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.
I was driving down a county road going 50 mph when I tried to brake the car kept accelerating and the rpms were high. I tried to brake but it was as if my brakes were out but I know they were fine. I kept speeding up so I hit the emergency brake and pushed brake put it in neitral but the rpms seemed to go higher. I quickly just put it in park while still moving N rpms high. Csar made a loud sound and jerked to a stop gave me whip lash there was no casrs on the road I was in the country. But as I stopped I just parked tryiung to figure out what to do. Was very shaken up so I had to park for awhile. After about 30 minutes of parking and calling everyone about my near death experience I started it up and drove 10 mph hoime. Had it looked at by a self employed mechanic I know.
I have engine code P0430, I change all converters, all 02 sensors still keep getting same code. My guess is upper intake manifold, which should last the life of the car. I can us a little help getting the part. Thank you
The problem is the cruise control cable can come a loose from the throttle body when the accelerator is pressed. When the driver releases the accelerator, if the cruise control cable has come loose, the fitting at the end of it can get jammed in the cam that rotates the throttle plate, and it won allow the throttle to close, causing the engine RPM to stay high. This can happen randomly. It may happen while driving, and it can be duplicated when the car is in park. Several other people have had this concern. I "googled" throttle sticking on 04 Taurus, and came back with several hits, including some shadetree fixes. I feel this should be a recall as it can lead to a crash if the brakes arent powerful enough to overcome the engine's power output or the driver doesnt think to turn the ignition off (or they turn the key too far and lock the steering too) and/or engine/transmission damage.
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.
The whole entire wires under the dashboard caught on fire and almost blew me my kids up in dallas Texas, had it total and the mechanic stated that the whole computer system blew the wires out and that it was a manufacturing problem.
- Wichita Falls, TX, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
Vehicle throttle got stuck, daughter was drive had to put car in neutral to kick throttle down, found out that cruise control cable is coming off throttle body and jamming, been happening multiple times for last year
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Taurus. While depressing the accelerator pedal, the pedal became stuck to the floorboard. The vehicle continued to accelerate when the brake pedal was depressed. In addition, the vehicle was idling while in park. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the cause of the failure was undetermined. The technician repaired the fuel injection, cabin air filter, idle control valve, and the butterfly valve. The failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 134,272.
This has happened over the past two days. The first time was at a freeway speed of 65 mph and the second time happened on a side street at a speed of 40 mph. As I released the gas peddle the car maintained the speed or accelerated on it's own. Updated 12/08/2017
Drove car about 4 miles. No problems. When parked it was smoking real bad under hood then caught on fire. Fireman said it was electrical. It gave no warning. As I looked on this website I have seen that I am not the only person that has had this happen. My car is totaled and I am without a vehicle. Now what will Ford do about that? I could have been killed. Thank god I wasn't.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving at 35 mph, the vehicle accelerated independently. The contact also stated that the check engine warning light illuminated. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000. Updated 04/10/15 updated 11/5/2015
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.
My 2004 Ford Taurus accelerated on its own quite a few times. After goggling the problem I saw that there had been a recall. I called Ford & was told my car wasn't included in the recall. They also told me to get it fixed because it could be dangerous. I know that because I was almost in a few accidents because of the sudden acceleration. I'd have to pull over, if not at a red light or stop sign, put the car in park & hit the accelerator a few times. I actually had to turn the car off & back on once to get the rpms down. I had the cruise control cable totally removed. The cruise hadn't worked in yrs. My mom owned the car before I did. I'd like to know why my Taurus wasn't in the recall.
The plastic bracket that attaches the cruise control cable assembly to the throttle is defective it slips off the throttle and gets caught causing the throttle to stay open.. this has caused my car to continue accelerating with my foot on the gas pedal to speeds in excess of 50 mph... braking is difficult because the car is continuing to accelerate.. this is causing stress on my braking system... I had a brother who was nearly killed in an accident because of a similar issue on a different vehicle.. the Ford reps I have talked to are aware of the issue yet Ford refuses to issue a safety recall.. are the waiting to be the next "GM" in the news.. waiting until people are killed instead of being proactive...
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Taurus. While driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle accelerated independently. When the brake pedal was depressed, the throttle would continue to rev intermittently. The failure occurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the mechanic stated that the control cables detached from the throttle body and subsequently interfered with the throttle fully closing to the idle position. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000.
When accelerating at about 40 mph the cruise control would not work when I tried to engage it, however the car began speeding up quickly while my foot was off the gas peddle. I tried to engage/disengage the cruise control but got no response, except the engine RPM and car was still speeding up, the car was getting close to 60mph and I began putting on the brakes the car was still trying to accelerate and RPM still going up as I was stopping the car. This car continues to accelerate faster on it's own when driven and today 5/19/14 again from about 35 to 50 in about a mile, this was not as severe as the first time but is troubling and a waste of my gas and brakes. This is a Taurus sel with automatic trans. And a 3.9L V6 engine. I found the cruise control cable off of the lever it connects to near the intake manifold( after reading about other Taurus models/years with the same problem). I will be contacting a Ford dealer to see if they have a fix as cable is still very loose after I tried to reconnect it.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that after driving off from a traffic stop, the vehicle failed to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. Where the technician diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure recurred on three occasions. The technician replaced the fuel pump, the intake manifold, and map sensor but it failed to repaired the problem. Also, the contact mentioned that while driving 65 mph, exhaust fumes began to emit into the vehicle and smoke started to emit from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic who stated that the intake manifold had a hole on the side causing the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was unknown.
I was driving and coming to a complete stop, when the car began to accelerate itself. I brake, that didn't help much. It stopped the car, but did not stop the engine from abnormally revving itself up. I pushed the gas and it was okay, but still at a higher RPM than normal. Again, 5 mins later, while sitting in traffic it revved up again. It was at about 2500 RPM, coming from a dead stop. I freaked out and tried to put the car in park thinking that would help. When I put it in park, it revved itself to about 4000rpm. I turned it off. I turned it back on a short while later and drove to a parking lot and kept it parked.
I was trying to stop for a red light. The engine RPM suddenly increased and when I pressed the brake the RPM kept increasing. I shifted from drive to park and the RPM still kept increasing. I finally pumped the gas pedal while in park and the RPM went down. This happened again about 20 minutes later when I accelerated after being stopped at a light.
Over the past three weeks, the engine would quit running while driving on the road. I took the car into the Ford dealership on 9/16/13 and the problem has not been found. This happened 5 times over a 3 week period. I can't be driving this car on the highway and have the engine shut down. I am afraid of this car. I have keep up all maintenance required at the local Ford dealership, the mileage is low for the year of the car. I have all the receipts for maintenance and repairs since buying the car in 2007.
Went out one morning, cranked the car and the engine was racing and would not slow down. The engine sounds like it is going to blow up. It is revving up around 3000 RPM and will not slow down. I have to constantly use the brakes to keep the car from going too fast. I tried to tap the gas pedal but it does nothing except rev higher. Some kind of cable had fallen off and a friend of mine put it back on, but now I think it is off again. The car has made me feel very unsafe while driving it and I do not have the money to get another car.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Wapato, WA, USA