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 1999 Ford Taurus owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
My son is 22 yrs old he bought this 1999 Ford Taurus from a used car dealer in March 2013,him and his girlfriend was driving down the highway when all of a sudden,the car jerked to the left really hard he could not control it no steering control,needless to say he went down a ditch thru a yard and hit this ladys parked car in her drive way totaling it,and hit the side of her house,his girl friend was critically injured having to be airlifted,this accident resulted in a serious injury and serious property damage,his girl friends seat belt failed to lock causing her to go forward the airbags did deploy but because seat belt failed to lock her head ended up hitting windshield when she got jerked forward.,,,after accident had the car looked at by a mechanic,the sub frame had rusted out and broken and the lower control arm had snapped causing the car to jerk to the left and causing this …
While driving on pa turnpike on feb 6, 2004, the driver side control arm broke causing loss of control to the vehicle, resulting in damage to the frame and resulting in the vehicle being deemed a "total loss".
I was notified by mail by Ford motor company in August of 2004 of a recall of my 1999 Taurus regarding the coil springs. The recall # is 04s17/04m04. The notice stated that in certain high corrosion areas the front springs could fracture and rupture the tire. It was anticipated that in December 2004, kits would be available to the Ford dealers to install over the springs to prevent tire rupture. On Tuesday dec. 21, 2004, I brought in the car to the dealer for routine service (90,000 miles). I asked about the kit and was told that none were available at this time. The service advisor stated that I would be notified when they are in, but I should be OK. After the car was serviced, I brought the car home on Wednesday, dec. 22, 2004. It then stayed in the garage at home until Tuesday morning dec. 28,2004. At that time, I started the car to go to work. …
I own a 1999 Ford Taurus with 53,000 miles. I received a safety recall notice regarding a front coil spring defect in August of 2004. This notice said that I would be contacted again in December for details on getting shields installed around the coil springs which would prevent potential puncturing of front tires if the coil springs broke. December came and went and in February I received another notice from Ford stating that the shields were not available yet and I would be contacted again in March. As fate would have it a coil spring broke in February, puncturing and immediately deflating a brand new tire. Thank god it happened in my driveway. I don't even want to think about what could have happened if it broke while driving down the highway with my whole family in the car. As I went through the repair process, my local Ford dealer tried to do whatever they could to make me happy. …
Dt: the consumer states that he received a recall notice on his 1999 Ford Taurus about a year and a half ago. The recall was on #04V332000 NHTSA, Ford# 04s17 on the suspension: front coil spring: protective shield. The consumer took his vehicle to the Ford dealership that Ford recommended in the consumers area on May 19, 2005. The vehicle did not make any noise until the recall work was done. The noise is coming from the left side on the front wheel. The dealer performed recall on 04s17. The owner started noticing the noise right after the recall work was done. The owner called the dealer and informed them about the noise. The owner took the vehicle back on June 9, 2005. The dealer checked and said he found problems in the front sway bar and the linkages. The dealer said he would replace the sway bar and links for $160.00. …
Driving our 99 Ford Taurus when we had a sudden blowout and sagging on the left front. The strut spring had ruptured, also puncturing the tire. New front struts and tires totalled over $1100. Luckily, we were traveling at low speed when this occured. One month later I discover that Ford had recalled vehicles including our type for that very problem. We were never notified. The Ford customer relations person (jasmine) said that because they did not have a 'profile' on us, we were not notified. We have lived at the same address since 1991 and have owned this car for years. Any secretary of state office would have had our info, yet no genuine notification attempt was made. I learned that Ford extended warranty coverage for that problem but the time and/or mileage on our car now slightly exceeded the limit. I phoned the NHTSA roughly 3 weeks ago. …
I was driving down the road at 55 MPH when I heard a big bang and my car was headed to the other lane of the road. I tried getting the car under control, when I hit a mail box and my air bag deflated. I was then thrown up into the air and ran straight into a pile of hard wood logs. There were about 40 logs sitting in the pile. I hit half way up the pile which sent a log through the windshield and directly into my face. I was knocked out cold. When I awoke I found the ambulance crew trying to remove me from the vehicle. The car hit so hard that it folded it almost in half. Thank god I am still alive but I lost all my front teeth, my collar bone was pulled out the socket, I had whiplash, my back was hurt and is still bothering me to this day. I still have flashbacks from this day. …
Dt: consumer called in regard to a recall 04m04 he received in 08-2004 regarding corroded coil springs, causing a ruptured tire which could result in an accident. The remedy was to make a shield and to notify customers when this shield was ready. On 12-30-04, vehicle was in an accident but no one was injured. He had the coil springs replaced. In 1-05, consumer received another recall #04s17, explaining the delay in getting these shields prepared. In 05-2005, he received a letter stating the parts were available. He contacted the dealer who said they would not fix the recall. Ford said they would not pay for it either. Neither would reimburse him for the repair work he already had done. Also, transmission on went out after the coil springs were replaced. He felt that transmission problem was due to the accident that occurred in 2004.
About 2 weeks ago as I was backing out of my drive and the left front coil spring broke and punctured my tire. Now just this morning as I was driving down the road the right front coil spring broke and punctured my tire. I know there is a recall from Ford o4s17 front coil springs. However they are saying my car is not covered by the recall since my car was not originally sold in a salt belt state. Well it is in a salt belt state now and it is broke. 2 front coil springs and 2 tires. Everywhere I call the price range is around 1200 dollars. I am very upset with Ford. They sold a defective vehicle and they should be responsible for the repairs. I would rather put the 1200 dollars towards a new vehicle than waste any more money on Ford.
The contact owns a 1999 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 2 MPH to pull into a parking space he heard a loud pooping noise and then noticed that the driver side front tire and the coil spring broke. He had the vehicle towed to the dealership and they repaired the vehicle according to recall#04V332000 affecting the suspension:front:springs:coil springs. However they would not replace the tire as a free remedy that would only cover the expense for the parts they were affected by the recall. He contacted the manufacturer and they did not provide him with any assistance. The failure mileage and current mileage was 130,000. (cc)
Related recalls
Suspension › Front › Springs › Coil springs
On certain passenger vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in the states of connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, and the…
Remedy: Dealers will install protective spring shields. In addition, Ford is extending the warranty coverage of the front coil springs in all other states, for fracture only, up to 10 years of service or 150,000 miles,…
NHTSA investigations
Front suspension coil spring fracture
Odi possesses 130 vehicle owners questionnaires (voq) alleging front suspension coil spring failure in the subject (model year 1999-2000) vehicles.an additional 11 voqs concerning my 2001 vehicles have been found, bringing the total to 141.more than 75% of these reports allege that the broken spring damaged or punctured the adjacent tire.all of these reports originated in the salt belt states located in the…
Front suspension coil spring fracture
A total of 161 front suspension spring failures are known to odi and Ford from all sources, 59 of these leading to tire damage.these failures are concentrated in the corrosion states, where 253,814 subject vehicles were sold.warranty and consumer complaint data show that the subject fleet experienced a spring fracture rate of 0.009% at 30,000 miles and 0.03% at 60,000 miles.these rates are very low when compared to…
Suspension complaints in other Taurus years
Frequently asked questions
How common are suspension problems on the 1999 Ford Taurus?
NHTSA has 180 complaints about the suspension of the 1999 Ford Taurus, 21% of the model year's 874 complaints. The component named most often is front › springs › coil springs (127 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1999 Ford Taurus suspension problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 04V-332 (coil springs, Jul 15, 2004). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 1999 Ford Taurus suspension problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 70,000 miles, and 4% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 4 crashes, 0 fires and 4 injuries to suspension problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
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.