Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| TIRES | |||
| 10/25/2012 | 85541 | 1 | |
| Left front spring broke and punctured the tire and a link. *tr | |||
| 01/10/2011 | 109000 | ||
| On 1/10, i was on my way to drop my kids off at their school when the car began to drive funny.i pulled over right away and saw the front driver's side tire was blown..i proceeded to change the tire to my donut when i say the gash in my tire and i looked at the wheel well and saw the spring was sheered off..henceforth i had to pay to get new struts and a new tire and a new stabalizer for my car..i looked on the web and saw a bunch of people have had the exact same problem with their 2002 ford taurus..please help. | |||
| 05/24/2010 | 117000 | ||
| Own a 2002 ford taurus. car parked in parking garage while at work. after work went to car, started it, put into reverse, moved not even three inches, sound like gunshot, front spring blew through front tire on driver side. my son said i had guardian angel...would have been killed if car had actually made it to the road. i have only had car three years. towed to repair shop, mechanic said looks just like recall situation on 2001 taurus, same spring incident..mine naturally not covered, but this is wrong. i was not aware of recalls on 2001 vehicles. i have no money, this repair will set me back quite a bit. i am thankful that nobody was hurt by flying parts! | |||
| 05/03/2010 | 109494 | ||
| I have a 2002 ford taurus station wagon. while pulling out of the driveway there was a loud noise. i imemdiately pulled back into the driveway to get the vehicle off the street and called a mechanic. upon removing the left front wheel he discovered that the left front coil spring had snapped and that the jagged edged of the spring had sliced through the tire side wall. the car was towed the mechanics garage where upon further investigation he found that the left front sway bar link and the left front strut assembly were also damaged. the failure has occurred only once - so far. the consequence in this case were not catastrophic - loss of use of the car for 2 days and a $950 dollar repair bill although i hate to think of the consequences had i been driving at highway speed and had this happen. i'm afraid it would have resulted in complete loss of control of the vehicle and a serious crash perhaps with serious or critical injuries or death. my research shows that ford recalled the 1999-2001 taurus models in northern states for this same defect and paid to replace both right and left front coil springs modified with aguard to prevent such catastrophic damage shoud a spring break again. this recall should be extended to include at least the 2002 model year which i'm told uses exactly the same springs as the 199-2001 model ford taurus. | |||
| 02/13/2010 | 129150 | 1 | |
| 1. started car, a 2002 ford taurus and began to back up and the front left tire blew violently. 2. subsequently found the coil spring had broken and speared front tire. 3. replaced coil springs and front tire at an approximate cost of $500. *tr | |||
| 12/31/2009 | 123000 | 1 | |
| 2002 ford taurus - front strut and coil spring failure. on 12/31/09 as i was backing out of driveway the right front coil strut spring snapped and punctured the tire. (tire was 6 mos old with only about 9000 miles of use) i had the vehicle serviced at a local mechanic shop then on the same day and within hours of first event as i was backing up the left spring snapped and punctured the new tire i had just purchased. i had purchased two new tires since i had to change the tires as a pair. i now have had to purchase a third new tire to replace the new one on left side that was punctured in the second incident. the break point of both springs is identical to the point where the spring broke the metal is snapped identically in the exact same spot on each spring and the fracture line at the break point is the exact same on each broken piece. i have saved the pieces of the spring. i find it very suspect that the springs would snap within hours of each other at the exact same spot on each spring. all told the damages incurred will amount to over $600. i am extremely fortunate that this did not occur while driving as just a day prior i had returned home on a 250 mile highway trip. *tr | |||
| 12/26/2005 | 49417 | 1 | |
| Drove car over 110 mi, parked the car, next morning, noted that tire was flat due to broken coil spring. i live in western new york where roads are treated by salt. i was informed by ford dealer that these conditions most likely caused front passenger coil spring to break and puncture the front tire sidewall which was not repairable. (police notified due to alternate parking restriction. vehicle required tow.) *tr | |||
| 10/02/2009 | 92000 | 1 | |
| Backing out of parking space and front right coil spring broke and punctured front right tire. needed to have both front coil springs and front strut assemblies replaced. also needed new tire, new tire valve stem and wheel weight. kept old parts and old tire showing puncture. *tr | |||
| 04/23/2009 | 94600 | 1 | |
| Broken front and rear suspension spring caused tire failure. *tr | |||
| 02/13/2009 | 95000 | 1 | |
| I own a 2002 ford taurus with 95000 miles. i had (fortunately) parked my car for work; on return had a flat tire. on changing it, found the inside of the tire ripped open almost all the way around. when i took it in for a new tire, it was found the front driver spring had broken, and i was told the taurus has a problem with this. i had to replace both front springs and struts, get new tires and a wheel alignment to the cost of $1300. now i'm researching and found the 2002 was not included in the recall for this problem, and the rear springs can break too, usually at much lower mileage. i'm now afraid to drive my car, and am looking for a new one sooner than i had planned. this could have been catastrophic if it had happened on the highway. *tr | |||
| 12/11/2008 | 91000 | 1 | |
| Driving and smoke began coming out of the driver's front of car. loud bang. coil punctured tire. almost had accident. *tr | |||
| 12/15/2008 | 115000 | 1 | |
| My fiancee's 2002 ford taurus sel front driver side coil spring broke and tore the whole inner sidewall off of the tire. the coil spring broke while the car was sitting in the driveway over night and thankfully my fiancee was just pulling out of the driveway when she noticed the tire halfway off the rim. had the coil spring broke on the highway she may not be alive today. i spoke to ford and they were unable to offer us any assistance. the vehicle is only 7 years old and only has 115k miles on it. there is a recall already in effect for 2001 models that have the exact same issue. i have the broken coil spring in my possession if in the case an investigator would like to examine the faulty part. *tr | |||
| 09/23/2008 | 94 | 1 | |
| Front spring broke on my 2002 ford taurus. the broken spring slashed my brand new tire. had to have the vehicle towed to a ford dealership. spring damaged struts and also needed to be re-aligned. *tr | |||
| 06/12/2008 | 67000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. in approximately december of 2007, the contact had to replace the front driver's side tire and spring. on june 12, 2008, he took the vehicle to a repair shop for routine maintenance and was informed that both rear springs failed. the cost for both failures was over $1,000. the manufacturer was notified and stated that the recall did not include the 2002 ford taurus. the vehicle was out of warranty and was not taken to a ford dealer for repair. the dealer would not provide any assistance. the recall number was unknown. the failure mileage was 67,000. | |||
| 05/09/2008 | 158000 | 1 | |
| Normal driving conditions, tires failed to hold air pressure. both front tires within one month of each other failed. tires appeared to be dry rotted on corner of side walls. both tires had same area of dry rot/cracks in tread. tires had less then 20,000 miles on them and where properly maintained. dealer replaced tires. mfg. tbc, touring tr vanderbilt. *tr | |||
| 03/07/2008 | 120000 | 1 | |
| Wife put the car into reverse in the driveway, front left spring broke, puncturing the front left tire. thankfully she was not on the road when this happened. *tr | |||
| 12/27/2007 | 55235 | 1 | |
| I was backing out of my garage when i heard a loud noise, my left front coil spring fractured and put a hole through my tire, also caused damage to the control arm. needed to replace control arm, coil and tire. *tr | |||
| 12/04/2007 | 82000 | 1 | 03/31/2007 |
| I was backing out of the driveway on 12/4/07 in ,y 2002 ford taurus ses when i heard a loud bang under the car. the driver side front tire blew out. when i removed it, i saw that the coil spring had broken and cut into the tire. *tr | |||
| 08/13/2007 | 60000 | 1 | 03/22/2003 |
| Driver front shock and strut broke and blew the tire. luckily i was in driveway just leaving for work had to call tow truck to bring to garage for repair being it was a 2002 vehicle the schroad was suppose to be put on the 2002 vehicle and newer, but this did not have anything on it. so tire blew, but luckily i was not going 60 miles a hour down the hwy. we still have the old parts for proof of damage. *tr | |||
| 11/01/2007 | 39000 | 1 | 01/02/2002 |
| 2002 ford taurus with broken rear coil springs and other problems. consumer states the coils springs broke, tires are wobbling, and the belt tensioner lost power steering. *kb | |||
| 03/31/2007 | 61435 | 3 | 06/16/2005 |
| My wife started to back out of the driveway in the 2002 ford taurus and heard a bang followed by hissing. she saw the flat tire and called her brother to come help since i was out of town ,and after he jacked the car up they saw the spring had broken and punctured the driver's side front tire. the spring was sticking far enough out that we could not put a new tire on, so we put the doughnut spare tire on and called a tow truck. the car was towed to a ford dealer ,where they replaced the two front springs, two front stabilizer links, and a new tire. total cost was $843.83. *ak | |||
| 04/03/2007 | 59000 | 3 | |
| Events leading up to the failure was a approximately 100 mile round trip on the interstate traveling 65 mph, the evening prior to the incident. the failure consisted of the driver's side coil spring breaking and severly damaging the front diver's side tire and sway bar. the incident occurred while the vehicle was parked in a parking lot and not being driven. the make and model of the car was a 2002 ford taurus se. the dealership had to replace both front coil springs, replace the driver side sway bar, replace the tire, and realign the suspension.*ak | |||
| 02/20/2007 | 137554 | 1 | 11/12/2001 |
| I backed out of a parking space and heard a grinding sound. i checked the front end but could not see any problems. i drove forward approximately 10 feet and heard a bang as the right front passenger side tire blew out. when i changed the tire i found the right front coil spring impaled in the tire's sidewall. the spring broke and the sharp end rotated into the tire. fifteen minutes earlier, i had been driving at 70 mph on i-80 before exiting at mishawaka. i had the car towed to a local garage , and the spring/strut assembly was vreplaced. the tow truck driver commented he had seen approximately 20 of these incidents over the past 12 months.*ak | |||
| 06/24/2005 | 20000 | 0 | 10/04/2001 |
| Front end has had vibration since i bought the car. have had continental original tires replaced under warranty 3 times because dealership said vibration was due to tire failure excessive runout. vibration is returning again. | |||
| 09/08/2004 | 2 | ||
| Front driver's side coil spring sheared off onto the tire, causing the tire to go flat. consumer pulled over, and had vehicle towed to dealer for inspection. mechanic determined that the coil spring and tire needed to be replaced. *ak | |||
| 10/11/2003 | 39000 | 4 | 01/01/2003 |
| Vehicle tires showing signs of dry rot. *mr the vehicle experienced a flat tire. roadside assistance found a crack in the tire tread. the consumer was told that all the tires had signs of dry rot and a technician stated that the entire tire had cracks around it. ford showed no sign of concern. *scc *jb | |||
| 4600 | 1 | ||
| Vehicle tire equipment has several blisters. *mr the left front tire had 11 blisters. the consumer had taken the vehicle to an authorized dealer in which they informed him that the tires had been driven with low pressure. *scc *jb | |||
| 08/28/2003 | 1 | ||
| I bought what i thought were 4 brand new goodyear aquatred tires from graham tire here in grand island, nebraska... i got 3 tires dot...serial number....mkx83mhr2901 and 1 tire dot...serial number....mkx83mhr2402 the 2402 tire runs hot, and in my opinion is unsafe. i see the dot...mkx code is for re tire kershaw, south carolina...and its listed under re-treads. was i sold four re-tread tires....as four new tires? if so i have been cheated. please reply...thank you. *ak | |||
| TIRES - SIDEWALL | |||
| 03/20/2007 | 75000 | 2 | 01/30/2002 |
| My 2002 ford taurus se was parked when i went to pull out of the space, the car made loud snapping sounds and was jolted, then would not move properly. i got out to check and the driver' s side front tire was flat. put on the spare tire, and found a large gash cut into the inner wall of the flat tire. found out that a broken coil spring destroyed the tire. contacted two ford dealers as well as their national customer service center, and was told that there was no recall on the 2002 taurus, and they would not do anything to compensate me for the repairs, although i stated several times that this was a common and too well-known problem with the taurus. i have yet to pay the repair bill, but know it will be around $400.00 for the replacement of coil springs and tire. i am saving my receipts and the defective coil in the hope that a recall will be ordered. thank goodness this did not happen on the highway. *ak | |||
| 08/23/2003 | 17993 | 1 | 10/13/2002 |
| 2002 ford taurus tire failure at about 17,993 miles with a 80,000 mile life: left rear, continental touring, p215/60r16, 94t. on inspection, no indication that i ran over anything. the tire failed around the rim section.*ak | |||
| TIRES - TREAD/BELT | |||
| 09/01/2009 | 53111 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford taurus. the manufacturer of the tires is big o aspen and the tire size is p215/60r16. the contact stated that the tread on the driver-side front tire separated. she had the tire replaced according to recall# 06t027000 (tires: tread/belt, tire line / tire). after the repair the three remaining tires failed identically. the blow outs increased her risk for vehicle crash. the tire facility denied responsibility for the failures, so she had to bear the expense to replace them. the dot numbers of the tires were unknown. the failure mileage was 53,111. the current mileage is 97,000. | |||
| 06/28/2007 | 1 | 05/01/2002 | |
| I purchase 4 kumho 215/60/16 tires in may of 2004 and have put least than 20,000 miles on them when i went out get my car inspected they said that the tires were junk extremely dangerous to be on the road because they were cracked and one belt was broken on the right front tire- i feel these tires should be added to the recall list and anyone who purchased them should be reimbursed for there expenses. *tr | |||
| 01/12/2005 | 2 | ||
| In mid january i was driving my vehicle , 2002 33xi bmw, when i had a blow out of my front left tire. the tires are nokian wr size 205/50r17. i thought i must have hit a pothole or something else to cause the blow out. yesterday, march 11, 2005 i noticed a bluge on my front right tire ( same make). i called jack williams for a replacement tire and will have the tire replaced at my cost. my concern is that the tires may be defective. i had all four tires replaced on 12/01/04 and have less then 10,000 miles on them. i feel it is too ironic that i have a problem with another tire after having a blow out. i could not find this make of tire on your recall system. any assitance you can give me would be appreciated. *ak | |||
| 04/02/2004 | 47266 | 1 | |
| The passenger side front tire was cupping with over 50% of tread wear remaining. *ak the tire's tread seemed to be seperating from the sidewall. *sc *jb | |||
| 02/26/2004 | 35187 | 1 | 05/16/2003 |
| Interior tires separated. *ph the windows made a noise when going up, the dealer lubricated the regulator. *jb | |||