2003 FORD TAURUS Electrical System Problems

DASH LIGHTS WON'T WORK EXCEPT FOR HAZARD LIGHTS WHICH STAY ON AT ALL TIMES WHEN LIGHT SWITCH ACTIVATED. ALL OTHER INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR LIGHTS WORK. STARTED DURING COLD MONTHS BUT WOULD RESOLVE WHEN CAR WARMED UP. NOW THE LIGHTS ARE TOTALLY OUT. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD SINCE I CANNOT SEE THE GAUGES AS I AM DRIVING TO AND FROM WORK IN THE DARK. IT SEEMS TO BE A CROSSED WIRE OR CIRCUIT BOARD MALFUNCTION. TRIED TO EXPLAIN PROBLEM TO LOCAL DEALERSHIP, HAD APPOINTMENT AND THEN THEY WANTED IT TO SIT THERE FOR 3 DAYS WHILE TECHNICIAN WHO STARTED THE WORK WAS OFF!! IT WILL BE GOING TO A NEW DEALERSHIP ON MONDAY! *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 FORD TAURUS. WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, THE ANTI-THEFT WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE LOST ALL POWER AND SHUT OFF. THE DEALER REPLACED A SENSOR AT THE COST OF $400, BUT THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER THREE TIMES AND THEY REPLACED THE SENSOR AGAIN. THE AUTOMATIC CONTROL AND POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULES WERE REPLACED AND A NEW COMPUTER WAS INSTALLED; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE CONTINUED. DURING THE FINAL TIME THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, THEY STATED THAT AN ENGINEER WOULD BE FLOWN IN TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE ENGINEER CONCLUDED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS LOSING 2.4 VOLTS WHILE DRIVING, WHICH CAUSED IT TO SHUT OFF. BYPASS WIRES WERE INSTALLED ON THE VEHICLE IN AN ATTEMPT TO GET IT TO OPERATE CORRECTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS IN THE SHOP FOR OVER 30 DAYS AND IS CURRENTLY AWAITING REPAIRS. THE...

WATER LEAKS INTO THE PASSENGER SIDE FRONT FLOOR BOARD. WATER ALSO ACCUMULATES IN THE BLOWER MOTOR HOUSING, CAUSING IT AND THE CONTROL RESISTOR TO SHORT OUT. *TR

POOR VEHICLE DESIGN ALLOWED WATER TO LEAK INTO HVAC SYSTEM CAUSING DAMAGE TO BLOWER RESISTOR AND BLOWER MOTOR. NOW UNABLE TO DEFROST / DEFOG FRONT WINDSHIELD. *TR

THE AIR CONDITIONER FAN HAS STOPPED WORKING DUE TO A LEAK IN A DEFECTIVE COWL. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 FORD TAURUS. THE CONTACT EXPERIENCED SEVERAL WIRING MALFUNCTIONS WITH THE VEHICLE. THE INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTS WOULD PERIODICALLY ILLUMINATE AUTOMATICALLY, AND THE HEADLIGHTS WERE ALSO TURNING ON AND OFF WITHOUT ACTIVATING THE LIGHT SWITCH. THE ENGINE WOULD ALSO REV AUTOMATICALLY AND, WHEN SWITCHING FROM PARK TO DRIVE, THE ENGINE WOULD REV AGAIN. IN ADDITION, WHEN IN PARK, THE VEHICLE WOULD SHUT OFF BY ITSELF AND HAVE TO BE PLACED INTO NEUTRAL IN ORDER TO BE RESTARTED. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC COULD NOT LOCATE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. A DIAGNOSTIC WAS ALSO PERFORMED, BUT IT DID NOT PRODUCE A FAILURE CODE. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 75,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 81,000.

WHEN DRIVING MY 2003 FORD TAURUS WAGON IT STALLS FOR ONLY A FEW SECONDS BUT COMES BACK ON BY ITSELF. THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN ALL THE TIME BUT YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN IT WILL. AT TRAFFIC LIGHT & ALL DASHBOARD LIGHTS CAME ON &CAR DID STALL & I HAD TO RESTART CAR. DRIVING AT 65MPH ON HIGHWAY ALL LIGHTS ON DASHBOARD WILL COME ON & CAR STALLS BUT RESTARTS ON ITS OWN WHICH IS SCARY. WARRANTY ALREADY EXPIRED. *TR

2003 FORD TAURUS. SEVERE STALLING PROBLEMS. ALSO, BEFORE EACH STALLING INCIDENT THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS WILL FLASH ON AND OFF, AND THE SPEEDOMETER AND TACHOMETER WILL FLUCTUATE. THESE PROBLEMS OCCUR WHEN THE AUTO IS AT DRIVING SPEED OR AT IDLE. THE MOST SEVERE INCIDENT OCCURRED WHEN I WAS DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH. THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS FLASHED AND THE ENGINE DIED. I HAVE TAKEN THE AUTO TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP IN NORMAN, OK. THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. *JB

SAME AS COMPLAINT NO. 10194207 BUT WITH A SECOND VEHICLE. IT HESITATES OR STALLS WITH NO NOTICE OTHER THAN ALL THE DASH LIGHTS COMING ON FOR A FEW SECONDS. THEN, THERE IS A LOSS OF POWER. HAPPENS WHEN CAR IS IN MOTION AND AT INTERSECTIONS. CAR CAN BE GOING 60 MPH OR CAN BE AT A STOPLIGHT. HAS BEEN ON FLIGHT RECORDER AND COMPUTER, BUT NO CODES. DIFFERENT FIXES HAVE BEEN TRIED BY FORD, BUT SO FAR NOTHING HAS WORKED FOR VERY LONG. HAD BOTH CARS IN SHOP AGAIN THIS MONTH FOR THE PROBLEM. NO ONE IS ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE SPECIFIC PROBLEM, SO THE TRIAL AND ERROR METHOD HAS BEEN FOR THE MOST RECENT STAYS IN THE SHOP. LEFT ONE OF THE VEHICLES AT FORD FOR ABOUT A WEEK EARLIER THIS MONTH. THE OTHER WAS IN ON AND OFF 2 OR 3 TIMES THIS MONTH. THE HESITATION AND STALLING...

VEHICLE HESITATES OR STALLS OUT WHILE IN MOTION. ALL THE DASH LIGHTS COME AND THEN THERE IS A SUDDEN LOSS OF ELECTRIC POWER. HAVE TWO OF THE SAME VEHICLE AND HAVE THE PROBLEM WITH BOTH. FORD HAS TRIED TO CORRECT THIS BUT ALL ATTEMPTS HAVE FAILED. BOTH CARS ARE STILL UNDER WARRANTY AND HAVE ABOUT 54000 MILES. THE CARS HAVE BEEN DRIVEN WITH RECORDERS AND COMPUTER BUT NO CODES COME UP. LATELY, THEY HAVE BEEN HESITATING/STALLING AT LEAST A COUPLE OF TIMES A WEEK. SOMETIMES THEY STALL WHILE DRIVING AND SOMETIMES WHILE AT A LIGHT. THE WORST IS WHEN THE LIGHTS ALL COME ON AND THEY HESITATE WHILE MOVING AT 65 MPH WITH AN EIGHT WHEELER OR SUV RIGHT BEHIND. MY WIFE, TWO DAUGHTERS, & I HAVE ALL EXPERIENCED THIS SITUATION AND IT'S VERY FRIGHTENING. *AK

I OWN A 2003 FORD TAURUS AND I HAD TO REPLACE THE BLOWER MOTOR, A RESISTOR AND THE BOWER MOTOR WHEEL. THIS WAS DO TO A DEFECTIVE DESIGN BY FORD THAT LETS MOISTURE INTO THE BLOWER MOTOR AREA THUS CAUSING IT TO FAIL, THEY REFUSE TO DO A RECALL AND I HAVE SEEN THOUSANDS OF THE SAME COMPLAINTS ON WEBSITES FOR AUTO REPAIR. *JB

WHEN SOMEONE WAS GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE STALLING PROBLEMS WHILE DRIVING2003 FORD TAURUS. SOMETIMES IT WASD AT A STOP, BUT IT ALSO HAPPENED AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. IT CHOKED OUT, THE GAUGES WENT HAYWIRE, AND IT STALLED. THISWAS SOMETHING I FOUND ON BLOGS WAS A COMMON COMPLAINT BY TAURUS OWNERS. IT WAS A DISTRACTION THAT COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. IT WAS SCARY WHEN IT HAPPENED. *AK

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 FORD TAURUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE WINDSHIELD DEFROSTER MUST BE POWERED ON AND OFF IN ORDER FOR IT TO OPERATE. THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO RETRIEVE AIR OR HEAT INSIDE THE VEHICLE. THE WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE RAINY. THE MANUFACTURER ADVISED THE CONTACT TO BRING THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE BLOWER MOTOR FAILED AND CONTAINED WATER DAMAGE. FORD AGREED TO PAY FOR HALF OF THE REPAIRS. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS A 16,400 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 16,300.*AK THE CONSUMER STATES HE WOULD LIKE TO REIMBURSED FOR AMOUNT HE PAID OF $182.00, HOWEVER FORD ONLY AGREED TO PAY FOR A PORTION OF THE REPAIR. UPDATED 05/04/07*TR

WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS THE VEHICLE WENT DEAD FOR 1 TO 3 SECONDS AND THEN STARTED BACK UP AGAIN. IT WAS TO THE POINT THAT I WOULD NOT ALLOW MY WIFE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE SINCE SHE MAY PANIC AND HAVE AND ACCIDENT. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO DEALER, AND NO ONE SEEMED TO KNOW THE CAUSE FOR THIS.*AK

BLOWER MOTOR (BLOWN) ISSUES WITH WATER LEAKAGE AND A VERY WET AND SMELLY CAR . *JB

HAVE REPLACED THE BLOWER MOTOR RESISTORS ON A 2003 FORD TAURUS TWICE (PAID FOR TWICE AT A FORD REPAIR SHOP) AND IT HAS QUIT AGAIN - ALL WITHIN A TWO MONTH PERIOD. AFRAID TO LET THEM TRY AGAIN. *JB

2003 FORD TAURUS SES. FORD TSB 4-15-3, NHTSA #10011149. BLOWER MOTOR RESISTOR FAILURE. MOISTURE CAUSES THE RESISTOR TO SHORT OUT. MOISTURE AND ELECTRICAL SHORT IS A FIRE HAZARD. RESISTOR AND BLOWER MOTOR MUST BE REPLACED AND BLOWER MOTOR HOUSING MUST BE RESEALED. THIS SAME PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED IN 2001, 2002, 2003, AND 2004 MODEL YEARS. DEFECTIVE WORKMANSHIP AND MATERIALS. *JB

BLOWER MOTOR SWITCH WENT OUT, PLUS WATER LEAK ON PASSENGER FRONT SIDE. *NM

I HAVE A 2003 FORD TAURUS SE, WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY I TRIED TO MAKE A PHONE CALL HOME. AT THE TIME MY PHONE COULD NOT CONNECT, I RE-TRIED THE PHONE CALL MY PHONE MADE A CLICKING SOUND, SIMULTANEOUSLY MY DASH BOARD BLINKED OUT AND RESET TO ALL THE WRONG INFORMATION. WHEN I EXITED THE FREEWAY I PULLED OVER AND RESTARTED MY VEHICLE EVERYTHING RESET CORRECTLY. I CONTACTED FORD, THEY SAID IT WAS A VOLTAGE SPIKE. I THEN TALKED TO A GOOD FRIEND IN THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT DEPT. AT A COMPETITOR. HE TOLD ME THAT CERTAIN TYPES OF CELL PHONE SIGNALS WILL INTERFERE WITH THE ELECTRONIC DEVICES IN SOME VEHICLES. I THINK THAT FORD SHOULD TAKE THIS A BIT MORE SERIOUSLY BECAUSE IF THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT THIS MODEL TAURUS HAS, IT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED. *JB

ON 6-7-06, WHILE DRIVING THE CAR TO WORK, THE FAN MOTOR QUIT. FOR THE NEXT WEEK, THE MOTOR WOULD QUIT OR FAIL TO RUN ANY TIME THAT IT WAS RAINING OR HAD RAINED. THIS EFFECTED USING THE DEFROST AND THE AIR CONDITIONING. AFTER CHECKING ALL FUSES, I FINALLY TOOK THE CAR INTO THE DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT. ONE OF THE SERVICE ADVISORS LOOKED AT THE CAR AND ASKED IF THIS WAS A 2003 MODEL TAURUS? HE THEN EXPLAINED THAT THIS PROBLEM IS COMMON WITH THAT CAR. HE EXPLAINED ABOUT THE WATER GETTING IN THE MOTOR AND THAT THERE WAS A TSB ON HOW TO FIX THIS. HOWEVER, FORD WOULD NOT COVER ANY OF THE COST SINCE THERE WAS NO RECALL AT THIS TIME. TOTAL COST OF THE REPAIR WAS 401.14 DOLLARS. SINCE THIS CAUSED A ELECTRICAL SHORT AND WAS NOT PROTECTED BY FUSES, I AM SURPRISED THAT THERE WAS NOT A...

YESTERDAY MY FORD TAURUS 2003 WHILE MY CHILD WAS WITH ME HAD THE ENGINE GO WILD OUT OF CONTROL. THE ENGINE ALL BY ITS SELF STARTED RACING AT HIGH SPEED AND THERE WAS NO CONTROL OF IT. I HAD GOOD SENSE TO HOLD DOWN THE BRAKE AND SHIFTED IT INTO NEUTRAL. IT RAN THIS WAY FOR A MINUTE OR TWO. I ALMOST KILLED MYSELF AND MY DAUGHTER. I TOOK THE CAR RIGHT AWAY TO WESTFIELD FORD 708-354-8600 AND WAS TOLD THAT THE COMPUTER THAT CONTROLS THE ENGINE WENT WACKY AND NEEDED TO BE RE-PROGRAMMED. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS CONDITION WHEN THE CAR CAN JUST TAKE OFF BY ITS SELF WITH NO SAFETY SHUT DOWN. PLEASE INVESTIGATE MAYBE SOMEONE WAS KILLED THIS WAY BECAUSE OF A DEFECT IN A COMPUTER. IF THERE WAS MORE TRAFFIC PRESENT I COULD HAVE DIED ALONG WITH MY CHILD. THE CUSTOMER REPORT FROM WESTFIELD SAYS...

DT*: THE CONSUMER STATED THE TURN SIGNALS AND HAZARD LIGHTS WORKED INTERMITTENTLY. IF THE STEERING WHEEL WAS IN THE UP POSITION, BOTH OF THE SIGNAL LIGHTS WORK PROPERLY. IF THE STEERING WHEEL WAS THE UP AND STANDARD POSITION, THE LIGHTS WOULD MALFUNCTION. THE DEALERSHIP AND MANUFACTURER HAVE NOT BEEN CONTACTED. *JB UPDATED 02/09/06. *JB

DT: ABOUT FOUR MONTHS AGO THE ENGINE WOULD COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN WHILE DRIVING WITH A LOSS OF POWER. THIS HAPPENED WITHOUT WARNING, NO PREVIOUS STALLING. ONCE THE ENGINE DIED, A PERIOD OF ABOUT TEN MINUTES WOULD PASS, AND THEN A RESTART WOULD BE POSSIBLE. SOMETIMES IT WOULD TAKE NUMEROUS TIMES TO RESTART. AFTER THE FIRST OCCURRENCE, THE CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A FORD DEALER, WHERE IT WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY, AND THEY REPLACED THE FUEL PUMP. THE FUEL PUMP DID NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM BECAUSE THE ENGINE WOULD STILL DIE. THE CONSUMER DID RETURN TO THE DEALER, AND THEY PERFORMED A DIAGNOSTIC TEST WHICH SHOWED A VALVE ASSEMBLY CONTROL FAILURE AND IT WAS REPLACED. ALSO, THEY PERFORMED FUEL PUMP PRESSURE TEST, RECORDER MONITOR ROAD TEST, CHECK OF BATTERY CONDITION, AND A REPLACEMENT OF THE ELECTRICAL FUEL PUMP ASSEMBLY. AFTER ALL OF THESE TESTS AND CORRECTIONS, THIS WAS STILL A...

DT: 2003 FORD TAURUS. VEHICLE STALLED ON JUNE 13, 2005 AND ALL THE DASHBOARD INDICATOR LIGHTS CAME ON AND STAYED FOR JUST A COUPLE OF SECONDS. THIS HAPPENED AT LEAST 7 TIMES SINCE THEN. THE CAR WILL NEVER COMPLETELY DIE, IT JUST MAD ETHE CONSUMER FELL THAT HE HAAD NO CONTROL OF VEHICLE. WHEN IT DID DIE IT WILL RESTART, AND THE CAR WAS BACK TO NORMAL. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER, AND THEY CHECKED IT OUT AND COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG. *AK

VEHICLE STALLS AND DIES OUT AT ANY GIVEN TIME. *AK