it was found that the driver's side front coil spring had snapped and punctured the tire. if the car had been on the highway this would have been a serious failure, causing loss of control. the car was towed to the nearest ford dealer, and i am in the process of having the spring and tire replaced. ford recall no. 04s17 discussed this potential failure and covered model years 1999-2001 for ford taurus and mercury sable. i have a 2002 ford taurus, and my vehicle was not covered by the recall. i contacted ford customer assistance and asked to have my vehicle included in the recall. they denied my request. since the problem discussed in the recall notice appeared to continue to be an issue for 2002 ford taurus vehicles, i believe that the recall should be extended to cover 2002 ford taurus. my concern included the possibility of this occurring on the other front spring as well as the sudden way in which this happened, and the possibility of loss of control. *ak

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the contact referred to recall # 04v332000. the contact stated that the drivers side coil spring failed. the vehicle was brought to a local mechanic to be remedied. the current and failure mileage were 83579.*ak the consumer informed there were no recalls for the vehicle. updated 05/15/07. *jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the contact heard a loud noise near the front of the vehicle. the passenger's side front tire had blown. the contact had the wheel removed from the vehicle and noticed that the front passenger coil spring was sheared and had punctured the front passenger tire. the contact would like nhtsa to address this failure as a safety hazard. the current mileage was 74,000.*ak update 05/04/07*tr

Just backing vehicle out of garage with no sign of a problem, left front corner of car dropped, followed by sound of air rushing out of tire. after jacking the car up to replace the tire, found one coil of the front spring stuck in the sidewall of tire. spring showed no signs of rust, just a clean break.*ak

I know there is a recall on ford taurus from 1999-2001 for the springs breaking. i have a 2002 ford taurus with the same problem. on 03/22/07, the passenger front spring broke at my house. it was covered under warranty. when it broke it slashed the wheel apart & broke a sensor. then, again on 04/09/07 the driver's side spring broke. it took out a few things when it broke. since this was the same problem, why don't they recall 2002 as well. what if it broke when i was driving on the highway. it could have resulted in a loss of my life & others. this was a serious problem & i didn't want to see anyone get hurt. *ak

My 2002 ford taurus se was parked when i went to pull out of the space, the car made loud snapping sounds and was jolted, then would not move properly. i got out to check and the driver' s side front tire was flat. put on the spare tire, and found a large gash cut into the inner wall of the flat tire. found out that a broken coil spring destroyed the tire. contacted two ford dealers as well as their national customer service center, and was told that there was no recall on the 2002 taurus, and they would not do anything to compensate me for the repairs, although i stated several times that this was a common and too well-known problem with the taurus. i have yet to pay the repair bill, but know it will be around $400.00 for the replacement of coil springs and tire. i am saving my receipts and the defective coil in the hope that a recall will be ordered. thank goodness this did not happen on the highway. *ak

Tl. while driving 20 mph in the 2002 ford taurus the rear passenger coil spring punctured the right rear tire. the contach change the tire and drove the vehicle to a dealer. the dealership replaced both coil springs. jrb

The passenger side front spring on my ford taurus snapped in half shoving the remaining spring into my tire. the car was sitting in the garage when it happened.*ak

After today i have replaced all the coil springs my 2002 ford taurus, which i purchased brand new. the first coil spring to go was a rear coil spring, fortunately when it decided to go i was driving on my street. it grazed the rear tire causing a giant rip. the car was still under warranty when this occurred. the second coil (front drivers side) went in march of 2007, it basically blew out my tire, on a busy street. it cause nearly $1500 worth of damage today my car went to a local ford dealership for service (unrelated to the coil springs) and i was told i need to replace two coil springs to the tune of over $700.00. i understand that there have been several complaints of this occurring on the 2002 ford taurus. *tr

2002 taurus, broken springs at <60,000 miles. very dangerous situation-it exploded the front tire while driving. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. while driving at 5 mph the right front coil spring fractured without warning. the driver's side front tire was punctured. the vehicle was repaired and the contact has the repair invoice. the current and failure mileages were 71,000. *ak update 05/22/07*tr

2002 ford taurus; 57k miles; wife was parked at work parking lot (no other vehicle. in lot, was working alone on a saturday). after work she went out and started the vehicle and put vehicle in (drive). the vehicle moved approximately 4 ft. and a large 'bang' came from the front of the vehicle. she immediately put the vehicle in park and shut off engine. she went to the front of the vehicle and noticed the tire flat. she then called home to have me come and help her change the tire. tried to remove the tire to change it, and i noticed that it was 'hung up' on something. realized the spring was broken, and had punctured the tire. (this tire had less than 2,000 mi on it). i then had to arrange for towing/service company to come and retrieve vehicle, and do repairs. the front stabilizer bar/spring assembly was replaced (on both sides); the tire was replaced with a new one; the front end was aligned. the total cost to me for this repair is just shy of $750. *jb

I was driving on a highway doing 60 km all of a sudden i heard a bang and thought the front tire blow up because the front of the car dropped and veered to the left and almost crashed . then had it towed to the dealer they check it and said the front spring broke and caused damage to the front driver side. 2,000 in damages .ford said there was no recall on the 2002 model but there was on the 2001. so i am out of luck. real nice. *jb

Tl* - the contact called regarding the 2002 ford taurus. the contact stated the rear coil springs failed. there were no warning indicators. the contact had not driven the vehicle for a few days when she noticed the rear of the vehicle was sagging. the failure mileage was 83,253. the contact was able to drive the vehicle to a local mechanic, and the vehicle was diagnosed as the rear springs needed to be replaced. *ak update 4/9 *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. while driving between 1-2 mph, the driver side coil spring failed. the dealer stated that there were no safety recalls. the vehicle was out of warranty and the contact's responsibility. the current and failure mileages were 69,523. updated 04-07-08 *bf

I own a 2002 ford taurus [xxx]. my family and i were getting into the car when something broke. we all thought it was a window but could not find any broken glass. i started the car and heard a crunching noise and then the driver side front tire exploded. when changing the tire, i noticed the coil spring was broken and it was dug into the tire. i had to call a tow truck and the driver said that this was common and there is a recall. when i got to the ford dealer, they said that this is not covered in recall #04v332000. this is consistent with the charactistics of the failure for the recall. updated 07/11/2012 *js information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)

Tl* - the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. while driving the vehicle at approximately 60 mph the driver's side front spring failed. the vehicle was towed and the spring and sway bar were replaced. approximately two weeks later the passenger's side front spring failed. the passenger front tire was punctured when the spring failed. the spring and sway bar were replaced. the failure mileage was approximately 70,000 miles. the contact has the repair invoices.

We are the original owners of vehicle. daughter called while in parking lot describing flat right front tire. when i went to change tire, it would not come off of rotor. upon further inspection, the coil spring had broken and was sticking through inside wall of tire. wheel would not rotate forward forward without ripping out side wall. if the spring would have broken while vehicle was moving, a locked right front tire could have flipped the vehicle or pulled it of into a tree. by the grace of god, the spring broke just prior to the vehicle being driven. *jb

Backing out of driveway, front driver side coil spring snapped, puncturing sidewall of tire. car was towed, cost for repair $650. *nm

The front passenger coil spring broke about 50 feet from the end of my driveway after the car left my house. the broken spring then proceeded to slice through and ruin the tire. happened at very low speed...thankfully. *nm

I backed out of a parking space and heard a grinding sound. i checked the front end but could not see any problems. i drove forward approximately 10 feet and heard a bang as the right front passenger side tire blew out. when i changed the tire i found the right front coil spring impaled in the tire's sidewall. the spring broke and the sharp end rotated into the tire. fifteen minutes earlier, i had been driving at 70 mph on i-80 before exiting at mishawaka. i had the car towed to a local garage , and the spring/strut assembly was vreplaced. the tow truck driver commented he had seen approximately 20 of these incidents over the past 12 months.*ak

The 2002 ford taurus began to shake during braking or over speeds of 20 mph. the shaking became worse until three of the five lug studs on the front driver side wheel snapped off. this caused the vehicle to become undrivable. the hub had to be completely removed and the five studs had to be replaced. *jb

I had a left front coil spring to break on my 2002 ford taurus while i was backing out of my driveway and sliced the tire all the way around. if this would have happened on the highway there could have been a serious collision, the struts were also bad witch could have caused this to happen. i still have the old parts. i replace the defective parts myself with parts that i got from advanced auto parts. the car only had approximately 63,000 miles on it. it happened sometime in feb of 2007 and also the power steering hose blew of sometime shortly after we bought the car while my wife was driving, luckily it happened in a parking lot instead of the highway. we bought the car sometime around september 2006. *jb