Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, springs).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1997 Ford Taurus owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl contact owns a 1997 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving out of his garage, the front coil spring on the drivers side broke and ripped the tire apart. The vehicle was not inspected or repaired at the time of the complaint. There were no warning signs or prior instances of the failure. The contact called the manufacturer who advised him to take the vehicle to an authorized dealership. The current and failure mileages were approximately 176,000. Updated 12/29/10 updated 12/30/10
I was driving my car at the time when I heard a loud noise in the front of my car. I was turning left into a parking lot so I wasn't going very fast I stopped and looked at my car and noticed that the left front side of my car was almost sitting on the front tire I was glad that I wasn't on the interstate at the time. I have never had this happen with any of my other cars .I would think the springs are stronger than that. Thank god I wasn't going fast.......
Driving at 30mph when I heard a very loud rattle/clanking noise. A few seconds later a piece of left front coil spring snapped and fell off my car. I was <1 mile from home so I picked up the piece and returned safely. I did notice the brakes were going out. Once I returned I found my brake fluid line was severed by the coil spring. I have not fixed the car yet. It is parked in my driveway unusable.
Tl* the contact owns a 1997 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that all four coil springs failed. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign id number: 4v332000 (suspension: front: coil springs) but was advised by the manufacturer that the 1999 model was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. He failure and the current mileage was 88,000.
Right front coil spring broke and punctured tire. Ford has a recall for Taurus model years 1999 - 2001 for this exact failure. As this is a critical failure mode, I believe Ford should expand the recall to include earlier model years.
Vehicle would not accelerate from a stopped position without shaking violently. 57500 miles at the time, $1900 to fix it. ****dims 11 ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut-over to artemis*****749177.
I am the owner of a 1997 Ford Taurus. I was in clarendon hills, il from July 22nd until July 31st. On July 26th I spent the day driving my car. After I parked my car at the hotel it was an hour later when I heard a loud pop and then a hissing noise. The next day I went down to my car. It was at that time I noticed my car was sunk down. I went to change what I thought was a flat tire and after further investigation I realized something was stuck into the side of it. The coil spring surrounding the strut broke and punctured the tire making it go flat instantly. I spoke to two people that morning that were standing outside and witnessed it the night before. There was no cause for this to happen. It was not being driven. My concern in this matter is that it could have caused serious injury. What if I had driven another hour? I fear it would have caused me to veer off into oncoming traffic. …
Air condition unit sealed now leaking again the cv joints went out and the auto repair shop (marty's auto discount at 13 and harris ave) who was supposed to fix the repairs said the lower arm control and the axle were in unsafe condition to drive . The car is still not right , the dealer wants me to continue to make payments on this vehicle and I want to trade the car for something else .I believe there are more promblems coming in the near future.
Problem 1: due to significant front end vibration at speeds at or over 40 MPH, the dealer replaced both tie-rod ends on a car just over 3 years old with less than 30,000 miles. Problem 2: discovered the safety information placard on the door post does not list mandatroy information about tire air pressures. The owner's manual refers to this placard, but also does not provide any tire pressure information.
1while driving 1997 Taurus sho at 38672 miles, the vehicle collapsed. The left spring had broken. The incident destroyed the consumer's snow tire. The consumer felt that maybe this is a northeastern problem due to the salt and moisture that causes the spring to deteriorate. Ford announced 900000K Taurus' from 1999-2001 were being recalled for the problem that the consumer had experienced.
Suspension complaints in other Taurus years
Frequently asked questions
How common are suspension problems on the 1997 Ford Taurus?
NHTSA has 28 complaints about the suspension of the 1997 Ford Taurus, 4% of the model year's 770 complaints. The component named most often is front › springs › coil springs (10 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1997 Ford Taurus suspension problems?
No. NHTSA lists no suspension recall for the 1997 Ford Taurus, though it has 3 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 1997 Ford Taurus suspension problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 97,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.