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.
Throttle sticks and the engine idles as high as 2,500 RPM without applying any pressure to gas, causing the car to increase its speed without touching the gas. Even when applying the brakes, the car is difficult to stop and I must allow additional room to stop because the car is accelerating on its own while I'm applying the brakes. This occurs at random and approximately 1-3 times daily. The severity of the unwarranted acceleration seems to become more obtrusive as the mileage increases. I'm disappointed and frankly shocked that Ford has not issued a recall for this potentially dangerous faulty accelerator, especially considering they have been notified by many other concerned consumes such as myself. Until then, I can only hope the brakes can continue to overpower the accelerator that seems to have a mind of its own.
Throttle will stick and car will continue as if on cruise control. It is a random event. So far, have had the throttle cable replaced, fuel pressure "thing", and had the throttle body cleaned, and throttle continues to randomly stick.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving at 30 mph, the RPM increased to 4,500 and the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The vehicle was placed into neutral and then functioned normally. The failure was experienced numerous times. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 63,000 and the current mileage was 65,000. The VIN was not available.
Throttle was sticking and accelerating by itself while driving.then the engine would rev to about 4000rpm. I had to push down on the brakes with both feet to get it to stop. This happened numerous times over 2 days. If the gas pedal was wiggled this would stop it from revving. Took the car to a Ford dealership and the cruise control cable was broken, causing the throttle to bind.
First time at 65 mph vehicle started to accelerate by itself, second time when driving at 30 mph the speed started to increase by itself and after stopping the RPM stayed at 2500. Took vehicle to Ford dealer where they recommended that a decarb of the fuel injectors, throttle body be done and also suggested that the idle air control valve had a erratic condition. They also said that they performed multiple test drives with an I.D.S. tester and found nothing wrong. After paying over $700 we drove back home, within one mile the car started to accelerate again, almost had an accident at a 4 way stop and had to press the breaks hard but the car did not come to a complete stop and went thru the intersection.
- San Antonio, TX, USA
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This happened at around 1:45 am on Saturday, in another state, commuting to work. Vehicle accelerates without having foot on gas pedal, pulled over on side of road and turned car off, tried to start ignition and car engine revs up and is really loud. I turned car off and sat for a while hoping that car would start up again normally. This has happened many times, even called local Ford dealership and no one had any idea was told to bring vehicle in and pay $138.35 for a diagnostic, which would go towards repairs. Other mechanics did not seem to have a clues. This has been happening quite a bit, but the latest incident was on 02/16/2013. Had no problems for a little while, but started up again. Very scary. I have been very fortunate to be able to pull car to the side of the road to safety. Too many issues with this car. Someone needs to do something about this issue, before someone gets hurt badly or dies.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The contact had to shift to park and engage the brakes with both feet in order to stop the vehicle. Also, the contact mentioned that on a different occasion, the check transmission warning lamp illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 78,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The con tact stated that while driving 5 mph, the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact was able to stop by vehicle by applying the brakes. The vehicle was not repaired.the manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 120,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated the vehicle accelerated independently. The vehicle became unresponsive to braking attempts. While depressing the brakes, the vehicle did not stop until the brakes released and the contact felt an abnormal push-back from the brakes. The vehicle was not inspected or repaired for the failure. The failure and the current mileages were 49,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle erroneously accelerated. The vehicle failed to decelerate and drove down a hill and into a field before stopping. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact was driving approximately 20 mph when the vehicle abnormally accelerated with an unusual increase in engine rpms. The contact applied the brakes forcefully in order to decelerate and maneuvered to the side of the road where the engine was turned off. A certified mechanic inspected the vehicle and informed the contact that the throttle became stuck however, after the gear was shifted into neutral, the vehicle began to operate normally. The failure recurred three times. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 105,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, the RPM suddenly increased and the vehicle erroneously accelerated. The contact depressed the brake pedal repeatedly but the brakes failed to respond. The contact depressed the brake pedal with both feet and was able to stop the vehicle. The failure occurred intermittently three different times. The contact stated the engine revved up while the vehicle was parked as well. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 82,000.
On two separate occasions that I remember I experienced excessive speed due to the cruise control cable coming detached and catching on the throttle cable. One instance occurred on the highway while driving at 65 mph, and the car accelerated to over 85 mph without warning. The brakes could not slow the car, nor could lifting up the gas pedal. The second instance occurred while on an off-ramp from a highway and through an intersection. I was driving at 35 mph when the car sped to 45 mph. Braking only slowed the car minimally. On both occasions I was able to have the car stop accelerating by actually pushing on the gas pedal and unknowingly causing the cruise control cable to unhook itself from the throttle cable. I took a look under the hood after the incidents and noticed the issue, I zip-tied the cruise control cable in place but would appreciate this matter taken care of before someone gets hurt.
On the morning of January 30, 2013; I was driving to work approximately at 8 am and noticed my car became difficult to stop. It appeared to be accelerating when I was not touching the gas and had to apply excessive force on the brake to allow the car to stop. Immediately upon releasing the brake pedal the car would quickly accelerate to 15-20 mph. This continued on and off for my entire 15 mile commute to the office. Stepping heavily on the gas pedal seemed to stop the problem (seemed as if the pedal was stuck down). Placing the car into neutral was the only sure way to stop the acceleration. On January 31, 2013; the same problem occurred again. However, this time it happened at higher speeds. I was driving at 65 mph without having to touch the gas as if the cruise control was set to 65. However, the cruise was off. Again...heavily pressing the gas pedal stopped the acceleration. Again, placing the car into neutral was the only sure way to stop the problem. Both mornings were foggy/rainy and very humid. The problem is intermittent, but I believe Ford needs to immediately correct this issue with recalls as a person who is less comfortable driving or just not very calm could definitely have an accident if they panic.
Driving down the road when I accelerated the car continued to accelerate after I took my foot off the gas pedal. This happened to my girlfriend earlier when she drove the car. I was able to stop the acceleration by stomping on the gas pedal twice very hard. My girlfriend had to shift into neutral when it happened to her. This is an ongoing problem with this car and happens randomly at different speeds and conditions. When it happens the engine revs to about 4,000 rpms when shifted into neutral before going to normal. I did some research and discovered that as of March 2012 there were over 395,000 complaints about this and that the NHTSA was investigation. This is a common problem and well documented. I am a Ford fan but am very disappointed this has not been addressed properly especially in the wake of the Toyota recalls for similar problems a few years ago. I contacted the NHTSA this morning to discover that: NHTSA campaign id number: PE12005 "a safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of Agency resources does not appear to be warranted. Accordingly, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist. The Agency will monitor this issue and reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances. " I am asking that this case be reopened before someone is killed and that Ford be forced to do the right thing and issue a recall if they won't do it voluntarily.
I was driving down the interstate when my cruise quit working. Then I noticed the car was accelerating. I had to put both feet on the brakes to come to a stop. At a stop the car was still revving up, and I could not stop it. I had to have the cruise control cable replaced. The cable had twisted around the accelerator cable. Now 2 years later the cable has come off again, however this time it didn't wrap around the other cable and cause the accelerator form sticking. The repair shop purchased a new cruise control cable directly from Ford, and this cable also does not stay on. The place where the cable hooks onto is not worn, so obviously Ford has a problem with the design of the cruise control cable.
Early in the morning of Jan 16 2013 as my husband drove the car, the engine seemed to be racing for a few minutes but not accelerating on its own. It normalized and he though nothing more of it. Later that day my 18 year old daughter was driving the car at a speed of approximately 45 miles per hour when she slowed to make a right turn and coming out of the turn the car began to accelerate on it's own. It approached speeds of over 55 mph in a 30 mph zone. Luckily there was not much traffic at the time. She immediately applied the brakes as hard as she could and luckily is a strong girl and was able to slow it enough to somewhat control it and bring it to an area where she shut the car off. She states that "it fought her hard to continue accelerating and was out of control". she called my husband and I and upon arrival to the site, my husband started the car. In park, it raced as though the pedal was to the floor although we verified it was in fact in it's normal position when no pressure is applied. After smacking it with his foot very hard a few times the engine seemed to normalize. This was a very scary experience for my daughter.
Starting January 7, 2013 I noticed my gas pedal was stuck and the car suddenly starting to accelerate. I pushed in the gas pedal to unstick it. Later that day this same issue occurred again. I took my car to the Ford quick lane for them to figure out why my car suddenly started to accelerate without my control. They could not find anything wrong with my car or why this issue was happening. Throughout the week this issue continued and on Friday January 11, 2013 I dropped my car off for 2 days at the quick lane again. They could not get the car to suddenly accelerate. When I picked up my car on Saturday I was told that the cruise control cable was broken, but that cable shouldn't have any affect on the sudden acceleration of the car. So as of right now Tuesday January 15,2013 my car is still accelerating on its own and I have to put the car in neutral just to get the engine to quit accelerating.
I was driving intown and tried to slow down as I was approaching a railroad track and my car just speeded up acceleration as I was trying to brake. I had to fight to hold the car back. I have not had any accidents but felt that what if....something did happen when I am trying to stop and the car races like that and I do have an accident. I have had transmission replaced back at 78,500 miles when my car was totally out of warranty at 75,000 and since then I have not experienced this same speed control problem other than for a few minor spurts in the last 6,000 miles. I now have 103,000 miles on this vehicle. It has been a very scary thing for this speed control problem just to pop up out of the clear blue. It is a definite safety issue.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the vehicle randomly accelerated without warning. The contact had to shift the vehicle into neutral in order to keep it from accelerating. The contact took the vehicle to a mechanic but they were unable to determine what caused the failure. The contact stated that the failure occurred several times within a two week period. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown, but the current mileage was 84,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Columbus, OH, USA