This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the gear shifter ceased in the park position without warning. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic where they replaced the steering column tube assembly however, the failure persisted. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer had been notified of the failure. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 04V106000 (exterior lighting) however, the vehicle was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that when starting the vehicle and attempting to shift, the gear shifter locked in the park position. The contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer (deacon jones Ford-Lincoln located at 3301 mclain street, goldsboro, nc 27534 phone number 800-921-7994) who confirmed their failure was related to NHTSA campaign number: 04V106000 (exterior lighting) however, their vehicle's VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact was referred to NHTSA to file a complaint. The approximate failure mileage was 135,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the gear shifter would not move out of park. The contact had to depress the brake pedal multiple times for the gear shifter to move. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing or repairs. The contact believed that the failure was related to NHTSA campaign number: 04V106000 (exterior lighting). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact to call NHTSA. The failure mileage was 123,000.
I am filing dual complaints pertaining to this issue, first with the national highway transportation safety authority and a second consumer complaint with Mr. Patrick morrisey, attorney general West Virginia. The attorney general has a consumer protection division to help residents in the event of a safety concern and a consumer complaint that brings a concern to the safety of others, as well as the safety of the public and the consumer. Under "speed control" as checked off, this includes systems and devices intended to control (accelerate) the speed of the vehicle to the driver's intent such as the accelerator pedal, throttle control cables, linkages, actuators, electronic control units and software, cruise control system actuators and deactivating systems, and other components and systems that may interfere with the speed control system (e.g., floor mats). My 2004 Taurus has nearly 90,000 miles. It has been running well. On multiple incidents in 2017 my Taurus would without any warning or indications suddenly begin to accelerate on its own. I describe it to others as having to throttle stick. I was freaking out, because cars behind me did not understand what was happening and I was afraid they would easily become collateral damage. I put the car into nuetral and the engine on its own volition revved up to over 4000 RPM. A person on the side walk thought I was about to strike them as they jump out of the way. I learned 150 faulty speed control problem complaints, 6 injuries, and 1 death. This problem is a very common problem the NHTSA has known since 2004, people have been injured as a result and even death reported but strangely no safety recall has been issued about this terrible and tragic problem, which is another reason I am filing the dual complaint in the hopes that attorney general morrisey. He is responsible for public safety from such issue.
I was driving on the highway doing around 70 and, all of a sudden, the RPM's revved up really high (into the 7000's) and the car indicator said check transmission. I quickly changed lanes and got onto the shoulder and shut off my car. I let it sit for ten minutes while I checked for visible problems. Finding none, I then turned the car back on and put it in gear and it would not move. I tried it in every gear but the car still refused to move. I then had it towed to a mechanic that said that my transmission was bad. My regular mechanic and I had done some research over the phone while we were waiting to hear back from the mechanic and found that other people had the same problem. They said that it was the fault of a bad torque converter. Ford actually has a lot of complaints about bad torque converters and did a recall for their 2004 freestar which I had heard uses the same torque converter as the Taurus. After researching, I decided to take my car to a transmission shop instead and they confirmed that the torque converter was indeed bad. The splines had stripped out and/or broke. It cost $1400 to replace it for a car that had a little over 57000 miles. During my research I came across others who had even less mileage on their Taurus's when their torque converters died.
- Pennsauken, NJ, USA
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The contact owns a 2004 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the vehicle's brake lights remained illuminated without the brake pedal being depressed causing the battery to fail at times. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift from park to drive when depressing the vehicle's brake pedal properly. The brake lights were no longer operable. The contact had not taken the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 16E026000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.
My car has the same problem as NHTSA campaign number 04V106000 (Ford recall number 04S12-manufacturer's report date April 5, 2004). Yet, it's not flagging my VIN as part of the recall. The badge on the driver's door shows the car was built 02/2004. It's been doing it a long time off and on, I thought it was the tilt steering wheel. The gearshift will not come out of park with your foot on the brake pedal. I understand that it's a faulty brake light switch. My car should be covered by this recall. Thank you for any help with this matter!
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Taurus. While driving approximately 45 mph, the steering wheel was difficult to turn left or right. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
I ran by a friends house to pick up an item. After putting my gear selector in reverse I realized that I not only couldn't back up, but could not get any gear to engage! my transmission had completely failed with absolutely zero indication that it was about to die.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the transmission failed to shift gears without warning. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 172,666.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the gear was unable to shift out of park. The contact had to make numerous attempts to get the vehicle to change gears and, at times, the vehicle was unable to be driven. The vehicle was not inspected and diagnosed. The contact was to check with the manufacturer to determine a repair solution. The VIN and failure mileage were not available.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Taurus. After the vehicle was refueled, the gear shift failed to switch out of the park position. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 105,000.
Torque converter failed in transmission, which led to total failure. On highway at 65 mph when vehicle started to slow while driving. Got to shoulder, and had car towed. This is common problem with this car. Ford will not recall or help. Spline is to thin, and, out of spec. In regard to thickness.
Coming down poway road in poway, ca it was very difficult to stop and it seemed the engine was revving. I pulled over to a safe turnout and it was difficult to stop completely as the brakes were spongy. When I put the transmission in park, the engine speed was over 2500 RPM. I turned the engine off and could smell the brakes. Suspecting a stuck throttle, I removed the protective cover and the accelerator was being held open by the cruise control cable which had become disconnected at the throttle linkage area. I removed the assembly and pushed it aside so we could continue driving. I consider this a very dangerous situation as we were driving down a grade and I was trying to apply the brakes at the same time the engine was pushing us faster. Since it was Saturday I drive to the dealer. I knew there had been a similar recall I checked to see if our vehicle was included and it was not but the service advisor was very familiar with the recall which Ford had done as "customer satisfaction program 13B04" which he provided me a copy of. I have seen this in my son's 2002 Ford Taurus also. The clip that holds the cruise control cable to the throttle linkage disconnects and because of the stiffness, actually prevents the accelerator linkage from returning to idle. Although it has not failed, I can see the same linkage on my 2003 Mercury Sable which of course is a repackaged Taurus. This clip is a very poor design in that it does not do a good job of holding onto the accelerator pin. From observation I know that it was used in at least 3 model years and perhaps more. This should have been more than a courtesy fix as unintended acceleration can be very dangerous as the last few years have shown. It should be expanded to include any vehicle that used this design. It's not a question of if it will fail but as our experience today shows, when.
When I drive, the gas pedal will get stuck and either stay at the speed without me setting cruise control or it may accelerate on its own. To get it loose, I have to jiggle the gas pedal (which can be very dangerous especially while driving), this usually stops the problem but I'm concerned that someday it will stop working and I won't be able to control this anymore. If I put the car in park or neutral it increases the RPM from 1 to 3 or 4. also if the RPM are increased while in park it makes it super hard to shift to drive and is stressful to my transmission.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving 25 mph, the transmission seized without warning. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
When going from 1st to 2nd there was a loud and hard bump, transmission repaired now after having car back for 1 week when I put it in reverse it hardly moves and shudders and shakes.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the gear shifter failed to release from park. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 94,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, the engine stalled without warning. The engine failed to restart after several attempts. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the torque converter was replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 66,700.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Fremont, CA, USA