Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||||
| 6612 | 07/01/1999 | 610705 | Some vehicles may exhibit front suspension noise due to front strut, front sway bar links or symptoms such as premature rear brake pad wear due to seized rear brake calipers or slides. *tt | 05/11/2000 | |
| BC1012497020 | 01/02/1997 | 51188 | Removing or replacing one of the front strut spring on a vehicle us a rotunda #014-00781 strut spring compressor master set. *jd | 06/27/1997 | |
| BC0851961007 | 10/07/1996 | 50433 | Procedure for concerns of ride quality. *tt | 04/24/1997 | |
| SUSPENSION - FRONT | |||||
| 98-4731 | 09/01/1998 | 607143 | Clunk or plop coming from front end. *ak | 11/02/2000 | |
| 97111097231 | 11/10/1997 | 53658 | Diagnostic and inspection procedure for front suspension noise. *yc | 03/30/1998 | |
| BC0308A97020 | 02/01/1997 | 51622 | Thump/klunk noise from front suspension area. *tw | 06/27/1997 | |
| BC0308970201 | 01/02/1997 | 51108 | Thump/clunk noise from front suspension area. *jd | 06/27/1997 | |
| BC1016397230 | 01/23/1997 | 51512 | Buzz noise in ax4s transaxles at all speeds or idle on vehicles. *jd | 06/27/1997 | |
| BC0308961101 | 11/01/1996 | 50716 | Thump/clunk noise from front suspension area. *tw | 06/17/1997 | |
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - MACPHERSON STRUT | |||||
| BC3482972301 | 01/23/1997 | 51478 | Replacing front rear struts on a vehicle, the replacement strut may appear to be appoximately 2 too short. *jd | 06/27/1997 | |
| BC1019697230 | 01/23/1997 | 51556 | Replacing front or rear struts on a 1996/97 vehicle, the replacement strut may appear to be approximately 2 too short when compared to the strut in the vehicle. *jd | 06/27/1997 | |
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - COIL SPRINGS | |||||
| BC0130970201 | 01/02/1997 | 51036 | Removing or replacing one of the front strut springs on a 1996/97 taurus or sable vehicle use rotunda #014-00781 strut spring compressor master set. *jd | 06/27/1997 | |
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - TORSION BAR | |||||
| 9725 | 01/20/1997 | 51383 | Suspension - clunking noise from front suspension - taurus sable built through 1/14/97 - continental built through 12/16/96. *tw | 06/27/1997 | |
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - STABILIZER BAR | |||||
| 8199 | 02/01/2000 | 612411 | Some vehicles may exhibit a rattling or clunking noise from the front end (front stabilizer link) under normal driving conditions. | 06/08/2000 | |
| BC0308972301 | 01/23/1997 | 51416 | Thump/clunk noise from front suspension area. *jd | 06/27/1997 | |
| SUSPENSION - REAR - SPRINGS | |||||
| BC2311970501 | 05/01/1997 | 52806 | Some vehicles may exhibit a clunking noise from the rear suspension when driving over bumps. *tw | 09/12/1997 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||
| 08/22/2012 | 135000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 1997 ford taurus. the contact stated that while coming to a stop, the a frame sheared off and landed on top of the steering box, causing steering loss. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis and the contact was told that the a frame was completely rusted. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure and current mileages were 135,000. kmj | |||
| 08/22/2012 | 135000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 1997 ford taurus. the contact stated that while coming to a stop the a frame of the vehicle sheared off and landed on top of the steering box causing steering loss. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis and was told the a frame was completely rusted out. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure and current mileages were 135,000. dt | |||
| 04/03/2012 | 88000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 1997 ford taurus. the contact stated that all four coil springs failed. the contact referenced nhtsa campaign id number: 4v332000 (suspension: front: coil springs) but was advised by the manufacturer that the 1999 model was not included in the recall. the vehicle was not repaired. he failure and the current mileage was 88,000. kmj | |||
| 04/03/2012 | 88000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 1997 ford taurus. the contact stated that all four coil springs failed on the vheicle. the contact found nhtsa recall campaign id number04v332000(suspension:front:coil springs) on the 1999 model year, but was told by the contact that there was no problems with the 1997 model year. the vin did not go through. the failure mileage and current mileages were 88,000.rl | |||
| 07/05/2008 | 97000 | ||
| Frt and rear springs on my 97 ford taurus broke premature | |||
| 03/30/2005 | 1 | ||
| 1while driving 1997 taurus sho at 38672 miles, the vehicle collapsed. the left spring had broken. *ts the incident destroyed the consumer's snow tire. the consumer felt that maybe this is a northeastern problem due to the salt and moisture that causes the spring to deteriorate. ford announced 900000k taurus' from 1999-2001 were being recalled for the problem that the consumer had experienced. *sc | |||
| 07/20/2001 | 57500 | 1 | 08/01/1998 |
| Vehicle would not accelerate from a stopped position without shaking violently. 57500 miles at the time, $1900 to fix it. *ak ****dims 11 ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut-over to artemis*****749177. | |||
| 1 | 08/01/1997 | ||
| Consumer experiencing vibration in the steering wheel. *tt | |||
| 02/23/1998 | |||
| When driving at any speed the vehicle is jerking and making loud noises, and the vehicle is shifting. consumer can't determine the problem. *ak | |||
| 12/27/1998 | |||
| When making a left or a right turn the steering wheel will spin, and there is a loud knocking noise coming from the steering. there is vibration within the steering wheel. *ak | |||
| 1 | 09/02/1997 | ||
| Vehicle pulls while driving. | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT | |||
| 08/30/2010 | 176000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 1997 ford taurus sho. the contact stated that while driving out of his garage, the front coil spring on the driver side broke and ripped the tire apart. the vehicle had not been inspected or repaired at the time of the complaint. there were no warning signs or prior instances of the failure. the contact called the manufacturer who advised him to take the vehicle to an authorized dealership. the current and failure mileages were approximately 176,000-bk | |||
| 06/01/2000 | 2 | 03/01/1997 | |
| Problem 1: due to significant front end vibration at speeds at or over 40 mph, the dealer replaced both tie-rod ends on a car just over 3 years old with less than 30,000 miles. problem 2: discovered the safety information placard on the door post does not list mandatroy information about tire air pressures. the owner's manual refers to this placard, but also does not provide any tire pressure information.*ak | |||
| 03/01/2000 | 1 | 06/01/1997 | |
| Squeaking in front end, had to have tie rod ends replaced then there is still a popping in the front end when i turn the wheels to make a turn. *ak | |||
| 09/25/1997 | 2 | ||
| Was traveling aproximately 10mph when front suspension started squeaking. had part of the braking system replaced prior to suspension squeaking. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - LOWER ARM | |||
| 08/10/2002 | 4 | 08/01/2002 | |
| Air condition unit sealed now leaking again the cv joints went out and the auto repair shop (marty's auto discount at 13 and harris ave) who was supposed to fix the repairs said the lower arm control and the axle were in unsafe condition to drive . the car is still not right , the dealer wants me to continue to make payments on this vehicle and i want to trade the car for something else .i believe there are more promblems coming in the near future. | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - UPPER ARM | |||
| 08/06/2004 | 1 | ||
| Consumer stated that vehicle made a clumping noise. consumer took the vehicle to a mechanic, and he heard the noise, but could not tell from where the noise was coming. consumer felt that the noise was coming from the front of the vehicle.*ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - COIL SPRINGS | |||
| 09/30/2007 | 151930 | 2 | 10/30/1997 |
| Driving at 30mph when i heard a very loud rattle/clanking noise. a few seconds later a piece of left front coil spring snapped and fell off my car. i was <1 mile from home so i picked up the piece and returned safely. i did notice the brakes were going out. once i returned i found my brake fluid line was severed by the coil spring. i have not fixed the car yet. it is parked in my driveway unusable. *tr | |||
| 01/26/2007 | 150000 | 1 | 06/14/2001 |
| I was driving my car at the time when i heard a loud noise in the front of my car. i was turning left into a parking lot so i wasn't going very fast i stopped and looked at my car and noticed that the left front side of my car was almost sitting on the front tire i was glad that i wasn't on the interstate at the time. i have never had this happen with any of my other cars .i would think the springs are stronger than that. thank god i wasn't going fast.......*jb | |||
| 07/26/2005 | 96000 | 1 | 08/09/2004 |
| I am the owner of a 1997 ford taurus. i was in clarendon hills, il from july 22nd until july 31st. on july 26th i spent the day driving my car. after i parked my car at the hotel it was an hour later when i heard a loud pop and then a hissing noise. the next day i went down to my car. it was at that time i noticed my car was sunk down. i went to change what i thought was a flat tire and after further investigation i realized something was stuck into the side of it. the coil spring surrounding the strut broke and punctured the tire making it go flat instantly. i spoke to two people that morning that were standing outside and witnessed it the night before. there was no cause for this to happen. it was not being driven. my concern in this matter is that it could have caused serious injury. what if i had driven another hour? i fear it would have caused me to veer off into oncoming traffic. my tire went flat instantly and it would have caused serious injury and possible death. i spent the whole morning calling repair shops. i first became very concerned about this when i called the first repairman and he knew exactly the problem i had. he said he fixes this problem on ford taurus' between two or three times a month. after this i proceeded to call a ford dealership expecting a recall. the gentleman knew nothing of this problem on the ford taurus. i did some research and found out that there have been problems on older and newer models of the taurus with this same problem. my sister and her husband own a 2001 ford taurus and they had a recall on their car for this problem. all that was done was put a shield around the coil spring so that when it does break it does not puncture the tire. ford is aware of the problem. why would they not have a recall and just replace it? i was finally able to get the problem fixed. this incident cost me $700. i do have the old coil spring that broke. i do feel that ford should compensate me. thank you for your help. *nm | |||
| 06/09/2005 | 1 | ||
| Right front coil spring broke and punctured tire. ford has a recall for taurus model years 1999-2001 for this exact failure. i believe ford should expand the recall to include earlier model years. i was lucky, it could have happened on open highway. | |||
| 05/30/2005 | 94287 | 1 | 05/15/2003 |
| Right front coil spring broke and punctured tire. ford has a recall for taurus model years 1999 - 2001 for this exact failure. as this is a critical failure mode, i believe ford should expand the recall to include earlier model years. | |||
| 09/01/2004 | 1 | ||
| The consumer received a recall regarding front coils springs which could potentially fracture when operated in high corrosion areas. *nm *sc the consumer had to wait 5 months before getting the vehicle repaired. the dealer would only replaced the coil spring if they cracked. *jb | |||
| 08/18/2004 | 1 | ||
| While driving consumer heard a noise from the front of the vehicle. consumer drove it home and parked it. the next day consumer noticed that the passenger's side tire was deflated. consumer was able to change the tire, and drove it to the dealer for inspection. mechanic determined that passenger's side coil spring sheared off and punctured the tire in the process. *ak | |||
| 01/02/2002 | |||
| Front end was low due to both coil springs being cracked. contacted dealer, they informed consumer that both coil springs should not have cracked at the same time.*ak | |||
| 01/26/2002 | 1 | 06/01/1997 | |
| While driving heard a noise from front end. upon inspection, consumer saw that left front coil spring broke. right one was corroded, and was replaced as well.*ak *tt | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - TORSION BAR | |||
| While driving a rubbing noise occurred due to the torsion bar failure. dealer is rewelding the torsion bar. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - WHEEL BEARING | |||
| 01/01/1999 | 1 | 04/01/1998 | |
| Engine is knocking as consumer accelerates with speed. *ak transmission have been replaced twice in 37ooo miles. front wheel bearing failed at 15000 miles. rotors failed at 24000 miles. *yh | |||
| 02/01/2000 | 1 | 09/13/1997 | |
| When traveling about 35 or 40 mph, a low humming noise is heard, on 3/8/00 dealership replaced front hub bearings due to excessive wear causing noise. cj | |||
| 07/14/1998 | |||
| On several occasions, especially during or after a rainfall, when driving through standing water which caused an upward splash under the right front, the engine died , causing loss of power . engine would restart as soon as vehicle cleared the deep water area, but a squealing of the power steering would follow for about 30 seconds. dealer aware of problem, but ha syet to replac eparts. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR | |||
| 01/15/2000 | |||
| While driving driver heard a clunking noise coming from the rear end of the vehicle. after pulling the vehicle to the side of the road, owner saw that the rear end suspension had fallen. vehicle was towed to a body shop first, and later to the ford dealership for repairs. *ak *ml | |||