 Recently, the front driver side strut failed and the coil spring broke which in turn punctured the tire.  This is just one of many costly problems with this vehicle.  What is interesting about this situation is that the vehicle has less than 100,000 miles on it and has been lightly used over the past five years.  After the suspension failure I found that the 1999 Taurus had been recalled for the possibility of faulty front coil springs.  I guess Ford did not want to recall the 1998 model despite the fact that it is identical in every way to the 1999 model.  Needless to say, I have put as much money and time into this vehicle as I am willing to bear.  This Taurus is headed to the junkyard.