Front Suspension problems of the 2003 Ford Taurus - part 1

Left front spring broke while driving 25 mph. Spring contacted tire and shredded sidewall. Control affected but no crash. Mechanic estimates $525 for repair/ replacement of both front spring/shock units and alignment. +.

My 2003 Ford Taurus broke down on the road-upon investigating it, the front springs broke and grease spread throughout the front part of the car. I cannot afford to have it fixed, so it was towed to my home garage.

Driving car, heard a load crash from front end like someone had dropped a tray of socket wrenches. Load popping noise followed. Pulled over to inspect. Found a large portion of front spring drivers side wrapped around the strut. The piece was the shape of a "c". I am glad that the sharp end did not puncture through the tire as it was within 1/8" of the tire. I guess quick reactions prevented an accident. Spring will have to be replaced and front end inspected for additional damage. Old spring and broken off part are available.

Put my 2003 Ford Taurus in reverse, backed up about a foot , tire blew out and the front drivers side suspension spring was broken.

Pulled out of garage and heard a loud pop. Front strut broke puncturing tire on drivers side. We just purchased the vehicle 3 wks ago it has a little over 90k on it. Vehicle is in good shape other wise. Prevoius owner had already replaced passenger side strut a few weeks before we purchased it. Very dissapointing. Was hoping that there was a recall on this part. And judging by the numerous complaints about the suspension issues, there certainly should be.

While waiting at stoplight, heard a popping noise and front drivers side of car went down. Was able to pull into gas station parking lot about 50 feet away. Upon inspection could see inside sidewall was torn up. Called for tow. A series of bad events had taken place, could have been fatal at high speed. Spring had broken and twisted out to side shredding tire. Tore open pvc boot. Spring also damaged axle. Also destroyed another large plastic part. All these parts had to be replace at great expense. Also replaced spring and strut on passenger side for safety s sake. Ford has recalled and replaced other model year springs, but not 2002 or 2003. This should never have happened, especially with Fords past acknowledgment of this problem.

Was driving my 2003 Taurus when I got a flat tire drivers side. . Called aaa they put my spare on. I took car to my mechanic who told me a coil broke and ruptured the tire. . It is going to cost $950. . I was told how lucky I was not to have had a major accident!!! only have 49,000 miles on my Taurus.

I'm adding my complaint to an open investigation #ea08018. My 2003 Taurus suffered a broken coil spring today which punctured my passenger side tire and apparently damaged upper and lower mounts in the process. Estimated cost of repair (including addressing the yet to be broken opposite side), is 1800 dollars. There was no accident as I was traveling a a slow rate of speed.

Front springs breaking on 2003 Taurus. Loud boom in front of car. Result is a broken spring damaging front tire also. Car was backing out of garage when it happened. Had to tow vehicle as it could not be moved without further damge to vehicle.

Tue 28dec2010 outside temp = 21f I entered driver's seat & immediately heard loud "bong!" sound of lf coil spring breaking. I am familiar w/ Ford recall# 04v332000 (NHTSA reference #04v332000) and have been waiting similar recall for newer models during NHTSA action number: ea08018, ongoing for over two years now. I tried to drive off slowly to avoid tire damage but could not, as within the first tire rotation the broken spring slashed the entire inside sidewall of the lf tire. Repairs will cost $300 for strut/spring replacement + $60 tow + $150 for tire, total = $510, and I expect rf to break identically at any moment. It is outrageous that the investigation of a safety hazard identical to vehicles two years older has taken two years!.

My 2003 Ford Taurus was simply sitting in my driveway and all of a sudden there was a huge pop. We looked to see the tire had gone flat! when I took the tire we discovered the flat was a result from the coil spring breaking and puncturing the tire. So now not only do I have to pay to fix the spring, but also a new tire. Obviously Ford has not resolved the issue with the 2001 cut off model on a recall and they need to make right with their customers. I have been a loyal Ford owner. They should be as loyal to their customers!!!.

Was backing out of the driveway and heard a loud thump and then my tire deflated like a balloon. Had a tire guy come to fix it and he said it was due to a broken strut/spring. It had broken and slashed the tire. I am just thankful this did not happen on the interstate driving at a high rate of speed. Could have been deadly.

The front driver side spring broke on my 2003 Ford Taurus and blew out the tire. Making the car undriveable.

Backing out of driveway in am, the driver's side coil spring broke and ruptured the tire. Vehicle lowered until frame was one inch from ground. Had to be towed to local service station for repair.

While backing my 2003 Ford Taurus out of the garage, the front driver side tire blew up. It was a loud noise. My husband was standing in front of the car and thought I ran over something that made the tire blow. When he took the tire off he found that the spring had snapped and punctured the tire and it cannot be repaired. We feel so lucky no one was driving the car at the time. It very easily would have lost control and could have injured or killed someone. We have properly maintained the car and now I see many other Ford Taurus drivers have the same problem. Ford had a recall for 1999-2001 cars with the same problem.

2003 Ford Taurus was backing out of driveway when front driverside spring snap and punctured the tire.

1) the events leading up to the failure, none, car was riding smooth, no noises, bouncing, etc. . . 2) the failure, how often it occurs, its consequences. The drivers side front strut spring broke, puncturing through the tire. This is a huge known problem with these cars. Luckily I was driving at a slow speed (30 mph) when the spring let go. However, I do take the express way to and from work and travel often. Had this happened on the expressway I most definitely would have lost control when the spring punctured through the tire. 3) what was done to correct the failure? struts, springs, and two front tires were replaced. Luckily my dad, a former mechanic, was able to do the struts and springs for me. Total cost ended up being $600.

We were at a school event and at the end of the day got in our 2003 Ford Taurus and put in gear to leave the parking lot heard a loud bang. Got out and noticed front right tire was completely flat. Got the jack and spare tire out of trunk, lifted car, loosened lugs and tried to pull off tire - wouldn't come off. Reached behind tire and fount the suspension spring was sticking in the back of the tire. Reached in further and pulled out a section of the spring that was completely broken off and tossed it on the ground. Put tire back on and had a flat bed truck come to tow to their repair shop. I am not looking forward to getting this repair bill.

My wife and I got in the car to go home, I started the car and went to leave when we heard a loud bang and car dropped several inches. The right front spring had broken and one of the pieces punctured the tire causing it to deflate immediately. We would have been on the highway in a matter of minutes, had it happened then it could have been catastrophic. I spoke with the dealer and also contacted the manufacturer via e-mail and both basically said sorry for your luck. I know this is a common problem on these vehicles and I actually know someone personally that had the same thing occur with his 2002 Ford Taurus. I am in the process of having repaired now, I am replacing both front springs as a safety precaution and will try to keep the broken spring but there may be a core deposit involved. This defect in my opinion is potentially very serious and widespread and should be addressed by someone. Unfortunately until an entire family gets killed on the highway probably nothing will be done.

Right front spring broke and blew out right front tire. Luckily, my wife was not at highway speed when it happened. We had to replace the tire,and the front right spring and strut assembly.

Was making a turn onto a street when I noticed loud noise coming from the front of the vehicle and smell of burning rubber. Stopped and noticed front left tire was flat. After removal of tire, noticed that inside of tired had been ripped open as a result of the breaking of the front left spring that encompasses the shock.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. While driving approximately 20 mph on normal road conditions there was a loud clanking noise and a strong rubber burning odor inside and outside of the vehicle. The driver pulled over to the side of the road with caution. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The failures were contributed to a broken strut on the front driver side. The front passenger side strut was also severely damaged. The technician replaced both front struts. The failure mileage was 76,300. Updated 02/18/10.

2003 Ford Taurus front spring failure resulting in destruction of front tire. Left front spring catastrophically failed in driveway while driver was entering car, spring punctured left front tire resulting in instant deflation. Temperature at time of failure was approximately 25f. With 116,688 miles, last passed nh state safety inspection in June 2009 which included close inspection of front end due to tie rod replacement & subsequent wheel alignment. Car owned and operated in the salt belt states of ri, MA and nh. Carfax report in 2007 showed good maintenance history and no history of any damage to the vehicle. Cost to repair was $750 including spring replacement, front stabilizer link replacement, front end alignment, and tire replacement. Parts are not available, but contact info to repairing service person is available upon request.

Went to back out of driveway in my 2003 Ford Taurus and a loud gush of air was heard and the front left tire went flat. Removed tire and found front spring was broken and had punctured tire. Have gotten the vehicle to repair shop and am awaiting repair estimate.

Driving @ approx 30mph and heard loud pop. . . Immediately pulled over to discover front end driver side lower than rest of car. Ended up front spring cracked. Both front springs/strut assemblies replaced.

2003 Ford Taurus has had 3 coil spring failures in the last 2 months, resulting in 2 tire punctures. No accidents, no injuries. This vehicle is driven daily by a 71 year old man.

Coil spring snapped off went through tire and popped tire - fortunately happened in driveway backing out - if this happened on the road someone could have been killed.

2003 Ford Taurus- broken left front spring. Turning around in my driveway, the left front spring broke, puncturing the tire, and causing the car to collapse nearly to the ground. My car has about 78,000 miles of normal road driving. The Ford dealer said that there was a recall for this but it ended with 2001 vehicles. My research indicates that the problem did not end with the 2001 vehicles and certainly was not corrected through at least 2003, perhaps longer. The repair expense should be on Ford. It is obviously a defective design and not my fault or because of wear. More importantly, what if I had been doing 55 mph or 65 mph. This could have resulted in a very serious accident, perhaps even death. When will the other side break? research indicates that it may very well happen again. I'm very, very concerned and constantly worried when I drive.

As I was backing my 2003 Ford Taurus (55,000 miles) out of my driveway I heard a loud bang, I stopped the car. I found my left front tire had blown. I called aaa to change the tire that is when I found out the spring broke puncturing the tire. I was very fortunate to be in my driveway. The mechanic I took the car to was not surprised. This is very dangerous. Lives could be lost . Please look into this.

My 2003 Ford Taurus had been parked in my driveway when I heard a very loud bang and then air leaking. I discovered that the left front spring had broken causing damage to the spring, stabilizer link, strut and tire. We had to replace both springs, both stabilizer links, both struts and the left front tire.

Right front strut/spring mount broke looks like from corrosion these models were recalled on earlier models for this same thing seems like its not on your site for the 2003's.

Went out to car in the morning, thought I had a flat tire when in fact the coil spring was broken & punctured the tire. The tow company driver had mentioned that it was a common occurrence for that type of vehicle. Contacted local Ford dealer who regularly works on the vehicle and said the recall did not include 2003 Ford Taurus.

I have a 2003 Ford Taurus. Was leaving my parking lot the other day when suddenly I heard a loud clunk and felt the car lower in the front driver's side. Luckily, I was only about a block from home so I immediately turned around and parked it. Upon inspection, I noticed the spring had completely snapped off the strut and took off a good chunk of my tire. I'm going to attempt to change it but should I take pictures just in case? I've had springs crack before on other cars but never anything like this. Last time I purchase a Ford.

The left front spring broke on my 2003 Ford Taurus while sitting in the garage. When my wife started to back out the tire blew because the spring was rubbing it.

2003 Ford Taurus wagon driverside fornt coil spring snapped and punchured tire luckly it was in my garage overnight, I hoeard a boom and checked tire was flat, took tire of and there was the broken coil. Lucky I wasnt on the road going highway speeds. Im leery of getting another Taurus, after having 3 of them.