Ford Taurus 1992 - Suspension - car safety information, failing parts, recalls, bulletins, complaints

Ford Taurus 1992

Recalls
Technical Service Bulletins
Defect investigations
Consumer Complaints

Recalls

Campaign	Manufacturer	Manufacturing date	Type	# of units affected	Date Owner notified Mfg	Recall Initiated by	Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products	Report Recieved Date	Record Creation Date
SUSPENSION - FRONT - SHOCK ABSORBER
94E036000	MONROE AUTO CORP.	from 01/01/1994 to 11/01/1994	E (Equipment)	98000	12/15/1994	MFR	FORD MOTOR COMPANY	11/25/1994	12/01/1994
Defect Summary	The arc welds on the sway bar bracket, where it attaches to the strut reserve tube, did not fuse properly.
Consequence Summary	Over time, a portion of the bracket can tear away from the strut, falling into and puncturing the tire or causing damage to the wheel, which could result in an accident.
Corrective Summary	Monroe dealers will replace the strut free of charge.
Notes	Equipment description: aftermarket shock absorbers for 1986 - 1994 ford taurus and mercury sable passenger cars; part 71780, 81780.if the vehicle is presented to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and the remedy is not provided free of charge within a reasonable time or the remedy does not correct the defect, please contact monroe at 1-800-521-6754. also, contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-800-424-9393.

Bulletins

Bulletin	Bulletin date	Item no.	Summary	Added
SUSPENSION - FRONT
9534	02/01/1995	39217	Rattling or clunking noise from the fron suspension. *tw	03/30/1995
9511	01/01/1995	39127	Premature wear on the inner edges of rear tires. *tw	03/16/1995
SUSPENSION - FRONT - MACPHERSON STRUT
94243	11/01/1994	37756	Vehicles may exhibit a clicking noise from the front struts. *tw	01/06/1995
SUSPENSION - REAR
RCL/94E55	03/01/1995	3013100	Unknown	11/01/1995
9556	03/01/1995	39880	Premature wear on inner edges of rear tires may be caused by rear camber and toe settings that are not within specification. *tw	11/01/1995

Investigations

NHTSA ID	Manufacturer	Date open	Date close	Subject	Recall campaign
SUSPENSION
PE93100	FORD MOTOR COMPANY	12/02/1993	06/30/1994	POLYCAST ROAD WHEEL CRACKS
	There is no summary currently available
SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - COIL SPRINGS
RQ98016	FORD MOTOR COMPANY	09/29/1998	01/12/1999	FRONT SUSPENSION SPRING BREAKAGE	98V094000
	Front suspension springs ay break due to manufacturing crachs in combination with corrosion.

Consumer Complaints

Fail date	miles	occurences	Purchase date
SUSPENSION
		1
	Vehicle experiences vibration, wheel alignment completed as well as change of tires, however continues to experience vibration, steering problems result from vibration. mjs

	Vehicle will vibrate when driving between 35-45 mph, making it difficult to steer and control, resulting in safety hazard. 6 repairs shops cannot determine the cause. *ak
03/14/1997		4
	When driving around 45mph or above vehicle would vibrate violently. moved vehicle to side of road & turned it off & restarted. had taken to mechanic several times for problem. had the fueld pump replaced 3 times & the computer chip replaced. vehicle had been test driven. problem still exists. *ak

	When proceeding from a stop sign and making a left or right turn a noise occurs on the passenger's side of the vehicle cause unknown. please give any further details . *ak
11/08/1998
	While driving at 50-55 mph vehicle swerved and shifted to the right. managed to keep the vehicle in control on the road. dealer moved and is not aware of the incident, problem still exists. *ak
03/17/1994		1	02/01/1994
	Tie rods failed .
		2	03/12/1992
	Front end tie-rods failed twice.
SUSPENSION - FRONT
04/30/2005	129000	1	05/15/1994
	Ford taurus, 1992, front k-frame broke loose from chassis resulting in a lock-up of the steering, fortunately at a low speed, thereby endangering the driver and passenger of the vehicle. the vehicle was towed to a local repair shop where we learned that this was not unusual in the 1989-1994 ford taurus cars. the failure of the structural member was caused by normal rust damage to the front a-frame. i would have expected to find this design defect on this site.ak nm

	When driving and either making a left or right hand turn consumer heard a noise coming from the front of vehicle, causing poor steering control. consumer has contacted dealer. please provide any further details. *ak
08/25/1999		1	08/01/1993
	Front end isn't secured to the chassis which is causing movement and shaking within the front end. ak front end bolt loose causing vibration in front end. yh
08/06/1998		8
	When turning vehicle to the right, it would be very difficult to turn &hard to control. also, would make a whinning noise. an ongoing problem & increasingly getting worse vehicle was not test driven by mechanic after taking to dealer. mechanic did not hear anything. odometer was reading the same mileage when it was taken in & picked up.
10/25/1998		4
	When vehicle is warmed up & would start to turn steering wheel, it would make grinding noises in the right front. sounds like metal to metal. taken to dealer several times. had both struts, tie rods, oxygen sensors replaced. noise still exists. mechanic could not locate problem. *ak
11/01/1998			01/01/1993
	Something broke on the front right side and fell out from under the car. the dealer is now out of business, and ford has not contacted us about a recall.the place that maintains our tires said it looked like something had hit the shock absorbers,but they couldn't find anything else. *ak
08/05/1993		1
	Front end misalignment, causing slight drift to the right. *ak
07/01/1995		1	07/01/1992
	Vehicle vibrates when driving at 60mph and above. tt consumer states the vehicle vibrates much worse as the brakes are applied, the problem will start sooner at slower speeds if driving on rougher roads, problem still exists. also tire misaligned, replaced front motor mount, vibration on front end, radio antenna is inoperative.*jb
04/26/1995		6
	Welds on sway bar bracket where attached to strut tube failed. *skd
03/13/1995
	Rear subframe mount failure, have replaced twice since 1992. tt
SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM
06/02/1997		1	04/21/1992
	Cv joint failed.
SUSPENSION - FRONT - MACPHERSON STRUT
10/06/1998
	Mcpherson strut or other part of right wheel broke, causing the vehicle to go out of control, which resulted in accident. no indictation or warning of defect. 2 hours prior consumer had smelled burning hydraulic oil. *ak
		2	03/12/1992
	Struts failed.
SUSPENSION - FRONT - SHOCK ABSORBER
10/02/2005	120000	1
	Dt: the contact stated while driving a snapping noise was heard in the front left side. the vehicle was driven home where it was determine d the left front tire was flat. the sway bar bracket tore away from the strut and punctured the tire. the repair personnel suggested replacing the shock absorber and strut. there was nhtsa recall campaign 94e036000. however ,this vehicle was not included included due to the vin. ak
01/06/2004		1
	After the vehicle was serviced for recall 94e036000 for front shock absorber, vehicle experienced the same problem . consumer bought a used vehicle. dealer stated nothing they could do. computer showed the struts were replaced.*ak
		1	03/01/1992
	Front struts falling off of vehicle.
SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - AIR SUSPENSION - SPRINGS/BAGS
02/07/1997		1	02/27/1992
	Front springs rusted.
SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - COIL SPRINGS
03/22/2007	14526	3	02/02/2007
	I bought 3 ford taurus wagons in 6 months and the springs broke in all of the 3 latest cars. both springs broke wile i was driving ,puncturing 1 tire. no repair made yet. *ak
02/02/2005	43689	2	08/20/1992
	The vehicle is a 1992 ford taurus wagon. on july 26, 1996 the coil springs broke puncturing the front tire while backing out of the service department of midas for an oil change. ford at the time said there were no recalls on the vehicle so therefore it was repaired at midas. this morning, february 3, 2005 the coil springs again broke puncturing the driver's side front tire and will again need necessary repairs totally approximately $450.00. called ford said there were never any recalls on this year vehicle but information from the internet indicated that ford motor company recalled nearly 900,000 ford taurus and mercury sable 1999, 2000, and 2001 sedans stating in cold weather states salt from roads could corrode and fracture the cars' front coil springs and they were installing protective shields in the recalled vehicles. my concern is that even though this model is older and there were no recalls what is the safety of driving this vehicle? i wonder what the outcome would be had this vehicle had the coil spring break while on the freeway...would you be able to maintain control of the car? the safety of this vehicle greatly concerns us.*jb
07/24/2001		1	07/01/2000
	Left front strut coil spring broke, causing end of broken coil spring to slice open tire, causing a tire blowout and suspension of car dropping, resulting in damage to front tie-rod end as weight of vehicle fell on steering mechanism. speed at break around 5 mph as daughter was pulling away from stop. this is daughter's vehicle; and, she paid bill from her college savings. considering mileage & age, i think ford should at least pay for 50% of total bill ($618). ford customer serv. rep. told me there was in fact a recall, but my vin # doesn't qualify me for a refund. judging from your other logged complaints, there seems to be a major fault with ford's reasoning on who's elegible and who's not. thank you for having this site for these defect investigation and checking into this complaint.*ak
05/10/2001		1	04/01/1993
	I discovered that both front coil springs had broken. they both broke on the outside lower coil.*ak
02/06/2000		2	10/01/1992
	Driver side front coil spring broke while backing out of a parking space. the upper section of the coil spring dropped below the lower spring seat assembly and fell to the bar of the strut mount. this caused the spring section to contact the back side of the tire and the brake line, resulting in a potentially dangerous condition. ak ml
01/09/2000
	Both front coil springs broke, and cut though left front tire. tire went flat, consumer felt this was very dangerous if going fast at all. dealer would not repair. consumer felt that coil springs were designed improperly. ak ml
07/16/1999
	While driving at approximately 35mph a spring broke in half and punctured the tire. *ak
04/11/1998		1
	Front coil springs broke, shreading the tire. *yc
04/16/1997			10/20/1992
	Frontleft coil spring broke due to corrosion which could cause the tire to deflate.*ak
07/23/1998		1	06/24/1998
	While checking underneath the vehicle noticed that the coil spring was broken. took vehicle to dealer & service manager said they need to order the parts. *ak
07/01/1998
	The right coil spring broke due to corrosion. same problem that on recall for the 1993 taurus.
		1
	Defective coil springs caused struts to fail, recall component however vehicle denied due to vin #.
01/26/1998			10/01/1992
	While driving the front coil spring broke , cutting the tire off. dealer rpaired defect. manufacturer notified. *ak

	The front coil spring went through the front tire and caused vehicle to go off the road. dealer had fixed. *ak
05/04/1996		1
	Front springs that go around struts snapped while driving; caused vehicle to drop down about an inch above tires; cannot turn vehicle, tires hit wheel well.*ak
SUSPENSION - FRONT - WHEEL BEARING
03/12/2002		1
	Consumer states recall repairs were done, however on one occasion while driving consumer could hear a crunching noise and was told that the front subframe bolts were bad, consumer was informed that because of the recall with the rear bolts being bad it caused stress to the front since the frame is all one piece, ford stated that this was not part of the recall and repairs would be at the consumers expense. brakes were replaced. front wheel bearings were replaced. *slc
12/10/1997		1	07/22/1997
	Strut bearings failed causing noise from the front when turning right.
05/23/1995		3
	Right side front wheel bearing failed, causing vibration. *sd
SUSPENSION - REAR
01/12/2002		1	12/01/2001
	For a car with such low mileage, have had to replace or fix significant number items (serious safety items included!!) that failed. hope manufacturer can help reimburse costs. per research, these items should not break down at this mileage level! no safety defect mentioned. *ak
07/16/1999
	When riding over bumps the rear end of the vehicle feels like its going to fall apart. dealer has not seen vehicle. *ak
08/19/1996		5	05/01/1994
	Sway bar failed.
SUSPENSION - REAR - SHOCK ABSORBER
10/16/1996		2	02/27/1992
	Rear struts failed.
SUSPENSION - REAR - SPRINGS - COIL SPRINGS
03/20/2004		1
	I have owned this taurus since, 1993-1994, it had 43,000 miles on it, from a dealer (flannery ford). i have had motor mounts replaced, water pumps (2) (almost $1,000), brakes and calipers(too many to remember), struts (too many to remember), ignition. this past saturday, while my mother was driving the car to the repair shop, because the inside door lights would not go off and the alarm bell (that dings when you leave the key in or lights on), the right rear wheel fell off the car. the entire tie rods had to be replaced, struts and springs (that was $1,000). i have had to have the oil pan replaced because it rusted out and had engine mounts replaced again during this procedure (that was almost $1,000). i can only remember receiving 1 recall notice and the car was taken in for repair. *ak
SUSPENSION - REAR - SPRINGS - LEAF SPRING ASSEMBLY
03/20/1997		1	11/01/1991
	In march of 1997, the left front spring on my mother margarets car fractured/failed unexpectedly. as a result, that side of the car basically collapsed to the ground and could not be driven without doing significant damage to the tire and other suspension components. the car was then towed to the closest automotive repair shop, who determined that the front spring had indeed failed/fractured. the cost of the repair was $426.70 in july of 1998, i (daniel zehler - son of margaret) received a recall letter from ford having to do with a similar/identical defect on 1993 taurus and sable vehicles. it turns out that i own a 1993 taurus. per the recall letter, the safety defect is as follows: the front coil springs on your vehicle can fracture if the vehicle is operated in high-corrosion areas of north america for an extended period of time. depending on the location of the fracture on the spring there is some possibility that the tire can be damaged. a fractured spring can cause one side of your vehicle to be lower than the other, can result in clunking or rattling noise or can cause the vehicle to ride roughly. in the what will ford do category, the letter states that ford is providing additional warranty coverage for front spring replacement, regardless of mileage, through december 31, 2001. in the what should we do category, the letter states that if either of the vehicle's front springs should fracture during the extended warranty period, contact your dealer. at no cost to you/us, the dealer will replace both front coil springs. in the meantime, so as to prevent tire damage should the spring fracture, ford has developed a special plastic protective shield, which has been installed on our 1993 taurus. as the 1992 & 1993 taurus models are virtually identical, it is my opinion that the recall on the 1993 taurus's should also apply to the 1992's as our defect seems to be identical to that which ford has already agreedefect onthe car was then towed to the.
SUSPENSION - REAR - SPRINGS - LEAF SPRING ASSEMBLY - U-BOLT, LEAF SPRING TO AXLE
03/20/2004		1
	I have owned this taurus since, 1993-1994, it had 43,000 miles on it, from a dealer (flannery ford). i have had motor mounts replaced, water pumps (2) (almost $1,000), brakes and calipers(too many to remember), struts (too many to remember), ignition. this past saturday, while my mother was driving the car to the repair shop, because the inside door lights would not go off and the alarm bell (that dings when you leave the key in or lights on), the right rear wheel fell off the car. the entire tie rods had to be replaced, struts and springs (that was $1,000). i have had to have the oil pan replaced because it rusted out and had engine mounts replaced again during this procedure (that was almost $1,000). i can only remember receiving 1 recall notice and the car was taken in for repair. *ak
07/30/2003
	While a mechanic was inspecting the vehicle both rear mount are warp and corrode on the driver side. please fill in additional information dealer is aware of the problem.