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.
Driving on a high-speed highway, when without warning (no check engine light or any other notification), the transmission quit working. I was left unable to accelerate or even maintain my speed; and I had to coast to a stop on an exit ramp as the portion of highway that I was on did not have shoulders on either side. It was very dangerous. The traffic behind me was just as ill-prepared for this sudden deceleration, and I was powerless to do anything other than steer to relative safety. It appears that the torque converter's splines are not properly designed and this is a common occurrence on this specific make, model and year. This defect should be attended to, especially so that there is no injury or loss of life in the future.
While driving his low mile 2005 Ford Taurus both on the highway and on city streets, my son has experienced several incidents of unintended acceleration or stuck throttle while letting off the gas pedal in order to slow down or brake. Additionally, the cruise control does not work. Driving on the very busy highways of northern California with its prevalent stop and go driving make this condition extremely dangerous. An internet search of this issue shows this is not an isolated incident. As I have been a mechanic since 1973, I decided to take a look at the throttle cable / cruise control cable to see if these two issues were related. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the cruise control cable was decoupled from its post mount (see pictures). I have surmised that the decoupled cable could block the throttle cable roll back to the idle stop, and if the cruise control was initiated, the loose cable could drive forward and articulate the throttle forward to the wide open throttle position as it searches to control the drive speed. As both the throttle actuator and the cruise control cable interface are made of plastic, one or both have worn past the point where the cruise control cable will stay securely coupled to its mounting post. Why aren't both of these parts steel? well, plastic is cheap and easy to make. But profit over safety is unacceptable. NHTSA, please address this. This is a safety issue that can or will wreck the car, which could injure or kill someone.
THE CAR WILL START ACCELERATING WHILE PARKED GOING UP TO 4000 RPM, IT WILL ALSO WHILE DRIVING ACCELERATE WITHOUT FOOT BEING ON PEDAL. PLEASE CALL ME IF YOU CAN HELP [XXX]. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
This issue occurred about 4 months ago when driving normally. Then, today we were driving up a hill and it started to accelerate without me pushing the gas pedal. The only way to get it to stop was to put it in park and turn the car off but, kept occurring when I turned the car back on. Putting it in neutral did not work.we were in the middle of our city.
While driving down first street in winter haven, Florida the vehicle began to accelerate even though the cruise control was not engaged. The only way to prevent an accident was to put the gear shift in neutral because the engine was overriding the brakes. I had the cruise control disconnected and I haven't had that problem since.
- Winter Haven, FL, USA
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While in park, rpms surge at 2000 until shifting into drive or reverse. While driving, barely touching the gas pedal the car gains speed quickly without having to use the pedals, have to keep my foot on the brakes the entire time to keep it steady - its accelerating by itself and takes a lot of effort to keep it stopped. Almost caused me to crash 3 times today out of the blue, once while at a red light with foot on brakes the rpms ran up to 3000 and tried to drive through the brakes, and twice while on city streets it accelerated from 20 to 50 in seconds, causing me to nearly miss a vehicle in front of me. Why my model VIN isn't included in the recall I don't know, because looking at everything online regarding the 05 Taurus my car has all the same issues, which weren't disclosed to me upon purchase because the original owner had no idea. Current mileage 186K.
My accelerator is sticking, it happened today and 2 more times in the past 2 weeks while driving in the highway and side roads, I was not using the cruise control. The accelerator stuck at high RPM and it will not slow down, I had to apply the breaks very hard to stop, it was a scary situation, this is obviously a safety concern. I hit the gas pedal several times to make it go down but it did not respond, I had to stop in the side of the road the first time an hit the are in the motor where the accelerator cable is and actuated it manually after turning the car off. But it has happened twice since then. This is not normal and could result in a bad accident or even death. When putting the car in park or neutral the RPM stayed around 4000. Something has to be done, I found that other complaints have been submitted for the same reason.
While driving down a street or on the highway it feels like the cruise control takes over, disconnected the cable and it still does it, put the shifter in neutral and it revs to 4000 until you stomp on the throttle.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. While driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle spontaneously accelerated without warning. The contact applied the brakes and pulled the vehicle over in a parking lot. The contact also stated that the same failure occurred two other times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer (glockner Ford in South point, Ohio, 740-894-3673) where it was diagnosed that the throttle cable failed. The vehicle was repaired twice, but the failure persisted. The same dealer informed the contact that the part that failed was no longer under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000.
I was driving at a speed of maybe 45 miles an hour and I took my foot off the gas when approaching a red light. My car continued to accelerate really fast. I tapped the gas hard and it stopped. Since then it does it all the time. Now the car is hesitant and jerking. The transmission warning light recently came on and went away but the acceleration is getting worse each day.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. While driving 25 mph, the vehicle inadvertently accelerated as the rpms increased. The contact was able to move out of traffic, stop the vehicle, and shift into park; however, the rpms were still high. The contact turned off the engine and restarted the vehicle, but the rpms remained high. The contact repeated the steps three times before driving the vehicle while slightly depressing the brake pedal. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a cruise control cable failure that was causing the throttle to stay open and inadvertently accelerating the vehicle. The contact stated that the repairs were unknown, but the independent mechanic informed her that he placed an unknown substance on the cable to keep it in place. The contact was concerned that the failure would recur. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing or repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was approximately 168,000.
The accelerator is sticking causing the car to rev high (4000) RPM's when not stepping on the gas pedal causing an unsafe condition. This accelerator stick can be corrected temporarily by stabbing at the gas petal quickly. My mechanic said the cruse control cable was disconnected and reconnected it but the issue occurred the next day. This issue happened to my daughter sever times and then to me when I was driving. I was approaching a red light at about 35 mph let off the gas completely to coast, and the car continued to accelerate and pick up speed. This issue is not related to the car being warmed up or running cold.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. While the vehicle was stationary, it accelerated rapidly without warning while the brake pedal was depressed. The contact shifted into neutral and the rpms increased to 4,000. The contact turned off the vehicle to correct the failure. The manufacturer and dealer were not contacted. The failure mileage was 36,000.
My car began to try to rev up and try to go really fast. I had to slam on brakes and turn the motor off. After doing this I took it to a mechanics and was told my switch for the cruise control had popes off and stuck in my ignition and caused my car to accelerate. I almost killed myself several times. This also damaged my transmission. I have not been able to drive my car for years. I know nothing will be done but you should know. [xxx]. I will never buy another Ford. I called in a complaint to your president year's ago and never got a response. If anyone cares my number is [xxx]. information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The accelerator is sticking while in motion on highway and city streets. The car is running at a very high RPM while driving and stationary. Do not know what is causing the unsafe situation. Need to hold down the brake to control vehicle speed.
Something is rattling inside my steering wheel behind the horn by the air bag. It sounds like a coin rattling around inside the sterring wheel when I make a turn. When I looked this up on line all I kept reading was it's a common problem but I didn't see anything about a recall. I'm afraid if that air bag was to go off that loose piece floating around in there could put a eye out or worse.
My son was driving the car Sunday February 19 2017 and it started to accelerate on its own at very high RPM. He had a hard time trying to stop the car. We took the car to a repair shop and they believed they found the problem and said we were all set. My son picked up the car and the next day him and myself were in the car on the freeway and it accelerated again on its own. This time I was driving and was able to get it to slow down by tapping the gas pedal to make the acceleration (high rmp) stop happening. But as I drove it would do it again. I was afraid that when we got off the exit I wouldn't be able to get it to stop. It went back to the repair shop and they replaced another part and again today it happened to my son, high acceleration on its own. This is not safe and can not be figured out. I have seen several complains on line about this same problem. People would at least like know how to fix this problem. It S not safe and someone is going to end up hurt. I also had the transmission replaced September 2016 for similar problems. There needs to be recall before someone is hurt. I just want to know how to fix it if no recall. I love my son and do not want him hurt in this car. I want a call from someone regarding this. The care only has 64500 miles and has been well maintained.
This vehicle was in motion on a busy street. It slowed down, sputtered, and would not move.it was in gear (D) drive. I was able to coast it off the main street to safety.the engine light and the check transmission alerts were on. Accelerator seemed stuck as well. There are only 77,000 miles. I am told that the transmission is gone. There are more that 170 complaints concerning this car. Ford needs to take responsibility and repair these transmissions. Some owners have been on the highway. I was fortunate, I was only on a busy street. Turning was also difficult. NHTSA please do something before someone is killed.
I was driving and all of a sudden the car accelerated by it self and I was pressing the brakes and it was very hard to stop I finally put it in neutral and the engine raise to 4000 RPM I turned the car off and the same things happen I kicked the accelerator again and it idle down again, I put it in drive after a few blocks the same thing happen.I did research on line this a issue with these cars, I called the dealer they said there is no recall can you please help. Thank you [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
My wife was driving the 2005 Taurus when the engine started making a loud noise, I went to haul the car to the auto mechanic when I came to the car I started it and the engine started to accelerate to over 3000 RPM's w/O touching the throttle, I was able to load the car into a trailer and the next morning when unloading at the auto mechanic again the car accelerated to over 3000 RPM's making it difficult to unload, the noise turned out to be a broken flex joint on the exhaust and with that repaired it stated to idle normally, the car was brought home and my wife started driving it again. As she was driving it to school to drop off the kids the car accelerated again on its own and she had a great difficulty stopping it and had to shut it off on the road, a friend then got the car off the road and parked into the grass because it was still accelerating on its own. The car was then taken back to the auto mechanic to be repaired, it has been there for 4 days and has accelerated for him as well. There is no obstruction with the accelerator, the floor mats have been removed a month ago for cleaning and never put back. No engine codes are being displayed. And system check on car everything checks ok. I do not feel safe driving this car.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Wharton, TX, USA