Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION - FRONT | |||||
| 17094 | 08/01/2003 | 10003184 | Rattling or clunking noise from the front suspension under normal driving conditions. *tt | 10/09/2003 | |
| 16710 | 03/01/2003 | 10001950 | Rattling or clunking noise from the front suspension under normal driving conditions. *tt *jb | 07/28/2003 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - COIL SPRINGS | ||||||
| EA08018 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 08/28/2008 | 06/30/2011 | Front Suspension Coil Spring Fracture | ||
| To date, odi is aware of 2,401 non-duplicative complaints related to the alleged defect. in addition, odi is aware of 1,411 subject vehicles with one or more warranty claims related to the alleged defect. in total, odi is aware of 3,645 unique subject vehicles that have experienced one or more front suspension coil spring fractures. odi is also aware of four minor crashes related to the alleged defect resulting in one minor injury.with greater than eight years of exposure, a large subject vehicle population and approximately 2,052 reported front tire punctures caused by fractured coil springs (at all speeds), there have been no reported severe crashes, deaths or injuries related to the alleged defect. the real world consequences of these defective coil springs have been a small number of minor control problems that resulted in minor damage; suggesting that the effect of the defect on vehicle control is minor.a safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted. accordingly, this investigation is closed. the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist. the agency will continue to monitor this issue and will take further action if warranted by the circumstances. see the ea08-018 engineering analysis closing report for more details. | ||||||
| EA08018 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 08/28/2008 | FRONT SUSPENSION COIL SPRING FRACTURE | |||
| The office of defects investigation (odi) has received 355 complaints from consumers residing in salt belt states that allege front suspension coil spring fracture in the subject vehicles. (note: for purposes of this investigation, the salt belt includes connecticut, delaware, the district of columbia, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia and wisconsin).approximately 72% of the complainants allege the broken coil spring punctured the adjacent tire resulting in loss of inflation pressure.odi is aware of 3 alleged crashes related to the alleged defect resulting in one person injured.the subject vehicles are substantially similar to those previously investigated by odi (pe02-080 and pe04-044) and recalled by ford (nhtsa recall no. 04v-332).an engineering analysis has been opened to assess the frequency, scope and safety consequences of the alleged defect. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||
| 03/13/2012 | 100800 | ||
| Backing up less than 5 mph--all at once heard a pop, the car stopped moving and whooshing air. got out of car-- driver side front tire was flat. upon further investigation, the spring had broken and punctured the tire. luckily, it happened at home-- not when my student driver was driving at 55 mph or more. over 2,400 cases reported as of june 30, 2011-- yet, no one has died or been seriously injured yet-- so no recall. if i had been on the road-- it would have been serious. the spring wedged into the tire and stopped the movement of the car-- no way would i have been able to steer and get the car off the road. i hope they reopen this investigation. | |||
| 01/20/2012 | 110000 | ||
| Coil spring broke. it almost punctured the tire. | |||
| 12/17/2011 | |||
| Left front coil spring broke, cutting and ruining tire | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT | |||
| 03/25/2011 | 109950 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. the contact stated that while driving 5 mph in reverse, the left front coil spring broke and punctured the sidewall of the left front tire. the vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the coil spring was replaced. the contact called the manufacturer who offered no assistance. the current and failure mileages were 109,950-bk | |||
| 03/23/2011 | 70000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. the contact stated that the front driver side coil spring broke and punctured the tire on that side. the dealer stated that there were no related recalls. the vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where it was repaired. the contact called the manufacturer who took a complaint but offered no further assistance. the current and failure mileages were approximately 70,000-bk | |||
| 01/20/2011 | 86000 | ||
| 2003 sable wagon was driven home and parked in driveway. when we went to move it again a horrible grinding sound was coming from the front end, sounded like something scraping on the driveway or caught in wheel well. car was subsequently parked. when it was light and upon further investigation, a piece of the front end coil spring was found lying under the car, approximately 1 foot long that is sheared off from the rest of the spring. no visible rust on the part, just apparently a defective part that broke. now the car has to be towed to fix the problem. however the rest of the spring is embedded in the tire, wedged between it and the wheel well. it is impossible to move the car even to allow for a tow truck to get under it. the tires were also just purchased approximately one month ago and this certainly has ruined at least one of them. | |||
| 01/01/2011 | 54000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. while driving in reverse out of a parking space driving 1 mph he noticed a loud noise coming front the passenger side tire. he stated the coil spring punctured the tire causing it to burst. the vehicle was towed to a authorized dealer. the dealer advised him that the front coil spring had rusted and broke and they were replacing the coil spring. he also stated he was purchasing a new tire. the approximate failure mileage was 54,000. vwb | |||
| 12/09/2010 | 79000 | ||
| Tl. the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. the contact stated while driving 40 mph the front driver side coil spring broke cause the tire to go flat. the contact pulled off the road and had the vehicle towed to a local mechanic. the mechanic replaced the front coil springs. the contact called the manufacturer and the manufacturer stated there is no recall and there is nothing they can do. the contact stated the front driver side coil spring braking could have caused a crash. the failure mileage was 79,000. jo | |||
| 12/09/2010 | 78000 | ||
| Tl. the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. the contact state while driving 40 mph the contact heard a bang and the front of the vehicle lowered. the contact pulled over to the side of the road to examine the vehicle. the contact then attempted to drive to the dealer and the front driver side tire blow. the contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer and the tow truck driver notice the front coil spring had broken. the vehicle is currently at the dealer having the coil spring replaced. the contact stated this could have cause a major crash. the failure mileage was 78,000. jo | |||
| 05/13/2010 | 61045 | ||
| I was backing out of a driveway and i heard a loud wooshing noise. i got out to investigate and saw my front driver's side tire was flat. i tried to remove it but couldn't get a jack under the vehicle because it was so low to the ground. i finally managed to jack up the car and had a lot of trouble removing the tire. upon further investigation i realized that the spring had broken and lodged about 3 inches into my tire. i had to have the car towed to a service station and the total cost of repair was $600.51 in addition to the cost for towing and two new tires. i had just driven 40 miles on the express way at 70 mph and i could have been killed had this happened en route. | |||
| 04/20/2010 | 123070 | ||
| My 2003 sable suffered a front left coil spring fracture that destroyed the front left tire and caused me to veer into a fence post while driving in a parking lot. the coil spring that sliced into the tire was pinpoint sharp, as was the smaller portion of the spring that fell off the car. the front left tire was destroyed, the strut an spring assembly needed to be replaced after the car was towed to a repair facility. the car was not drivable. the fence post damaged the left door of the car. if this failure had happened at highway speeds, the tire would have been shredded to pieces and the car would be sent off the highway with catastrophic results. i am afraid to drive the car at highway speeds. the car was inspected by a ford dealer 4 days after the front spring failure and found to have corrosion on the rear springs with the paint or enamel on the spring compromised causing rusting on the springs an possibly causing a future failure of the springs. | |||
| 03/13/2010 | 95000 | 1 | |
| While backing out of driveway, note* a driveway with not even a crack in it, the front driver side tire blew. upon removing tire, part of the spring fell to the ground and the remaining spring was found to have punctured the tire. *tr | |||
| 02/21/2010 | 57033 | 1 | |
| 2003 mercury sable ls 4 door sedan front coil spring snapped and punctured front winter tread tire while setting in my driveway. location pennsylvania during winter. *tr | |||
| 01/14/2010 | 75000 | 1 | |
| 2003 mercury sable catastrophic coil spring failure. *tr | |||
| 01/05/2010 | 70000 | 1 | |
| Ford springs. on saturday, january 5, 2010, the front drivers side coil spring on my 2003 mercury sable gs snapped and punctured my tire. (car has 70k miles). there is corrosion on the coil but only were it failed. i have saved the piece of coil that was in my tire. my brother is a mechanic and told me that there may be a recall on the spring. he did the work on the car because i needed to be at work on monday morning but told me to check it out. i found many complaints on the consumer affairs website but none for my model year. i contacted ford and registered a complaint (#0289562315). the gentleman told me that my car wasn't included in the recall and that my car wasn't covered under warranty. he told me that i would be responsible for the cost of the repairs. i am very worried about the rear springs too. i frequently drive with children in my car. at the very least, i expected them to offer to inspect the rear springs but they offered nothing. ford should pay for repairs when they are aware that a part is failing. i needed to replace the 2 front struts, buy 2 new tires (mine were discontinued) and pay for a front-end alignment. *tr | |||
| 11/20/2009 | 63000 | 1 | |
| 2003 mercury sable with the first 5 years of service in the northeast. the car is now in tampa florida. at thanksgiving one of the front coil springs snapped, puncturing a tire...fortunately the car was parked at the time. as a result both front coils and suspension had to be replaced along with a tire. we were told that the previous 2 years were recalled for this same problem in the northern states(winter salt leads to this problem). *tr | |||
| 04/21/2008 | 49400 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. while driving 20 mph, the contact heard a loud popping sound coming from the front passenger wheel. she exited the vehicle and noticed that the front passenger side tire was blown. the vehicle was towed to a local repair shop and inspected by a technician, who determined that the front passenger side coil spring failed. as a result, the driver's side coil spring also failed; however, the tire was not punctured. the driver and passenger side coils springs and two front tires were replaced at the cost of $720. the contact is in the process of notifying the manufacturer. the failure mileage was 49,400 and current mileage was 57,000. | |||
| 01/17/2009 | 1 | ||
| On january 17 while backing out of my garage, my 2003 mercury sable was making a horrendous noise. upon investigating, i discovered what i thought was a flat tire. my husband removed the tire to take it for repair and discovered a major problem. the inside of the tire looked like it was opened with a can opener. we bought a new tire, put it on the car but it was still making that awful noise. the tire was rubbing the wheel well. at that time, we knew that there was a bigger problem. after removing the tire again, my husband discovered that the right front coil spring was broken! it happened while sitting in the garage. i called ford motor company after researching this online. this is a big problem with the ford taurus as well as the mercury sable. to my dismay, they will do nothing about it. i am only glad that this did not happen while traveling at a high rate of speed. my only hope is that there will be some recall on this problem so that other car owners do not have to go through all of this inconvenience. *tr | |||
| 03/13/2008 | 51620 | 1 | |
| Drivers side coil spring broke and collapsed when car was placed in gear. protruding edge of spring punctured and deflated tire. spring and tire were replaced by mechanic at substantial expense. old tire and spring were discarded. *tr | |||
| 01/07/2009 | 83300 | 1 | |
| -driver side suspension coil spring broke. fortunately this was when car was sitting still. coil punctured tire and broke the strut & some kind of a linkage. there was no warning sign of this problem. -replaced parts including passenger side parts knowing this was a material fatigue failure & would eventfully occur on other side too. -this part is the same as on 2000 & 2001 sable that are now covered under an extended warranty. -this is a safety issue & should be a recall item ! *tr | |||
| 01/05/2009 | 90000 | 1 | |
| Day 1 - failure or left front coil spring - speed approx. 30mph spring just popped with a loud jarring bang. had vehicle towed to repair facility - repaired and replaced left front spring assembly. next morning - failure - left rear coil spring. resulting in tire blow out speed 5 mph. currently back at repair facility. ford/mercury are known to have spring problems but evidently unless someone dies nothing will be done about it. contacted ford about the problem the said no recall nothing we can do. just look at the complaints - obviously this is not a freak occurrence. *tr | |||
| 12/11/2008 | 64442 | 1 | |
| 2003 mercury sable suspension-front:springs:coil spring nhtsa action # pe04044 campaign id #04v332000 this is a old problem that is still here and alive. my 2003 mercury sable has broken a spring and destroyed the driver side front tire. i call the local ford dealer service department and was told there are no recalls for this problem. i had my car towed to a repair shop and they said this is a normal problem with ford & mercury. they replaced both struts and coils and tire and alignment for $1366.00. the car had just arrived home and was in the garage when the tire blow. this could have happened while driving and caused injury. i think the recall should be extended to include all ford & mercury cars until this problem goes away. i have cut off about one foot of the old coil to prove a faulty coil before the car was towed to the repair shop and took pictures of the tire and coil spring while still on the car.*tr | |||
| 11/29/2008 | 105000 | 1 | |
| Putting car into reverse, i felt the air go ut of the passenger front tire. upon further investigation it was the coil spring that broke and punctured the tire. *tr | |||
| 12/08/2008 | 82962 | 1 | |
| My wife asked me to check the strange noise in her car when she started to back out of our driveway on the morning of december 8, 2008. i removed the right front wheel expecting to see worn out brake pads. instead, the wheel started to move toward me when i began removing the lug nuts. the coil spring was broken into two parts. fortunately, it broke overnight and doesn't appear to have damaged the tire. time will tell whether or not it weakened the inner sidewall of the right front tire. failure analysis of the 28 cm length of spring broken off from the lower end of the spring is as follows: the broken cross-section of the spring has a dark rust section, about 15 mm circumferentially and 2 mm radial from the exterior surface. the exterior surface of the spring is rusted where there is no longer any protective black coating near the defective cross section. this surface area is about 25 mm circumferentially and 15 mm long from the fractured cross section. there are about 4 radial fracture lines emanating from the bottom side of the spring starting at the 15 mm x 2mm rusted area. there appears to be pinpoint rust areas throughout about 70 per cent of the remaining cross section, by my naked eye. i will be replacing the coil spring today or tomorrow, either myself or at a garage. this appears to be the same type of failure as recall number 04n-332. this defect is one of the reasons why i am laid off. i have been a friction material engineer for over 25 years. no wonder americans have stopped buying american automobiles. this mercury vehicle has been much better than my dodge vehicles up until now. *tr | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - COIL SPRINGS | |||
| 03/23/2011 | 70000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. the contact stated that the front driver side coil spring fractured and punctured the front tire. the dealer stated that there were no related recalls to the failure. the vehicle was taken to a local independent repair shop where the coil spring failure was repaired. the contact called the manufacturer who filed a complaint but offered no further assistance. the current and failure mileage was approximately 70,000. | |||
| 01/01/1901 | 1 | ||
| Complaint or inquiry received via email, internet by the wisconsin department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection *tgw 2003 mercury sable. the front coil springs failed. *jb | |||
| 03/04/2010 | 165000 | 1 | |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. the contact stated that while backing out of driveway at 5 mph, the driver side tire suddenly exploded. when the vehicle was put on a jack, a piece of the front coil spring was on the ground, and the tire was cut all the way around. the contact had not taken the vehicle to the dealership; she called the manufacturer and was told that they could offer no assistance. the vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. the current and failure mileages were approximately 165,000. updated 4/23/10 *cn the spring did not have any visible corrosion, it just broke in half. updated 06/04/10.*jb | |||
| 06/15/2009 | |||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. while driving in reverse, the coil spring broke and punctured the tire. he heard a noise as if something was splitting on the front left side of the vehicle. the vehicle was towed to a local dealer who confirmed that the front coil spring was broken. the vehicle was repaired at the owners expense. the failure mileage was 86,000 and the current mileage was 89,000. | |||
| 03/13/2008 | 51620 | 1 | |
| Drivers side coil spring broke and collapsed when car was placed in gear. protruding edge of spring punctured and deflated tire. spring and tire were replaced by mechanic at substantial expense. old tire and spring were discarded. *tr | |||
| 12/11/2008 | 64442 | 1 | |
| 2003 mercury sable suspension-front:springs:coil spring nhtsa action # pe04044 campaign id #04v332000 this is a old problem that is still here and alive. my 2003 mercury sable has broken a spring and destroyed the driver side front tire. i call the local ford dealer service department and was told there are no recalls for this problem. i had my car towed to a repair shop and they said this is a normal problem with ford & mercury. they replaced both struts and coils and tire and alignment for $1366.00. the car had just arrived home and was in the garage when the tire blow. this could have happened while driving and caused injury. i think the recall should be extended to include all ford & mercury cars until this problem goes away. i have cut off about one foot of the old coil to prove a faulty coil before the car was towed to the repair shop and took pictures of the tire and coil spring while still on the car.*tr | |||
| 01/24/2008 | 72000 | 1 | 08/15/2004 |
| The front left coil spring on our 2003 mercury sable broke and shredded the tire. luckily this happened at 0-30 mph, or it could have been catastrophic. the 2003 mercury sable has 72,000 miles. *tr | |||
| 12/17/2007 | 50577 | 1 | |
| My wife was backing out of our driveway when there was a popping noise and then a blowout on the left front tire.i was standing next to the mv at the time. the coil spring broke/shattered and a piece of it went thru the side wall of the tire putting a 6-8 gash in the tire. we have the pieces of the spring. ford refused to reimburse us for the repair which was made at a ford dealer(northampton ford ). the vehicle had 50577 miles. in researching this on the internet i find that since 1999 they have had recalls and repair programs for this problem on various models but apparently they do not acknowledge it in the 2003 sable. fortunatley she was not driving down the highway when this happened. i found two sites on the internet that had many reports/complaints of this in various ford vehicles. the following week my 82 yoa mother who drives a 2003 ford focus thought she had a soft tire, went to her local dealership and was told both front coil springs were broken. these repairs were covered and reimbursed by ford. i spoke with several mechanics and was advised that this is a common problem in ford vehicles.i was advised by a mechanic that the aftermarket manufacturers do not make replacement struts for the 2003 sable. all of this indicates to me that ford has a problem with the design and or manufacture of their coil springs which covers several years of vehicles. had my wife been on the highway she probably would likely have lost control and had a very serious accident. finding a broken coil spring after an accident like that you would probably not be able to prove that it (the broken spring which caused the blowout) was not caused by the accident. i am not aware of any other manufacturer having similar problems. i believe that the safety of the public is in jeopardy. our vehicle is used exclusively by my wife a school administrator- no teen agers driving it who would be emulating the dukes of hazhard. *cn | |||
| 06/04/2007 | 34800 | 2 | 06/15/2003 |
| I recently had a tire blow out on my vehicle. upon removing the tire it was discovered that the right front spring snapped, which had ruptured the tire. i was able to get the car to a local shop to replace the spring and tire at my expense, with a used spring to keep the cost down. i contacted ford ,and ford advised they would not cover any expenses related to this. the carwas a 2003 mercury sable with low miles on it. also , contacted my dealer , and the dealer agreed that this type of damage should not have occurred , yet could not rectify the problem since ford has not recalled it for springs. i believe there was a fault in the springs ,and was fearful this may happen to the remaining springs on this car. ford's advice to me was to have the remaining springs examined, at my own expense, as they reminded me that therewas no recall for faulty springs. i have retained the damaged spring as i was convinced there was an issue that was not being addressed. in my opinion, it was a matter of safety. a car's springs should not break, especially when it wa sa relatively new vehicle. this has been the second costly repair i have made to this vehicle, i previously had to replace the right front sway bar . also, should not have broken and again not a covered expense. *ak | |||
| 07/10/2006 | 22157 | 1 | 06/04/2003 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while approaching the vehicle in the driveway, the front left tire was noticed to be flat. the vehicle was taken to the tire dealer where it was determined the left front coil spring fractured which punctured the tire. there is a nhtsa recall, # 04v332000, regarding the front coil springs. the vin was not included in the recall. the dealer and manufacturer have been alerted. | |||
| 05/26/2006 | 83900 | 2 | 04/08/2002 |
| Springs in front end shocks broke. one at a time. *jb | |||
| 05/12/2006 | 42900 | 1 | 09/18/2003 |
| Mercury sable 2003 front coil spring broke. will have repaired at mercury dealer and will keep failed part. this is the same recall we had on our 1999 mercury sable 2 years after we paid to have its coil springs fixed. this seems to be an on going problem with mercury sables as well as the ford taurus. *nm | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR | |||
| 07/25/2011 | 86600 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 mercury sable. the contact stated the rear coils springs broke on the vehicle. the contact spoke with the manufacturer in regards to a recall on earlier models, but was told this years model was not included. there was no accident do to the failure. the vehicle has not been repaired. the failure mileage and current mileages were 86,600.rl | |||
| 05/15/2008 | 45205 | 2 | |
| Car went in for state inspection mechanic at dealership found (driverside) left rear coil spring on strut broken and strut leaking, replaced spring and strut under extended warranty at 45,205 miles on 05/15/2008. this was the first spring on this car to break, second spring 02/21/2010 odi number 10312550, i just want this defect to get repaired before it kills someone. this is bad metal you can see it is crystallized at the break. *tr | |||
| 01/14/2010 | 75000 | 1 | |
| 2003 mercury sable catastrophic coil spring failure. *tr | |||
| 01/05/2009 | 90000 | 1 | |
| Day 1 - failure or left front coil spring - speed approx. 30mph spring just popped with a loud jarring bang. had vehicle towed to repair facility - repaired and replaced left front spring assembly. next morning - failure - left rear coil spring. resulting in tire blow out speed 5 mph. currently back at repair facility. ford/mercury are known to have spring problems but evidently unless someone dies nothing will be done about it. contacted ford about the problem the said no recall nothing we can do. just look at the complaints - obviously this is not a freak occurrence. *tr | |||
| 07/24/2004 | 1 | 07/23/2004 | |
| Dt: the contact stated had a problem with the right side rear of the car bottoming out when he hitting a bump or pothole. the right rear tire rubs the fender well. took the vehicle to the dealer four times to try to have this repaired. nothing has been done to correct the problem. now, the contact thinks that the vehicle may have been tampered with before he took ownership of the car. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR - SPRINGS - COIL SPRINGS | |||
| 04/07/2010 | 55068 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns 2003 mercury sable. while driving at low speeds exiting a driveway, the contact heard an unusual scraping sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. the contact could not locate the origin of the noise upon further inspecting the vehicle. the following day, he found the drivers side rear coil spring had fractured from the vehicle and cut the rear drivers side tire. the vehicle has not yet been repaired. the failure and current mileages were 55,068. | |||