Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||||
| 042514 | 12/27/2004 | 10014266 | Malfunction indicator lamp (mil) illuminated with diagnostic trouble codes (dtcs) p0300, p0316 or p030x - no crank battery discharged. *tt | 04/29/2005 | |
| 04174 | 09/06/2004 | 10013116 | Malfunction indicator lamp (mil) illuminated - system lean diagnostic trouble codes (dtc's) - service tips. various models including 2004 f-series. *tt | 04/08/2005 | |
| 041712 | 09/06/2004 | 10013118 | Malfunction indicator lamp mil and diagnostic trouble codes dtcs p0172 p0175. *eh | 04/08/2005 | |
| 18411 | 02/01/2005 | 10012969 | Malfunction indicator lamp on with diagnostic trouble code p0133, p1131 or p2195. *tt | 04/05/2005 | |
| 17960 | 08/01/2004 | 10011176 | Malfunction indicator lamp (mil) on with diagnostic trouble code (dtc) p0171/p0174, p1131/p1151, and/or p2195/p2197 in continuous memory. *tt | 01/07/2005 | |
| 04111 | 06/14/2004 | 0431 | 10008252 | Streamlined diagnostic procedure for vehicles with malfunction indicator lamp (mil) on and diagnostic trouble codes (dtcs) p0401, p0402, p1400 or p1401. additional symptoms may include runs rough, lacks power, surge, poor fuel economy. | 07/23/2004 |
| 03223 | 01/26/2004 | 0431 | 10007360 | Streamlined diagnostic procedure for vehicles with malfunction indicator lamp on and diagnostic trouble codes (dtcs) p0401, p0402, p1400 or p1401. additional symptoms may include runs rough, lacks power, surge, poor fuel economy. *tt | 06/16/2004 |
| 03181 | 09/15/2003 | 10004027 | Remote keyless entry (rke) - service tips. *tt | 11/14/2003 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||||
| 0245 | 03/04/2002 | 636065 | Information regarding discharged battery charging service tips and guidelines. *tt | 11/05/2002 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||||
| 15280 | 09/01/2001 | 625820 | Some vehiclesmay exhibit an intermittent sticking/binding ignition key lock cylinder at or near the start position. *jg | 12/03/2001 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - MODULE | |||||
| 15828 | 04/01/2002 | 637571 | Some vehicles may exhibit diagnostic trouble code b1213, b1342, b1601, b2431. *tt | 12/03/2002 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - SWITCH | |||||
| 012113 | 10/29/2001 | 627774 | Some ignition switch lock cylinder assemblies may exhibit rougness and / or excess effort in turning, key does not fully return from start, a malfunction indicator lamp may illuminate with p0500, p1502 and u1039 stored in powertrian control | 02/22/2002 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 12/03/2007 | 40000 | ||
| This is an apparent problem with many of the ford taurus's where the heater just stops working. each time it stops working it seems to cost over 2,000.00 to fix the issue. the actuator motor, the heater core, and the blower door all continue to be affected. even after repair it seems that it will only work for about 1 year before it needs to be fixed again. just outside of the warranty period. we have replaced the heater system 3 times and it just did it again. research on line shows that this is a significant issue with many of the ford products that use the heater set up like the taurus. it may also include the for f150 truck with a similar problem. | |||
| 12/05/2011 | 21000 | 1 | |
| Beginning shortly after my car was out of its 3,000 mile used car warranty, when car was parked and locked the horn began to go off anytime anywhere - up to 5-6 times a day. why is this a safety concern? because the only way to avoid waking ourselves and neighbors up at night or having car alarm go off multiple times during day at work was to have a ford tech disconnect the horn! i did so after the problem continued for many months - and now, with horn off, it still continues (lights blink and flash), just noiselessly. incredible! only workaround besides disconnecting horn was to leave the car unlocked - not an option. *tr | |||
| 12/05/2011 | 21000 | ||
| Beginning shortly after my car was out of its 3,000 mile used car warranty, when car was parked and locked the horn began to go off anytime anywhere - up to 5-6 times a day. why is this a safety concern? because the only way to avoid waking ourselves and neighbors up at night or having car alarm go off multiple times during day at work was to have a ford tech disconnect the horn! i did so after the problem continued for many months - and now, with horn off, it still continues (lights blink and flash), just noiselessly. incredible! only workaround besides disconnecting horn was to leave the car unlocked - not an option. | |||
| 05/04/2012 | 170000 | ||
| Coming off an on ramp onto the interstate, the car continued to accelerate and the brake would not disengage the cruise control. it reached 85 mph before i shifted into neutral, coasted to the shoulder, and shut off the ignition. i started the car and the engine revved up again, so i shut it off and called for assistance. | |||
| 10/01/2011 | 198000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the contact stated the vehicle caught on fire while parked with the engine shut off. the fire department advised the contact that the fire originated at the rear tail light assembly. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for repairs. the failure and the current mileage was 198,000. kmj | |||
| 01/08/2011 | 88000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the contact stated that the vehicle, at times, would no start. the dealer repaired the failure, but the failure reoccured. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure and current mileage was 88,000. nw | |||
| 06/01/2009 | 80000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds the anti theft device activated on five occasions, causing the vehicle to stall. the vehicle would not restart until the anti theft device de-activated. the vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. the failure mileage was 80,000 and the current mileage was 100,000. sm. | |||
| 03/22/2010 | 69400 | ||
| I own a 2002 ford taures ses, it has 69,400 miles. i have owned the car since new, it is garaged 90% of the time. a couple years ago i noticed that the passenger carpet was soaken wet, and i never thought anything of it, i assumed that maybe when driving in the rain, i had crackedthe window open and rain got inside on passenger carpet. in march of 2010, i had a house sitter, while i went on vacation. i moved my car outside, so that she could use my garage. the car sat outside for 3 weeks, the northeast had torrential rains everyday, and area flooding on streets. i had come home from vacation, drove my car and heard a noise clanking under dashboard. i took car to mechanic, he said it was my heater. i had my husband remove and replace with a new one. when my husband took the old heater out, it was completely rusted with water still on it. i thought maybe housesitter had taken my car out and she left a window open.now it is october, i am attending driving instructor school, and my teacher gave me website for recalls. i decided to check to see if any recalls, and find that there are multiple complaints on my year make and model, for heaters shortening out ,i now have no a/c and don't know why along with wet carpets on passenger side l. i printed out recall 03v-087000 and took to ford today, they state that my vin has no campaign message for a recall. recall#03v-087000 is for certain 2002-2003 taurus and sables. what is being done with the rest of vin # that are having the same problem and are not included. i dont want to leave my car in rain and get other components short out, or possible fire, and keep getting the carpet wet, because it will cause mold to grow underneath. all cars in this year make model should be recalled if all are having the same problems. i did not save the old heater, because at the time i thought maybe rain had got in thru the window. please help, i love my car and it is otherwise a good running car | |||
| 09/10/2009 | 69000 | 1 | |
| Water leak into passenger side of passenger compartment, resulting in failure of multiple electrical components, including blower motor. reference ntsb item # 10011149 / service bulletin nbr 031506. *tr | |||
| 12/15/2007 | 90000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the contact stated that water leaks into the vehicle through the windshield, which shortens the circuit in the floorboard. secondly, she discovered that the heating system was inoperative. she has not had the vehicle inspected to determine the cause of the failure. the contact is in the process of notifying the manufacturer in reference to nhtsa campaign id number 03v087000 (visibility:windshield). finally, the contact stated that the front coil spring fractured and caused the ball joints and the front passenger tire to fail. the springs were replaced, but the manufacturer did not provide her with any financial assistance. the failure mileage was 90,000 and current mileage was 101,000. | |||
| 10/01/2008 | 65000 | 1 | 03/01/2007 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. water has been entering into the blower motor from the cowl underneath the windshield. the failure causes the motor to short out and stop running. the contact called the dealer numerous times and they stated that there was no recall. the dealer was aware of tsb number 0415-3 for the same failure; however, nothing could be done besides sell the contact a new motor. the failure was noticed while driving 15 mph. the failure mileage was 65,000 and current mileage is 68,000. updated 01/14/09. *jb | |||
| 12/17/2004 | 80000 | 1 | |
| My 2002 ford taurus had a water leak in the ac/heater blower during rain storms. the dealer fixed the leak but i have had to replace the blower motor and blower motor resistor twice. my blower quit running again today. motor and resistor need to be replaced again. *tr | |||
| 07/28/2008 | 93237 | 1 | |
| Ford electrical systems switching devices continue to be under rated which results in random voltage drops and engine stalls. the underrated switching device contacts overheat which results in high resistance which results in higher heat with results in high resistance until eventually the results drops voltages below what is required to operate the downstream load. these down stream load typically are the head lights and components associated with supplying power to the spark plugs. once the downstream device turn off from low voltage the switching device cools and resupplies the downstream load with enough voltage an current to reactive the device in varying amounts of time ranging from instantaneously to sever minutes. i fist noticed the problem years ago in a 1987 mustang and then saw it again tonight in a 2002 taurus driven by my wife. until the failed switching device is replaced the frequency of fails and the duration will continue to increase. this is clearly a materials failure and needs to be addressed. this has had to have resulted in engine failure which has resulted in crashes and / or deaths if the problem has not been resolved since i first noticed in the 1987 mustang. *tr | |||
| 06/01/2008 | 111514 | 1 | |
| My 2002 ford taurus has a leak that comes from the fire wall to the blower motor resister. it also leaks to the floor of my vehicle. at one point i thought i felt a shock! i did not know where the water was coming from until my blower went out and researched the problem. it seems i'm not the only one with this defect. i did go to the dealership to purchase a resister part. the blower and other parts ran the bill up to $400. please can something be done. *tr | |||
| 08/10/2006 | 50100 | 1 | 06/04/2005 |
| I've noticed on a few occasions that my passenger floor board would be wet; my fan blower motor stopped working; i went to a local garage to have it fixed and when i left i realized that the fan only worked on high. i called the garage and was advised that i will now need a resistor replacement. | |||
| 09/04/2007 | 1 | ||
| I have a 2002 ford taurus and as i was driving today i suddenly smelled something burning (electric wires etc.) then the blower moter startted rattaling and running at very low speed. then i turned off the ac blower motor. i have heard from others that water leak in the dash board have caused other motor blowers to go bad. i suspect the same issue. i haven't checked it further yet. i am not sure if this could casue fire. but i am keeping my blower motor turn off. burning smell was very strong. *jb | |||
| 01/22/2007 | 30000 | 1 | |
| Tl* - the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the contact stated that on 01/022/07 while the vehicle was sitting warming up with a block heater, the contact heard popping noises, went to check on the vehicle and it was on fire and burned the car port, his mobile home and all the contents. *ak | |||
| 03/10/2006 | 3 | 07/29/2005 | |
| I bought a 2002 ford taurus sport edition used in july of 2005. several times the dome lights and puddle lights would not turn off because the car thought that a door was open. there were no doors open. the car is designed to turn the lights off after 20 minutes, but this is a problem. if it happens often enough it could run down my battery. this is the 3rd time it has happened and this time i started the car and drove around for a minute and the dome lights finally went off while i was driving. however the door ajar warning was still on. so i got home and turned the car off and got out and then the dome and puddle lights do not come on now at all. the only way to get them to come on is to unlock the doors using the keyless remote. i am almost positive that the passenger side door is causing the problem, and oddly enough now the passenger side window wont work either and this has also happened before. this is a defect and should be fixed or at least diagnosed by ford at no charge. i'm only 16 and don't have the money to fix this. electrical problems can be very pricey and after i pay my car payment and insurance (mind you im 16 so my insurance is high) i hardly have enough money for gas let alone an electrical problem. *jb | |||
| 12/31/2005 | 31000 | 1 | 09/18/2005 |
| Heater blower resistor blew from water injection from cowl causing blower motor to only work on high speed. *nm | |||
| 10/01/2005 | 38000 | 1 | |
| Dt: the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. contact's wife was pulling out of driveway on october 1, 2005. as soon as she started the vehicle it caught on fire .no signs of anything going to catch vehicle on fire. turned on the defrost and then the vehicle started to smoke, and caught on fire. no injuries. police and fire departments filed reports.*ak | |||
| 02/01/2005 | 11000 | 1 | 09/01/2002 |
| Dt: the inside dash lights and power windows come on intermittently. when the vehicle would not start, the consumer took it in and had the battery and starter tested. the mechanic told the consumer they were fine. the consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, they reprogrammed the key, replaced the battery and the starter and they all said that they could not find the problem at all, which lead the consumer to believe that it was an electrical issue. *jb | |||
| 05/12/2005 | 52000 | 1 | 03/15/2002 |
| The blower motor failed. replaced blower motor for $200.00 | |||
| 04/26/2005 | 3 | 06/07/2003 | |
| All warning lights on dashboard would turn on spontaneously, car would stall for a fraction of a second. sometimes that vehicle would just die, sometimes it would just slow down for a fraction of a second, then pick up speed again like nothinng happened. this is regardless of how fast you're going. you could be going 20mph on a school zone, or 60mph on a highway. we've brought the car in on (4) different times throughout the last 12 months. on the 3rd time we brought it in (sometime in february/march), carmax changed the force air valve which we thought fixed the problem. this problem didn't happen again until after a month later. the condition has gotten worse. it used to happen like this when the car is at a slow down phase in traffic. but now, it even happens while you're running 60mph on a highway. both carmax and friendly ford dealership say they can't find what's wrong with the vehicle. the car is our main vehicle as it is the only car that can accommodate our family of 5 (3 children). with this condition, i'm too afraid to have my children ride in the car. | |||
| 01/20/2005 | 33833 | 3 | 06/12/2002 |
| My car has been in the shop about 3 times for a similar problem. two times for the same exact thing. i go out to start the car and it doesn't start, the dealership service has put in a starter and a starter relay and it still don't want to start. they say they can't do anything about it unless it happens when they have the car. *jb | |||
| 12/23/2004 | 71000 | 1 | 09/01/2004 |
| Water was leaking through the molding of the front windshield on the passenger's side caused by an electrical short. *ak | |||
| 08/06/2004 | 30750 | 1 | 04/06/2002 |
| August 6, 2004 while driving at 65 mph the vehicle (30,750 miles) experienced a complete loss of electrical power. this included the four-way flashers. towed to dealer who diagnosed the cause as a weak battery which was replaced. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR | |||
| 06/02/2006 | 43100 | 2 | 09/11/2002 |
| Dt*: the contact stated twice while driving 40 mph the rear passenger side coil spring caused the tire to blow out. upon inspection the dealership determined the rear coil springs needed replaced. after replacing the rear coil springs a noise came from the rear of the vehicle. after the dealer replaced the rear shocks the noise went away. the alternator was replaced. updated 07/05/06. *jb | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||
| 08/22/2005 | 71022 | 2 | 10/01/2002 |
| Dt: the contact stated the hub bearings on the right wheel in the front were bad, had to replace them three times. on 8-22-05 a garage told the contact the wheel was getting ready to fall off. they had not taken it back to the dealer. she heard a noise like a rubbing , grinding sound and the noise got worse. the noise occurred at speeds of 10 mph and above. also the engine light was coming on, and they had to replace the feedback sensor to the engine. *ak the vehicle would stall while being driven. the dealer replaced the fuel tank and pump. the vehicle could not be started. the dealer replaced the battery. two ball joints, one inner tie rod and left side axle shaft were replaced. *nm | |||
| 11/15/2004 | 90 | 1 | 07/01/2003 |
| Ford issued a recall on its 2002 ford tauraus vehicles for updating the computer systems. after the computer systems were updated i was told that i need to purchase a new oxygen sensor to keep the light from coming on again. i asked if this was a part of the recall and the dealership stated no that is was something different. well the same exact thing happened on my father-in-laws 2002 ford escape. i took it in and was told the same thing. i asked again if it was part of the recall and they assured me that it wasnt. i think they are wrong. well about a month later the car started accelerating on its on and jumping out of gear. this could have caused and accident but thankfully no one was in front of us at the time. then the battery on it drained down so far that the big jump box at the dealership couldn't even fix it and we had to purchase a new battery. i'm not sure of the exact date of the incidents. | |||
| 10/24/2002 | 1 | ||
| Reportedly a parked and unoccupied 2002 ford taurus (vin#1fafp55u02a118521) ignited. police investigation revealed the positive battery cable at the battery end was stiff and apparently caused a fire. three vehicles and a building were damaged.*ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS | |||
| 03/26/2006 | 32000 | 1 | 11/08/2002 |
| Dt*: the contact stated the rear brake switch and stop lamp did not work when the brake pedal was depressed and sometimes did not turn off mechanically. also, the brake light would remain illuminated for many hours. the battery was replaced once. the problem was linked to the gear shift. the contact could not shift the gear from parking to drive. the vehicle needed to be turned off and turned back on in order to shift the gear to drive. the vehicle was taken to the dealership for repairs. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - ANTI-THEFT CONTROLLER | |||
| 04/24/2008 | 118000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. while driving at any speed, the theft light began flashing and the vehicle shut off and immediately restarted. the contact did not notice any differences in the vehicle prior to the failure. the failure occurs intermittently. the vehicle has not been in a crash and has not been diagnosed by the dealer. the current mileage was 124,353 and failure mileage was 118,000. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - STARTER ASSEMBLY | |||
| 10/04/2005 | 15000 | 1 | 08/22/2002 |
| Dt: 2002 ford taurus. the consumer states the starter motor had to be replaced. the vehicle would not start and it had to be towed to the dealership. they replaced the starter motor. this happened on october 4, 2005. there were no problems with the vehicle prior to this. the consumer stated the warranty expired on august 24, 2005 and the roadside assistance expired also. *ak updated 2/7/2006 - *nm | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - INTERIOR/UNDER DASH | |||
| 09/25/2007 | 79100 | 1 | 09/24/2003 |
| On a recent trip to n. carolina we noticed an odor like something electrical was burning in our 2002 ford taurus ses. shortly after that the a/c blower would only work on the highest speed and we could hear a squeaking noise behind the dashboard. we had the car repaired at a private repair shop in n.c. they had to replace a resistor and the blower motor. on several occasions over the last 3 or 4 years we have found the passenger side floor carpet wet after a rainstorm. we didn't notice this often because the car is garaged most of the time. i am concerned that if the water leak caused the electrical short the first time it will only happen again. i would like to think that ford motor co. would want to repair the root cause of this failure which is obviously a manufacturing issue. a fire could very well have started in this automobile. or will ford wait until someone is hurt? *jb | |||
| 03/25/2006 | 45000 | 40 | 08/01/2003 |
| Heater blower only works intermittently and only on high!*jb | |||
| 03/23/2005 | 75000 | 1 | 04/01/2004 |
| Windshield is always damp on starting. blower motor ceased working and was repaired for $250.00. wondering about the winddshield leaking? and recall as this will probably happen again.*ak | |||