2002 FORD TAURUS Complaints

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

I PUSHED THE ACCELERATOR INTO PASSING GEAR TO GO AROUND A VEHICLE IN THE PASSING ZONE ON A HILL. WHEN I RELEASED THE ACCELERATOR THE CAR CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE AND ON TOPPING THE HILL WE WERE TRAVELING OVER 70 MPH. I TAPPED THE ACCELERATOR BUT ACCELERATION CONTINUED. COMING DOWN THE HILL I SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AND THE ENGINE ACCELERATED TO OVER 6000 RPM. I STOPPED ON LEVEL GROUND AND SHUT THE ENGINE OFF. ON RESTART, THE ENGINE IMMEDIATELY REVVED TO OVER 6000 RPM AND A TRANSAXLE WARNING ICON APPEARED. BY ALTERNATELY SHIFTING IN AND OUT OF GEAR I JERKED TO AN AUTO BODY SHOP. THE MECHANICS KNEW THE PROBLEM IMMEDIATELY; BROKEN PLASTIC TABS HAD ALLOWED THE CRUISE CONTROL CABLE SHEATH TO SLIP OUT OF THE THROTTLE CONNECTOR. THE CABLE SHEATH WAS JAMMED AGAINST THE EDGE OF THE CONNECTOR, HOLDING THE THROTTLE OPEN. WHEN THE SHEATH WAS REINSERTED INTO THE CONNECTOR, RPM RETURNED TO NORMAL. THE MECHANICS WIRED THE CABLE TO THE CONNECTOR SO WE COULD CONTINUE OUR TRIP. FUNCTION IS NORMAL 3K MILES LATER. THE DEALER INDICATED NO RECALLS OR TSB'S RELATED TO THE PROBLEM AND WANTS $34. FOR A NEW CABLE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FORD TAURUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN. THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL ALSO DEPRESSED TO THE FLOORBOARD. THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL BUT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP. THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO A COMMUNICATION BOX, WENT AIR BOURNE, AND CAME TO A STOP AFTER LANDING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST. THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THERE WAS A RECALL UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 02V266000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:PEDALS AND LINKAGES) THAT MAY BE RELATED TO THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 105,000. UPDATED 9/10/12 *CN

SIMILAR TO THE RECENT FORD ESCAPE RECALL, THE CRUISE CONTROL MALFUNCTIONED AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS RESULTING IN THE VEHICLE BEING STUCK IN FULL THROTTLE. THE ONLY EFFECTIVE WAY TO SAFELY SLOW THE VEHICLE WAS TO COMBINE THE STANDARD BRAKES, EMERGENCY BRAKE, AND SWITCHING OFF THE IGNITION. *TR

CAR WAS RUNNING GOOD I PARKED THE CAR WHEN I CAME BACK THE TRANSMISSION DID NOT ENGAGE IN REVERSE OR DRIVE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FORD TAURUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE CUP HOLDER IN THE CENTER OF THE VEHICLE WAS TOO SHALLOW TO HOLD THE CUP. THE CONTACT STATED WHENEVER SHE STOPPED OR ATTEMPTED A TURN, THE CUP WOULD FALL OUT AND ROLL UNDER THE BRAKE OR ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED WHO OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 145,000. UPDATED 08-16-12 *BF

I NOTICED THE REAR OF THE CAR SITTING LOW. UPON INSPECTION IT WAS FOUND BOTH REAR SPRINGS WERE FRACTURED, AND FRACTURE WAS VERY NEAR TIRE. *TR

WHILE DRIVING THE THROTTLE STUCK IN PLACE AND WOULD NOT DECELERATE. UPON INVESTIGATION THE CLIP THAT HOLDS THE CRUISE CONTROL CABLE WAS BROKEN, ALLOWING THE CABLE TO SLIP OUT OF PLACE AND JAM THE THROTTLE CABLE IN AN ACCELERATED POSITION. *TR

I HAVE A 2002 TAURUS WHERE THE PASSENGER SIDE FLOOR WAS GETTING SOPPING WET WHEN THE A/C WAS USED. I DETERMINED THE PROBLEM WAS BACK-FLOW THROUGH THE HIGH DENSITY FOAM SEAL THAT SURROUNDS THE DRAIN SPOUT. THE DRAIN SPOUT GOES THROUGH A HOLE IN THE FIREWALL, AND BLACK HIGH DENSITY FOAM SEALS BETWEEN THE HOLE AND THE EVAPORATOR DRAIN SPOUT. BECAUSE THE DRAIN SPOUT IS MORE OR LESS HORIZONTAL, INSTEAD OF DRIPPING OFF THE END OF THE SPOUT, THE WATER WAS FLOWING BACK ALONG THE BOTTOM OF THE SPOUT TOWARD THE FIREWALL, THEN WICKING THROUGH THE BLACK FOAM BACK INTO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT, RESULTING IN A SOAKED PASSENGER SIDE FLOOR. FORD OFFERED TO REMOVE MY DASH TO FIND THE PROBLEM FOR A COST OF $800 IN LABOR ALONE. THIS SEEMS TO ME LIKE A DEFECT SINCE THERE ARE THOUSANDS ONLINE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE. I FELL THAT FORD NEED TO FIX THIS DEFECT FOR FREE.I DO HAVE A BUMPER TO BUMPER COVERAGE THAT DOES NOT COVER THIS CAN OF REPAIR. I AM UNABLE TO USE THE AC OR VENT WITHOUT HAVE WATER UNDER THE PASSENGER SIDE RUG WHICH GETS SO WET THAT IT TAKES WEEKS TO DRY OUT. I JUST DISCOVERED THAT MY WIFE'S 2005 TAURUS IS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM AS MY 2002. REGARDS, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

SINCE I BOUGHT MY FORD IN JULY 2003 I'VE BEEN COMPLAINING ABOUT MY WINDSHIELD BEING DEFECTIVE, THE WINDSHIELD ITSELF HAS LITTLE CHIPS IN IT (A MANUFACTURER DEFECT IN THE GLASS) AND I'VE ALWAYS COMPLAINED TO MY FORD DEALER ABOUT HIGHWAY NOISE. 9 YEARS LATER THE "NOISE" HAS GOTTEN SO BAD THAT I'M AFRAID THAT IF I HIT A POT HOLE HARD ENOUGH THAT MY WINDSHIELD WILL FALL OUT! ALSO THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER OF MY WINDSHIELD HAS GOTTEN SO BAD THAT I HAD TO STUFF TISSUES TO REDUCE THE RATTLING OF MY WINDSHIELD. AFTER DOING EXTENSIVE RESEARCH ON RECALLS FOR MY CAR I'VE FOUND ONE RECALL FOR THE EXACT PROBLEM I'VE BEEN HAVING ALL THESE YEARS. PLEASE TELL ME THAT I CAN STILL HAVE MY WINDSHIELD REPLACED. IT'S COMING TO THE POINT THAT I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE MY CAR. FORD RECALL NUMBER 03C03, DATED MARCH 03, 2003 FROM NHTSA. THESE RECALL NOTICES WERE SENT OUT IN MARCH ON 2003, I BOUGHT MY CAR FROM FORD IN JULY 2003! . THE WEBSITE THAT I HAD FOUND THIS INFORMATION: HTTP://WWW-ODI.NHTSA.DOT.GOV/ACMS/CS/DOCUMENTLIST.XHTML?DOCID=03V087&DOCTYPE=RCL *JS