Problems with 2000 Ford Taurus SUSPENSION

I have a ford tarus 2000, with 41,000 miles, my wife went to drive the car and before she started the car -the car was stationary- there was an explosive sound in the front due to the left front tire blowing out. i raised the car with a jack and found the coil spring had broken apart and was embedded in the tire. had someone been driving the car at 70 mph it is quite likely the car would have rolled over. if a spring failure does happen while the car is at driving velocity and causes the car to wreck in one way or another, the broken spring will be seen as a result of the crash and not as the cause of the crash. the ford people told me there is no recall and that they are allowed 1% failure rate before a recall is initiated. the spring is very critical to steering and to allow 10,000 failures, a possible 10,000 fatalities per million is unacceptable. *jb

The front driver side coil spring failed, and punctured the tire. *jb

I have a 2000 ford taurus with about 40,000 miles, while pulling out of the driveway one morning i heard a loud explosion, at least one front coil spring broke (the driver side).*ak

The steering wheel vibrated at speeds of 40-50 mph. also the automatic transmission did not seem to engage in the correct gear.*jb

During a very cold snap, my wife started the car and hear a bang. i found the front coil spring had snapped and impaled the tire. it was an almost clean break, with a broken whisker of steel at the perimeter of the coil. ford had offered to supply a shroud to protect tires of cars in "rust-prone " states, but this was no rust-through. it was clearly a case of bad steel. others have had various luck with ford, even covering the cost of new springs and installation. i was told no, the warranty had expired, and that i didn't have the shrouds installed. where would i be then, except having a good tire and a broken spring that they still wouldn't cover? *tr

I have owned my 2002 ford taurus for 32 months. during this time, i have hade the the brake pedal switch replaced twice, new rear struts, replaced airbag system. the car is now back at ford to have a new transaxel installed. there have been more than $5,000 in repairs to this car which has just over 60,000 miles.

While driving the vehicle at slow speed the steering wheel will rock side to side vibrating heavily and it will be hard for the consumer to control the front vibration of the vehicle. dealer has been notified. please provide further information. ts

I was attempting a lane change at 75 mph the rear end of the car came around. i have noticed that the rear of the car slides very easily, i feel this is an engineering flaw. i was in a accident the airbags did not deploy and i was in the hospital. i have lost my car in a probable total loss. i feel that the rear of the car was engineered incorrectly. the rear of the car is too loose and loses traction on turns too easily. *ph *nlm **dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut over to artemis**768219

While driving front suspension rod broke. *ak

Wheel alignment was off due to corrosion. all four tires were warped, and needed to be replaced. dealership was aware of problem. *ak the dealer replaced rear right and left side lower control arms and bushings to correct the alignment problem. the driver side mirror had failed and was installed by the dealer. (continental tire size p215/60r16) *yh

Excessive front tire wear due to design and/or manufacturing defect in upper strut plate installation, resulting in improper alignment/chamber that cannot be corrected through realignment. this can result in tire failure, with obvious catastrophic results. ts

Vehicle was going 25mph and hit a pot hole. passenger's side air bag deployed. dealer was notified for appointment.*ak

My complaint about the rear suspension of my vehicle is that the body frame suspends down over the rear tires causing rubbing with frame and rear tires. also causes exhaust system to vibrate against flooring of vehicle.

Vehicle has three sets of front wheel bearings replaced within a year, but problem still occurring. feel free to provide any further information.*ak

Tires: reported vibration , shimmy and pulling to the left. took to dealer 6/24/2000 (1829) miles, balanced tires. on 11/14/2000 (9061)miles, 04/23/2001 (12871) balanced tires. finally, 5/25/2001 (14518) replaced two front tires. vibration and shimmy stopped but kept pulling to the left. on 10/10/2001 (23876) miles, charged me for alignment, car stopped pulling. transmission: at approximately 40800 miles car had a noticeable shudder while going in reverse. took to the dealer and was told it was a cracked casing as noted in tsb 15559 nhtsa number (630095) caused by miss manufacture of a part. was informed dealer or ford motor co. would not assist with repair cost to exceed $1495. brakes: reported brake problem on 5/25/2001 and 10/10/2001 when it was server, shaking and control problems when stopping. dealer cut front rotors which was out of spec.- problem is back. fuel: have smelled gas in my car many times. bought to dealers attention and of course could not find anything. car is to have 18 gal. tank but runs out of gas before that. gas gauge reads empty at 12 gal. and was told it was built to be that way. several complaints filed with you also describe my problems. odi numbers 760669, 896396, 897642 and 862471 are some. *ph *nlm **dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut over to artemis**769760

in reading th is particular complaint was one that i also experience daily and agree with original complainant in a blanket appeal to the ford motor corp to fix on a recall list sent soon.this is a 6-passenger rated sedan. this problem has been reported to the dealer several times, but dealer says nothing wrong. last week i put the car up on a hoist and made a visual inspection myself, and found defects that i believe warrant a recall. the problem: whenever i have one or two passengers in the back seat, the rear suspension make clunking noises. during my inspection, i found that the torsion bar is too weak and allows a the car to bottom out with a frame crossmember hitting the torsion bar. this happens on both torsion bars. these are parts that are not designed to hit each other (no rubber bump pads). in fact, if i were not so careful, this bottoming out could break the torsion bar a cause the car to lose control. in addition, there is evidence of the tailpipe rubbing against the left torsion bar which could eventually cause a carbon monoxide leak under the cabin. also, there is a brake line that is being rubbed and worn because it is wedged against the left torsion bar and will eventually wear through. i feel that all of these problems should be corrected at no cost to me by the dealer. the weak torsion bars that allow the car to bottom out may need a recall to replace with stronger ones. this is an extreme safety hazard especially for those who purchased this car as a family car and regularly put people in the back seat. i was surprised to see that you don't have this problem on your recall list already. jm. *ak

There is a rattling noise when going up hill. sounds like car is going to fall apart. dealer is aware of problem, but does not have a solution. please provide any further information.*ak

The front end of the vehicle makes noise, dips, and appears to lock up at stop signs at the end of a down hill incline, the dealer has replaced the catalytic converter, shift cable, stabilizer end links, brake pedal deactivator switch, and dealer has cleaned valve body, but the problem still persists, dealer has also checked brakes several times, however states they are good. nlm

Bad shimmy and wobble in front drivers side also makes steering wheel wobble bad. *jb

Stabilizer bar in the rear wheels broke and the rear wheels were ready to come off our car. if we had not pulled off the freeway exactly when we did, everyone in our automobile would most likely have been killed. the left rear wheel started coming off approximately two blocks after we exited the freeway. the automobile went out of control, and we had to have our brand new ford taurus towed to our car dealership. our dealer refused to take our car back, after our car had three safety problems, and we are now in litigation.*ak

I received fmvss no 110- does this result in this problem with my car. no safety defect listed in the summary. *ak

For the record: front end has a severe vibration that is coming from the engine cradle, espec. when light braking is taking affect or when ever your fooit is on the brake pedal. this is my seventh taurus and have never come accross this before i suspect that it could be strut valve that might be packing. the dealer will only turn the rotor or offer to balance the tires. this is not the problem so i apt to wait. the ssysmtom also feels like you have 80 psi in the front tires. i'm almost positie its strut rebons/preload packing. this will be a big concern to new owers and it is not a isolated case. this could lead to major suspension damame along with improper handling esp. under high speed braking. the wheel is not able to follow the imperfections of the road surface therefore the car will handle in a violent manner. ford should investigate this and recall these cars before accedents start occurring.*ak

When vehicle is loaded with about 600 pounds and when turning/ driving vehicle makes noise at the bottom where the exhaust pipe is located. but, when driving on the highway it won't make noise. apparently the exhaust pipe makes contact whenever traveling over bumps in the road. owner concerned that damage could be done to the pipe. *ak *ml

When driving vehicle shakes and vibrates , when applying brakes steering wheel shakes. *ak

Camber/caster failed causing the front end to be out of alignment. nlm

This is a 6-passenger rated sedan. this problem has been reported to the dealer several times, but dealer says nothing wrong. last week i put the car up on a hoist and made a visual inspection myself and found defects that i believe warrant a recall. i took about 35 photos and can make them available to you. the problem: whenever i have one or two passengers in the back seat, the rear suspension make clunking noises. during my inspection, i found that the torsion bar is too weak and allows a the car to bottom out with a frame crossmember hitting the torsion bar. this happens on both torsion bars. these are parts that are not designed to hit each other (no rubber bump pads). in fact, if i were not so careful, this bottoming out could break the torsion bar a cause the car to lose control. in addition, there is evidence of the tailpipe rubbing against the left torsion bar which could eventually cause a carbon monoxide leak under the cabin. also, there is a brake line that is being rubbed and worn because it is wedged against the left torsion bar and will eventually wear through. i feel that all of these problems should be corrected at no cost to me by the dealer. the weak torsion bars that allow the car to bottom out may need a recall to replace with stronger ones. this is an extreme safety hazard especially for those who purchased this car as a family car and regularly put people in the back seat. i was surprised to see that you don't have this problem on your recall list already. i can send you photos and/or take my car to an nhtsa inspection site for verification of these problems.*ak