10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
102,606 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2005 Ford Five Hundred engine problems

engine problem

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2005 Ford Five Hundred Owner Comments (Page 2 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #38

Aug 222014

Five Hundred 6-cyl

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Throttle/accelerator the car unexpectedly accelerates without pushing the pedal. I have almost hit vehicles and pedestrians. It appears to be getting worse and more dangerous.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #37

Aug 212014

Five Hundred 6-cyl

  • 177,320 miles
I was driving in town going about 40 mph when the car lost all power, then engine failsafe mode displayed on the information center and a little wrench was also displayed. With no power steering, I had to pull over quickly in lunchtime traffic. After stopping the car, I waited a few seconds and restarted it. No problems with it until the next day when the check engine light came on. I have also noticed a mechanical smell coming from the ac. It appeared, at first, that this problem had come out of nowhere when I suddenly remembered two occasions when the rpms suddenly stuck on 3000 and would not stop until I put the car in neutral. Also, when using cruise control, the whole car shakes and stutters slightly when going up or down very slight inclines.

- Lexington, KY, USA

problem #36

Aug 082014

Five Hundred 6-cyl

  • 74,000 miles
Tried to pull out on to hwy. The fail safe light came on and shut down engine. Could not steer or control car at all, was very close to having a bad accident.

- Greeneville, TN, USA

problem #35

May 042014

Five Hundred 6-cyl

  • 149,355 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I just purchased a 05 Ford Five hundred and was on my way from California to Georgia. As I was driving I noticed that when it would shift it would rev up even while slowing down. I also noticed that if the ac was on it got worse. I started doing research on this problem and found that I was not the only one having this problem. I have 4 children, I'm disabled and on a very fixed income and buying a vehicle that is safe is a must. Unfortunately, due to this problem, it is not safe I asked them what it was going to take for them to issue a recall, injury or even a death, and his response was that it was not up to them but up to the nhts. I have done a lot of research on this problem and there are many more people with these vehicles that have the same problem. I don't think the consumers should be liable to fix a defective part. Even a mechanic at a Ford dealership said that he doesn't know why they just don't replace it instead. Please help fix this problem before someone has to pay not with money but with there life! if I had the money I would replace it and have the ECM updated but that is not an option for me due to my finances. Please put out a recall on the throttle body and make the updates on the system free. Haven't we paid enough for our vehicles? these are things that are not due to negligence but defectiveness of a part. The company that made the throttle body is no longer in business so that should tell you something. And the updates shouldn't cost if it makes the vehicle run like it should. I believe if all owners of these vehicles come together we can actually fix this deadly problem. Why should someone have to pay with their life just for somebody to become aware of this deadly, defective part. So please help! they say the recalls come from you, so issue a recall and include the ECM update that goes with it. Thank you, concerned owner with children

- Jackson, GA, USA

problem #34

Jun 162014

Five Hundred 6-cyl

  • 131,000 miles
Only had the car for five months driving down the street the check engine light came out car stopped in the middle of the street with my children in it and wouldn't start up..worst car I've ever bought second major incident that has happened since I got the car.it should be a recall major safety violation.

- Wichita, KS, USA

problem #33

May 172014

Five Hundred 6-cyl

  • 89,600 miles
On the interstate headed towards denver, after about an hour, when to accelerate from about 70mph to ascend up the hills, the engine rpms accelerate, however, it feels that the transmission is disengaged (slipping) with no power to the drivetrain resulting in a drastic loss of speed. This happened numerous times in efforts to regain control and maintain speed. This was extremely hazardous as traffic was somewhat congested, and other drivers are expecting me to accelerate, however, vehicle was in a decelerating mode. This was only with light pressure to the accelerator. It sounded as if the gears had stripped in the transmission. We turned around and headed home, auto would not allow speeds over 60mph. Later the same happened at speeds of 35-40 on local roads. These transmissions are extremely dangerous. Ford knows of this problem and refuses to do anything about them.

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

problem #32

May 052013

Five Hundred 6-cyl

  • 129,928 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Approximately two months after service performed under NHTSA campaign PE11018 the vehicle began to accelerate irregularly and then it placed itself into "fail safe" mode and illuminated the check engine light. Vehicle was returned to the Ford dealer that performed the service and they determined that the electric throttle control was at fault but was not associated with the service they performed on the same component just weeks earlier. Dealer contacted Ford Motor Co and they also claimed the two were not related regardless of the similar claims found online.

- Whately, MA, USA

problem #31

Apr 092013

Five Hundred

  • miles
I bought this car a year ago through rondupratt used cars in January 2012 car seemed to drag a little but didn't pay much attention to is as summer came around tried to use the ac it only blew cold on the freeway I just thinking it needed to be serviced buy the time I got the ac charged it was winter again. Buy March of next year the car started doing this weird shaking at every stop light and every stop sign the car would start to shake in April a letter comes in the mail explaining the car was being recalled due to the cars RPM idle surging took the car to fairfield Ford an when I got the car back it was worse then it. Had ever been so I decided to go pay rondupratt to diagnostic the car the said where I took the car to didn't perform the recall and the car needed an ac compressor and an egr valve I have gotten the egr valve replaced an the same day the car wouldn't go in to gear so confused on why they are allowed to sell cars that they know are experiencing theses problems and rant willing to do anything to fix the problem.

- Vacaville, CA, USA

problem #30

Jun 012013

Five Hundred 6-cyl

  • 49,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Five hundred. The contact stated that while at a stop light, the vehicle stalled without warning and shifted into reversed independently. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 49,000.

- Denver, CO, USA

problem #29

May 062011

Five Hundred 6-cyl

  • 125,000 miles
I purchased a 2005 Ford 500 in 2010 from freeway Ford in bloomington, mn. The first incident that I had was when my boyfriend was driving at speeds of 70 mph when all the sudden my vehicle went into engine fail safe mode and lost acceleration. With speeds of 70 mph and 5 lanes of traffic we are lucky that nothing worse followed. This problem would come up again at random times. A more recent incident was I took my vehicle to the dealership to have them clean the throttle body and reset the module. Since that was taken care of my car has now worsened. It has gone into fail safe mode 5 times in one month. My car will not accelerate normal and when I start it there are times where my RPM are running higher than normal.

- Minneapolis, MN, USA

problem #28

Jan 162013

Five Hundred 6-cyl

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2005 Ford Five hundred. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle throttle body problems. The consumer stated while driving on the highway on a cold and snowy day, she was suddenly faced with the vehicle having no power. She was able tog et off the road, shut the vehicle off and re-started it. When the consumer returned to the highway, she drove a short distance, and the same thing happened. She was able to drive to the dealer and they performed the necessary services and recall. However, one week later, the same thing happened again. Without warning, the vehicle had no power. The dealer replaced the throttle body.

- Petoskey, MI, USA

problem #27

Jul 102012

Five Hundred 6-cyl

  • 160,000 miles
One day in June I was pulling up to a store parking space rolling roughly 5mph. I had my foot on the brake, I was about to stop. Without touching the gas my 2005 Ford Five hundred lunged at the building as if the throttle was stuck wide open! I had to push the break as hard as I could to keep it from crashing into the store! Ford should have a recall on this issue! it is extremely dangerous! this has happened to many Ford Five hundred owners! last month in January my Five hundred had other issues. I was driving 35mph and all of a sudden my car had no power, I gave it gas and it would growl but no power. I had to pull over and shut the car off. One restarted it returned to normal but the wrench icon light was on the dash. I have also had an idling problem. While at idle my car would sputter. The RPM's were low and it would idle rough and surge from low to high, I tried hitting the gas pedal and the car stalled! again other Ford Five hundred owners also experienced these issues! Ford its time to step up and do a recall!!!!

- Strafford, NH, USA

problem #26

Jan 212013

Five Hundred

  • 150,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Five hundred. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, the all wheel drive malfunctioned and the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact merged to the shoulder of the road, powered off, then restarted the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician stated that the oxygen sensor and dim module needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 150,000.

- Romuluf, MI, USA

problem #25

Oct 222012

Five Hundred 6-cyl

  • 146,500 miles
In August 2010, I had the continuously variable transmission replaced at ~98,000 miles. Luckily, it was under warranty. Now in October 2012, the second transmission as the service member said at the Ford dealership "the transmission exploded, we're not even sure how you were able to drive this vehicle. This was at ~146,000 miles, but there is only ~48,000 miles on the transmission itself. Two transmissions have failed in this vehicle. Searching the internet I have come across several instances of the Ford Five hundreds continuously variable transmission failing. I called the Ford care line to report it, but they claim they are unaware of any issues. My concern is this third transmission will also fail at some point.

- Perryopolis, PA, USA

problem #24

Oct 262012

Five Hundred 6-cyl

  • 135,000 miles
Was driving my 2005 Five hundred today. I pulled off the highway and stopped at a red light. When the light turned green I had hardly any power. No power steering, all gauges at home and a message say "engine failsafe mode". I turned the car off and restarted with no problems. I've read on different sites where people have had this same issue of the throttle sticking open and the car lunging forward or back nearly causing a wreck.

- Holden, MO, USA

problem #23

Oct 132012

Five Hundred

  • 135,500 miles
My car surges. It is mostly at idle speed. It's dangerous. I was at a drive through and a janitor was sweeping. My car surged and I literally stood on the breaks to prevent running over him. At the drive through it surged forward and I had to stand on the breaks to prevent it from ramming into the car ahead. It occurs more when air conditioning is running but will occur without ac on. I the local dealer replaced the throttle body recently but it still surges. It occurs when pulling to a stop at the lights or at the drive through as you slowly move forward. It happens when pulling into a parking spot or when backing up. I've seen news about the problem with the Ford escape. My Ford 500 is also affected and weighs a whole lot more. If this thing surges forward it could do some serious damage.

- Magnolia, IL, USA

problem #22

Sep 172010

Five Hundred

  • 75,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Five hundred. The contact stated that while driving 70 mph, the wrench warning indicator illuminated as the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was restarted but the failure continued to recur. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis where the vacuum operative valve behind the throttle body was replaced. The failure recurred after the repairs. The vehicle was not further repaired. The failure mileage was 75,000 and the current mileage was 134,000.

- Alvin, TX, USA

problem #21

Sep 172011

Five Hundred

  • 60,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Five hundred. The contact stated that while driving 70 mph, the wrench warning indicator illuminated as the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was restarted but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis where the vacuum operative valve behind the throttle body was replaced. The failure recurred after the repairs. The vehicle was not further repaired. The failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 121,000.

- Alvin, TX, USA

problem #20

Apr 072007

Five Hundred 6-cyl

  • 87,000 miles
Rough acceleration from stop for years. After 218,000 miles engine shuts off reporting engine fail-safe mode. Will restart after sitting on side of road for couple, 5-minutes. Dealer states bad throttle body - $900 repair. Apparently a common problem.

- Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

problem #19

May 022012

Five Hundred 6-cyl

  • miles
The electronic throttle body is bad in majority of vehicles in my class year. This costly repair causes the vehicle to lunge forward while in drive and lunge backwards while in reverse. It is worst when the ac is on, ,it causes the vehicle to idle high and low to the point of almost shutting off the vehicle in traffic.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

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