Problems with 2003 Ford Taurus ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. while driving 55 mph, the anti-theft warning light illuminated and the vehicle lost all power and shut off. the dealer replaced a sensor at the cost of $400, but the failure continued. the vehicle was taken to the dealer three times and they replaced the sensor again. the automatic control and powertrain control modules were replaced and a new computer was installed; however, the failure continued. during the final time the vehicle was taken to the dealer, they stated that an engineer would be flown in to determine the cause of the failure. the engineer concluded that the vehicle was losing 2.4 volts while driving, which caused it to shut off. bypass wires were installed on the vehicle in an attempt to get it to operate correctly. the vehicle was in the shop for over 30 days and is currently awaiting repairs. the failure mileage was 65,000 and failure mileage was 66,693. updated 09/25/08 *bf updated 09/26/08. *jb

I purchased my 2003 ford taurus from carmax in baltimore, md in sept 2006 after trading in my 2000 ford ranger. the taurus was a rental car in nj before being sold to carmax. since i purchased the car, i have had to replace the battery, starter, blower motor relay, transmission gasket and now the air compressor, power steering pump and belt needs to be replaced. *tr

2003 ford taurus se with 33,000 miles. blower fan quit working on low speeds spring of 2008. repaired july 7, 2008 by replacing blower motor resistor. this worked for less than a month before failing again. determined that banging on dash would allow blower to work. after first freeze of the 2008 winter season the blower quit and has not worked since. the car is unsafe to drive: the windows have ice on the inside severely limiting visibility, the temperature inside the car is near ambient - which is currently below freezing. *tr

I discovered earlier year that water was leaking into the floorboard of my car's passenger side front seat. i never noticed it before, since i am always the driver, and rarely have passengers. in researching the problem, i found that it was a design error, and i have tried to plug the holes where water is coming in. i still have periodic leaks. as a result of the water leak, my blower has now shorted out. this is design error and ford should have to rectify it. this is an ongoing complaint with ford, please see other complaints attached to recall number 03v087000 and complaint 10184014. please help!! *tr

I purchased the car on 2/11/08 and then took it back to the dealer the next day because the door panel broke off and the car was idling high when i drive it. they knocked $1,000 off of the sales price and took off the ford warranty for this exchange and they wrote out another sales contract. a month later, the starter went out and i paid $200.00 to fix it (out of my pocket). then, on 4/7/08 when i was on my way to work, the car broke down again and i called raceway ford. the car dealer whom sold me the car told me that he don't know if they can help me and if they did fix it, he said he wouldn't know when it'll be ready because he's not a mechanic (in a very sarcastic tone). he told me to just call back when the manager arrive at 3 p.m. today. i had to get my car repaired the same day so i took my car to general automotive shop in moreno valley and paid $688.00 (out of my pocket) to get it repaired. after my car was repaired, on 4/7/08, i went to raceway ford and waited 15 minutes to talk to the sales manager, even though he was in his office, only 20ft away from where i was waiting, he sent his assistant manager to come out to talk to me because the assistant manager said the manager was too busy to handle the situation at this time. so, i explained all the problems i?ve had with the vehicle, which i purchased from them. the assistant manager made copies of my repair bills and told me that he promise he'll try to help me as best as he can and he'll call me back tomorrow (on 04/08/08). today is 4/10/08 and i haven?t heard from the manager or the assistant manager in regards to this dilemma. neither one of them has tried to contact me. i strongly believe that if they would have did a diagnostic on the vehicle before they sold it to me, this problem wouldn't even exist. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact experienced several wiring malfunctions with the vehicle. the instrument panel lights would periodically illuminate automatically, and the headlights were also turning on and off without activating the light switch. the engine would also rev automatically and, when switching from park to drive, the engine would rev again. in addition, when in park, the vehicle would shut off by itself and have to be placed into neutral in order to be restarted. an independent mechanic could not locate the cause of the failure. a diagnostic was also performed, but it did not produce a failure code. the vin was unknown. the failure mileage was 75,000 and current mileage was 81,000.

03 ford taurus, the heat has quit working in the car first i lost low and the next two speed controls then i lost high speed altogether. doing research at other websites this is a very common problem. also there has been the occasional water leak on the passenger floor board. where is the recall. *tr

About 3 months ago, my windshield wipers began turning themselves on and off for various lengths of time, while switched off. now they run almost non stop. dealer suggests multifunction switch (i changed it -didn't work), or a gem module. a search at taurus car club sites shows this to be a common problem. consumer reports identifies overall electrical problems in all taurus' to be a common issue. *tr

Heater and a/c fan motor suddenly stopped. *tr

I am the original owner of a 2003 ford. the car has 52,000 miles and no problems until now. the car engine light came on one evening so, the next day i brought it to be serviced. it was hooked up to the electronic computer analyzer only to find out that the computer board was no good. the mechanic installs the new computer board. two weeks later i go to start the car and the rpm is accelerating like i'm driving 60mph while in park! the battery light stayed on the whole time. when i tried to put the car in neutral or drive the rpms gradually go down and the car shuts off. finally, i had to had aaa tow me back to the garage who serviced the car. the alternator was no good. after the new alternator was installed the mechanic said it still did not run properly which, lead him back to the computer board. there is problem with the computer board again. i've had 3 fords in the past and none of them ever had a problem with the computer board. *tr

2003 ford taurus. severe stalling problems. also, before each stalling incident the dashboard lights will flash on and off, and the speedometer and tachometer will fluctuate. these problems occur when the auto is at driving speed or at idle. the most severe incident occurred when i was driving at approximately 50 mph. the dashboard lights flashed and the engine died. i have taken the auto to the ford dealership in norman, ok. they have not been able to diagnose the problem. *jb

Have a 2003 ford taurus ses; 80k miles. initially, my fan only worked on high. i just dealt w/ it, no big deal, but eventually, my alternator went out... so after i changed that, my fan no longer works at all. i have to replace the blower motor & the resistor for it. in the mean time, due to the fan not working, i almost was in an accident due to the defrost not being able to do it's job, and because there was no heat, i got a cold and missed some work. i am filing this complaint due to the number of people i have found that have had the same problem w/ their ford taurus. this seems to be a recurring problem, if that's the case, there should be a recall on the part for a resolution. bad choice on fords part. next time, i'll buy honda. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. while decelerating from 30 mph, the vehicle stalled in traffic and stopped on its own. the battery light illuminated before the failure occurred. the vehicle would not restart. the vehicle was jumped and taken to the contact's residence before being towed to the dealer. the dealer stated that the alternator needed to be replaced; however, no repairs were made. this is the third time that the alternator needed to be replaced. the current and failure mileages were 50,400.

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. while driving 70 mph, the vehicle shut off in the middle of the highway. all of the instrument panel lights illuminated. the vehicle was able to be restarted, but then shut off again. the contact stated that the speedometer also displayed the incorrect speed. the dealer acknowledged the failures, but the diagnostic indicated that nothing was wrong with the vehicle. the vehicle is currently at the dealer. the current mileage was 122,000 and failure mileage was 100,000.

Anti-theft system failing, causing vehicle to shut off while driving. *tr

2003 ford taurus stalls at high speeds and at slowing down. *ak

Ac/heater blower only operates on high - speeds 1,2,3, no air blowing. blower resistor part (f6dz-19a706-aa) has been replaced three times in six years. obviously, there is a defect/known problem that ford should be addressing. *tr

Water leak causing blower motor and resistor to fail on 2003 ford taurus. *jb

When someone was going to do something about the stalling problems while driving2003 ford taurus. sometimes it wasd at a stop, but it also happened at highway speeds. it choked out, the gauges went haywire, and it stalled. thiswas something i found on blogs was a common complaint by taurus owners. it was a distraction that could cause an accident at highway speeds. it was scary when it happened. *ak

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact stated that the windshield slipped down and she heard a lot of wind noise, rattling, and water leakage. the floor began to rust, the lights flickered, and the cruise control failed due to water damage. the alternator was replaced twice due to water damage. the manufacturer stated that the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign id number 03v087000 (visibility:windshield). the failure mileage was 43,000 and current mileage was 68,000. updated 04-02-08 *bf the vehicle jerks when the consumer drives over 35 mph. the dashboard lights go dim. the vehicle would also stall. the dealer stated it was due to a bad alternator. updated

Their was a winter storm and the blower on my 2003 taurus was not working. when the tempatures started to rise and the snow/ice melted there was a significant consolsation on the unit as well as on the floor boards. the motor hissed, then started then stopped. i have a friend who had the motor replaced a few weeks ago for the same reason.

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact stated that the windshield defroster must be powered on and off in order for it to operate. the contact was unable to retrieve air or heat inside the vehicle. the weather conditions were rainy. the manufacturer advised the contact to bring the vehicle to the dealer. the dealer stated that the blower motor failed and contained water damage. ford agreed to pay for half of the repairs. the current mileage was a 16,400 and failure mileage was 16,300.*ak the consumer states he would like to reimbursed for amount he paid of $182.00, however ford only agreed to pay for a portion of the repair. updated 05/04/07*tr

While driving at highway speeds the vehicle went dead for 1 to 3 seconds and then started back up again. it was to the point that i would not allow my wife to drive the vehicle since she may panic and have and accident. i have taken the car to dealer, and no one seemed to know the cause for this.*ak

Have replaced the blower motor resistors on a 2003 ford taurus twice (paid for twice at a ford repair shop) and it has quit again - all within a two month period. afraid to let them try again. *jb

2003 ford taurus ses. ford tsb 4-15-3, nhtsa #10011149. blower motor resistor failure. moisture causes the resistor to short out. moisture and electrical short is a fire hazard. resistor and blower motor must be replaced and blower motor housing must be resealed. this same problem has occurred in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004 model years. defective workmanship and materials. *jb

Blower motor (blown) issues with water leakage and a very wet and smelly car . *jb

I own a 2003 ford taurus and i had to replace the blower motor, a resistor and the bower motor wheel. this was do to a defective design by ford that lets moisture into the blower motor area thus causing it to fail, they refuse to do a recall and i have seen thousands of the same complaints on websites for auto repair. *jb

Blower motor switch went out, plus water leak on passenger front side. *nm

I have a 2003 ford taurus se, while driving on the freeway i tried to make a phone call home. at the time my phone could not connect, i re-tried the phone call my phone made a clicking sound, simultaneously my dash board blinked out and reset to all the wrong information. when i exited the freeway i pulled over and restarted my vehicle everything reset correctly. i contacted ford, they said it was a voltage spike. i then talked to a good friend in the research and development dept. at a competitor. he told me that certain types of cell phone signals will interfere with the electronic devices in some vehicles. i think that ford should take this a bit more seriously because if this is a problem that this model taurus has, it should be addressed. *jb

Yesterday my ford taurus 2003 while my child was with me had the engine go wild out of control. the engine all by its self started racing at high speed and there was no control of it. i had good sense to hold down the brake and shifted it into neutral. it ran this way for a minute or two. i almost killed myself and my daughter. i took the car right away to westfield ford 708-354-8600 and was told that the computer that controls the engine went wacky and needed to be re-programmed. this is a very serious condition when the car can just take off by its self with no safety shut down. please investigate maybe someone was killed this way because of a defect in a computer. if there was more traffic present i could have died along with my child. the customer report from westfield says 94490 diagnosis j# 1 06f0z0engd. the ford people seemed to act like this has happened before to other people. *jb

On 6-7-06, while driving the car to work, the fan motor quit. for the next week, the motor would quit or fail to run any time that it was raining or had rained. this effected using the defrost and the air conditioning. after checking all fuses, i finally took the car into the dealer service department. one of the service advisors looked at the car and asked if this was a 2003 model taurus? he then explained that this problem is common with that car. he explained about the water getting in the motor and that there was a tsb on how to fix this. however, ford would not cover any of the cost since there was no recall at this time. total cost of the repair was 401.14 dollars. since this caused a electrical short and was not protected by fuses, i am surprised that there was not a fire. the car was less than three years old but had 37,398 miles when the repair was completed. *nm

I purchased a 2003 ford taurus with a five year extended warranty from elder ford. blower motor was full of water that leaked through the vent. this made it burn out. the dealer wants $420 to replace the motor and cowl cover. this is a design problem, i have not modified any parts of the vehicle. not even three years later this is the problem i am having. and i was told by the dealer that this is not covered under my warranty that i purchased for over $800. i feel that this should be covered and ford should not be ripping people off by building junk. *ak

Dt*: the consumer stated the turn signals and hazard lights worked intermittently. if the steering wheel was in the up position, both of the signal lights work properly. if the steering wheel was the up and standard position, the lights would malfunction. the dealership and manufacturer have not been contacted. *jb updated 02/09/06. *jb

When driving my 2003 ford taurus wagon it stalls for only a few seconds but comes back on by itself. this doesn't happen all the time but you never know when it will. at traffic light & all dashboard lights came on &car did stall & i had to restart car. driving at 65mph on highway all lights on dashboard will come on & car stalls but restarts on its own which is scary. warranty already expired. *tr

Dt*: the contact stated the front windshield glass leaked during rainy weather and puddles of rainwater form in the floorboard. the vehicle was inspected by the dealer. the dealer replaced the sealant around the windshield glass. afterwards, the problem persisted. there was a nhtsa recall # 03v087000 regarding visibility. the vin was not included in the recall. the manufacturer was not alerted. the battery needed to be replaced, because the vehicle would not start. the air condition failed. updated 09/22/06. *jb

Dt: the contact stated while driving smoke started coming from underneath the dashboard. upon inspection by a local mechanic it was determined there was a short in the blower motor. water could gather in the area where the blower motor was located. the mechanic replaced the blower motor and installed a special kit to waterproof the area. there was a technical service bulletin for this specific problem. *ak

Dt: 2003 ford taurus. vehicle stalled on june 13, 2005 and all the dashboard indicator lights came on and stayed for just a couple of seconds. this happened at least 7 times since then. the car will never completely die, it just mad ethe consumer fell that he haad no control of vehicle. when it did die it will restart, and the car was back to normal. took vehicle to dealer, and they checked it out and could not find anything wrong. *ak

Dt: about four months ago the engine would completely shut down while driving with a loss of power. this happened without warning, no previous stalling. once the engine died, a period of about ten minutes would pass, and then a restart would be possible. sometimes it would take numerous times to restart. after the first occurrence, the consumer took the vehicle to a ford dealer, where it was still under warranty, and they replaced the fuel pump. the fuel pump did not correct the problem because the engine would still die. the consumer did return to the dealer, and they performed a diagnostic test which showed a valve assembly control failure and it was replaced. also, they performed fuel pump pressure test, recorder monitor road test, check of battery condition, and a replacement of the electrical fuel pump assembly. after all of these tests and corrections, this was still a problem. the vehicle continued to have a problem that has not been corrected. the consumer went to the dealer six times, and has not contacted ford manufacturer. after all of these attempts the dealer suggested to the consumer to call nhtsa and check the lemon law. *ak updated 12/27/05. *jb

I have a concern of regarding a safety issue on my 2003 ford taurus. i am not sure if this is the right place to lodge a complaint, but would direct me to the right source if not.*ak sunday, november 21, 2004, i changed oil on my 2003 ford taurus. like many vehicles i have changed oil on, i was not very pleased with the location of the oil filter. it is located beneath the manifold (extreme heat) and above the solenoid for the starter. it was the solenoid that i was suspicious about and that suspicion came true sunday evening. when you take off the oil filter, oil drips onto the solenoid. i cannot imagine why an engineer would allow a location for a flammable liquid to drip onto a power source. when i used a filter wrench to get the oil filter off, the wrench knocked off the protective cap that covers the power leads and ground to the solenoid. what happened after that was not a positive experience. the oil wrench and the power leads made contact and immediately started sparking. the sparks in turn started a fire in my engine compartment and melted the metal band that surrounds the oil filter wrench. as quickly as i could, i grabbed some rags and doused the fire. as far as i could see, no damage was done to the electrical wires. aside from getting shocked from the solenoid and getting minor burns i am okay. however, that is not the issue. what if i had not put the fire out? would the car and possibly my garage been engulfed in fire? i contacted the service department where i purchased the ford taurus (valley ford, fargo) and voiced my concern. the service technician agreed that this solenoid was in an awful place. he also said to make sure the protective cap was placed over the terminal leads of the solenoid again. please advise me as to what my next step is. or, is this a safety issue that i am overreacting to? i anxiously await your response.

The driver noticed while driving the passenger side dashboard fallen apart. the driver was able to contact the dealer for an appointment and inspection. please fill in additional information.

Intermittent hesitation during aceleration. north bound, two lane ct 85. clear, dry pm. resevoir to my right, trees, signaled for a left turn, no oncomming traffic. i slowed to make turn, then accelerated. i saw a vehicle pull out to pass, several cars behind. my car started to gain speed, then hesitated, the rpm started to build up. the suv struck my right rear light, and bumper. the accident scene was rual, over a mile to nearest dweling. no phone. other driver returned to scene. no witnesses stopped. after the body repair work was complete, the service department at simon ford could not find any proble. probleb manifested itself 5 or 6 times on the way home. it also showed up driving back to simon ford. did not recur while mechanic was with me, for test drive. problem has occured about 12 times since. the 2003 ford turus currently has 482 miles on it. purchased with 64 miles, and accident at 137miles. when problem occurs, after about one second rpm builds to about 1500 rpm, then hangs there for one to two seconds, before increasing. it is as if the engin cut back to two cylinders, then increases to four, and finanly back to six.*ak

At about 8000 miles i was driving my 2003 taurus when i noticed an electrical smell. i pulled over and shut the air conditioning off to listen to my vehicle. the car sounded like it was continually turning over while running. i turned the car off and removed the keys, but the car would not shut off. i pulled my baby from the vehicle and ran. smoke was pouring from hood. the mechanic said the solenoid shorted internally causing starter to engage. we have since had many starting problems. right now my car is in the shop for the 11th day in row.they are on the sixth attempt to fix the vehicle. the car will crank, but not start. the second try it will then sputter and start. they have even replaced the computer and that did not fix it. also the tires had to be replaced at 22,500 miles due to vigorous shaking. the whole car would start to vibrate at about 40 mph. at 75 on the interstate the front of the car would shake for about 30 seconds then quit for 30 seconds. this routine continued through out the trip. *jb

Vehicle stalls and dies out at any given time. *ak

Vehicle hesitates or stalls out while in motion. all the dash lights come and then there is a sudden loss of electric power. have two of the same vehicle and have the problem with both. ford has tried to correct this but all attempts have failed. both cars are still under warranty and have about 54000 miles. the cars have been driven with recorders and computer but no codes come up. lately, they have been hesitating/stalling at least a couple of times a week. sometimes they stall while driving and sometimes while at a light. the worst is when the lights all come on and they hesitate while moving at 65 mph with an eight wheeler or suv right behind. my wife, two daughters, & i have all experienced this situation and it's very frightening. *ak

Same as complaint no. 10194207 but with a second vehicle. it hesitates or stalls with no notice other than all the dash lights coming on for a few seconds. then, there is a loss of power. happens when car is in motion and at intersections. car can be going 60 mph or can be at a stoplight. has been on flight recorder and computer, but no codes. different fixes have been tried by ford, but so far nothing has worked for very long. had both cars in shop again this month for the problem. no one is able to identify the specific problem, so the trial and error method has been for the most recent stays in the shop. left one of the vehicles at ford for about a week earlier this month. the other was in on and off 2 or 3 times this month. the hesitation and stalling and repeated repair attempts have been going on for awhile because we were told the problem was fixed or could be fixed, but now it is very unlikely with two cars having the same problem and yet to be fixed.*ak