2003 FORD TAURUS Complaints

WENT TO CROSS A VERY BUSY INTERSECTION IN OUR CITY (AND INTERSECTION WHERE THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE FATALITIES), AND THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT GO. ENGINE WAS RUNNING; TRANSMISSION ACTED AS IF IT WERE IN NEUTRAL. I WAS STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BUSIEST ROAD IN DESOTO COUNTY. MY FRIENDS AND I HAD TO GET OUT OF THE VEHICLE AND PUSH IT ACROSS THE ROAD TO A SAFE PLACE. IT APPEARS THE TRANSMISSION HAS FAILED AND THE LOCAL TRANSMISSION SHOPS WANT CLOSE TO $1800.00 TO REPLACE. I HAVE READ NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS OF THIS SAME ISSUE AFFECTING OTHERS. WHY HASN'T FORD PLACED A RECALL ON THIS ISSUE AND FIX IT? I AM SURPRISED SOMEONE HAS NOT BEEN KILLED. *TR

DRIVING DOWN LONG ROAD, GOT UP TO 40 MPH, CAR STAYED ON THAT SPEED AS IF IT WAS IN CRUISE CONTROL MODE. I HAD THE CRUISE CONTROL OFF. I EVEN SLOWED DOWN TO 30, CAR STAYED ON THIRTY. HAD FOOT OFF THE GAS PEDAL. IT SURGES FORWARD. I READ HORROR STORIES OF OTHER YEAR TAURUS' DOING SAME THING, CAUSING CRASHES. MY 16 YR OLD DAUGHTER DRIVES THIS CAR. EVERY OTHER CAR AROUND THIS YEARS DATE WAS RECALLED, BUT NOT THE 2003. I CHANGED MY HOSES, SO IT'S NOT THAT. THE CAR IS LITERALLY STAYING IN CRUISE CONTROL MODE EVEN WHEN IT'S OFF. WHEN I TURN MY STEERING WHEEL SLIGHTLY TO THE RIGHT, I CAN HEAR A TICKING SOUND ONCE OR TWICE, NOT SURE WHAT THAT IS, IT'S SCARY THOUGH. BEFORE SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS I WANT A RECALL FOR THIS YEAR OF TAURUS REGARDING THE CRUISE CONTROL BEING ENGAGED. *TR

TRAVELING IN REVERSE AT APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH WHEN FRONT LEFT (DRIVER'S SIDE) SUSPENSION SPRING COIL BROKE AND PUNCTURED THE TIRE. REFERENCE: INVESTIGATION: #EA08018. *TR

THE VEHICLE SUFFERED A BROKEN PASSENGER SIDE FRONT SUSPENSION SPRING. IT IMMEDIATELY CUT THROUGH AND DEFLATED THE FRONT TIRE. IT IS LUCK THAT THIS HAPPENED AT VERY SLOW SPEED, IF IT HAPPENED AT HIGHWAY SPEED, LOSS OF CONTROL WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKELY. THE BROKEN COIL SPRING "HOOKED" THE TIRE AND CUT THE TIRE ON THE INSIDE SIDEWALL A FULL 360 DEGREE SEPARATING THE INSIDE OF THE TIRE FROM THE TREAD SURFACE. IT WAS DIFFICULT TO MOVE THE VEHICLE IN A DESIRED DIRECTION. IT WAS EASIER TO PARK THE VEHICLE SAFELY BY BACKING UP TO THE CURB. I UNDERSTAND THAT EARLIER MODEL YEAR FORD TAURUS' WERE RECALLED FOR THE SAME TYPE OF SPRING FAILURE. *JS

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 FORD TAURUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE JERKED FORWARD INTERMITTENTLY AND THE TRANSMISSION FAILED TO ENGAGE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE FILTER AND THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE FLUSHED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED AND THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE PUMPS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS SCHEDULE TO BE INSPECTED AND REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 82,000.

WE WERE STOPPED AT A STOP LIGHT WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN CAR WOULD NOT GO. IT ACTED LIKE IT WAS IN NEUTRAL. DOESN'T MATTER IF IT IS IN REVERSE,OVERDRIVE ,DRIVE OR 1ST GEAR ACTS JUST LIKE IT IS NEUTRAL. NO WARNING OF ANY ISSUES. *TR

STOPPED AT STOP SIGN AND CAR WOULDN'T ACCELERATE OR GO INTO ANY GEAR. TROUBLE SHOT PROBLEM AS BEING THE TORQUE CONVERTER. *TR

I WAS DRIVING DOWN A MAIN HIGHWAY WHEN MY RPM'S DROPPED (AS IF CAR WAS GOING TO STALL), THERE WAS A LOSS OF POWER AND THEN THE CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. AS I WAS IN A AREA WHERE THERE WAS A LOT OF TRAFFIC I HAD TO EASE MY WAY OVER TO BE ABLE TO GET THE VEHICLE OFF OF THE ROAD. THE ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING, BUT AS I TRIED TO ACCELERATE THERE WAS NO POWER. THE SHIFTER ON THE COLUMN JUST GOES UP AND DOWN AND DOES NOT ENGAGE IN ANY GEAR. EVERYONE THAT I HAVE CONSULTED SEEMS TO THINK THAT IT IS AN ISSUE WITH THE TRANSMISSION. I HAVE SINCE DONE RESEARCH ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THESE CARS. HAD I KNOWN THAT I WOULD NEVER HAVE PURCHASED IT. ON ONE WEBSITE ALONE THERE WERE 293 CASES REPORTED OF THE SAME TRANSMISSION FAILURE AND FORD HAS REFUSED TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS KNOWN PROBLEM. MY DAD WORKED FOR FORD FOR ALMOST 40 YEARS BEFORE RETIRING. WE HAVE ALWAYS DRIVEN FORDS AND HAVE NEVER HAD AN ISSUE LIKE THIS WITH ANY OF OUR VEHICLES. I AM SURE THAT MY DAD IS TURNING OVER IN HIS GRAVE RIGHT NOW AT THE POOR QUALITY OF THE TAURUS AND THE KNOWN ISSUES WHICH FORD IS AWARE OF, BUT HAS NEVER DONE ANYTHING TO RECTIFY IT WITH TAURUS OWNERS. WHO CAN AFFORD TO GO OUT AND BUY A BRAND NEW CAR IN THIS DAY AND AGE? EVEN WORSE YET, WHO WOULD WANT TO SINK THE AMOUNT OF MONEY IT WOULD COST FOR A REPAIR JOB ON A TRANSMISSION INTO A CAR THAT ISN'T WORTH MUCH MORE VALUE WISE. I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH FORD! I AM A SINGLE FEMALE IN HER 60'S THAT CAN'T AFFORD THE REPAIRS OR TO GO OUT AND BUY ANOTHER VEHICLE AT THIS TIME. I AM STILL WORKING AND ALSO DRIVE A HALF HOUR ONE WAY TO GO TO COLLEGE 4 DAYS A WEEK. NOW WHAT DO I DO? SHAME ON YOU FORD FOR NOT STANDING BEHIND YOUR PRODUCTS!

CAR HAS/HAD BEEN DRIVING AND SHIFTING PERFECTLY,(NO SLIPPING, NO HESITATION, NOTHING). AFTER DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 4 MILES, TURNING CAR OFF FOR ROUGHLY 10 MINUTES, RESTARTING AND DRIVING ABOUT 1 MILE TRANSMISSION ACTED AS IF IT WAS SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL. AFTER STOPPING, ATTEMPTED SHIFTING THROUGH ALL GEARS INCLUDING REVERSE, SAME RESULT. AFTER FURTHER INSPECTION FOUND FLUID LEVEL RIGHT AT FULL MARK, AND FLUID WAS AS CLEAN AS THE DAY IT WAS NEW,(NOT BURNT AT ALL). WAS TOLD BY THE LOCAL FORD DEALER THAT THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS YEAR TAURUS AND THAT THERE IS NO SERVICE BULLETINS OR RECALLS, (CUSTOMER PAY ONLY). CAR HAS BEEN PARKED SINCE IT BROKE DOWN BECAUSE WE ARE WAITING TO SEE IF FORD MAY/WILL GET FORCED TO ADDRESS THIS OBVIOUS ISSUE. THANK YOU. *TR

STARTED MY 2003 FORD TAURUS TO GO TO WORK. MY CAR WAS PARKED ON A DOWNWARD SLOPED DRIVEWAY AS IT HAS BEEN FOR SEVERAL YEARS. AS I WENT TO PUT IT IN REVERSE IT ROLLED DOWN THE INCLINE. TRIED SEVERAL TIMES TO PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE BUT EACH TIME IT ROLLED DOWN THE INCLINE. AFTER ALMOST HITTING MY BACKYARD FENCE I CUT THE CAR OFF AND CALLED IN LATE FOR WORK. I REALIZE ALL CARS HAVE THINGS THAT MIGHT HAVE TO BE REPLACED OR WORKED ON BUT GIVEN THE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS OF THIS SAME ISSUE AMONG THIS MAKE/MODEL/YEAR WITH TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS FORD SHOULD MAKE THIS RIGHT WITH PEOPLE WHO TRUSTED THE COMPANY ENOUGH TO BUY THEIR PRODUCT. MANY COMPLAINTS HAVE CAUSED NEAR ACCIDENTS. I COULD HAVE ENDED UP DESTROYING MY FENCE AND ENTERING THE CREEK THAT RUNS ALONG MY BACKYARD. MY MECHANIC SAID THIS WAS A DEFECT IN THE TRANSMISSION INVOLVING THE TORQUE CONVERTER. FORD PLEASE PAY FOR THE DEFECT IN YOUR PRODUCT SO I CAN TRUST YOU AGAIN. *TR