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 car periodically lurched and surged. Finally, it would not start. The dealer determined that the electronic throttle body was defective. Based on information from the dealer and from this website, it appears that this is a common problem on certain Ford models. If this problem is as wide-spread as it appears, there should be a recall.
Being stopped at an atm, my car began to smoke. Pulled over into the bank parking lot to see if it was over heating. The white smoke would not subside and began getting worse. Dialed 911 and a firetruck came out opened the hood and extinguished a fire under the hood. Prior to the truck arriving, a loud bang occurred under the hood.
Since 2007 the car intermittently will periodically lung forward and it is almost impossible to control the car. This has happened several times since June 2007 (88,000 miles). Even hard braking does not necessarily stop the car...I have had to put the car in neutral the engine revs up as if I am touching the accelerator (and my foot is not on the pedal) and I shut the car off. Turning the car back on does not necessarily remedy the problem. In addition, the car routinely goes into fail safe engine mode or cuts off while I am driving at a reasonable rate of speed both on rural roads and highways. This car is a hazard to drive, more so in the warmer months...my thought is something must get overheated but what I do not know.
This has happened multiple times (meaning more than 5 times) during the summer of 2011. Driving on highway at posted speed limits and car suddenly lurches then drops into failsafe mode (as indentified by alert posted on the dash). Pull over, read owner's manual. Follow directions how to clear failsafe and implement them. A few times it worked for short periods of time. Other times, it would not work at all. Twice the car was running at approximately 65 mph and suddenly go into failsafe mode then stall out. Especially during street/city driving, car suddenly kicks forward then failsafe and will sometimes stall out in middle of street. Unable to restart. Last time this occurred car required towing to local Ford dealer. Initially said it was the throttle senor for a cost of $300. When I ok'd that repair, the dealership called back later and stated it was the entire throttle body and repair would come at a cost of $1000. The car now sits in my driveway where it was towed to and sits for safety reasons. After researching the internet, I have come to find that this is a common occurrence with Ford and an announced recall should be implemented immediately.
We bought my car in July 2011, its was garaged by the 1st owner so it was like brand new!! low miles just 12,850, start what now seems to be the endless drives in a rental car and with empty wallets totaling now approx; close to an additional $3,500 now in repairs from the battery in Aug 2011 to now to having the throttle being replace along with a set if tires and the 2nd set of both rear and front brakes in less then a year, all due to the consent stopping and going of the car by hitting the brakes too much and having to accelerate, because the car would while tempting to pull out of my garage at what should of been a mere 3miles per hour; resulted in flying backwards suddenly while foot was applying pressure on the brakes to keep from mowing down my teenage son at 15 miles a hour on its own with the mp rising rapidly, was the scare of my life!!!! please someone recall this car, before someone really does get killed or hurt!!! as of today the total this time to repair my car is at a total if$ 1,585.00; to replace the throttle and tires & brakes again, and Ford wouldn't even comp, us a rental car this time on our 5 trip down to the service dept of Ford!!!!
- Aliso Viejo, CA, USA
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I was driving down a residential street when all of the sudden the engine stalled on me and I received a "failsafe engine mode" message in the message center. I stopped the car and shut off the engine, then waited a couple of minutes and started it again and had no problems. I was then driving down a residential street again a couple of days later and the same thing happened where the engine stalled on me. The only warning signs that I can recall were that at times, I would experience sluggish acceleration. This is a huge issue to me and very dangerous since I have a child and what if I was traveling on the highway and this happened to me?
Cars enters into failsafe mode and engine cuts out. I have been almost rear- ended three times since first occurrence and one time almost T-boned. Sluggish acceleration when taking off may occur also. I have noticed this has been a common problem with this model and the faulty throttle body has since been redesigned by Ford. They should recall this as it is a safety hazard. I know that I was lucky to have not been injured in an accident due to this faulty part, but I am sure some have not been so lucky.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Five hundred. The contact stated that the harness for the front passenger side headlight had to be replaced because it melted. An authorized dealer stated that the failure may have been caused by excess moisture, but the contact stated that the headlight became brittle and fractured. The dealer also stated that the top motor mount had worn. The contact felt that these were manufacturers defects. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 89,700.
Car goes into "engine failure mode" while driving. Engine dies and power brakes and steering go out. Went to dealer for injector flush and and throttle body cleaning plus reprogram PCM. Still get "engine failure mode". very dangerous. My only car. Have been told this is very common problem with these Ford and yet no recall. I am out $340 and no lasting fix. At dealer 5/18/1L. What is wrong with getting this repaired correctly. Went to maroone Ford, 1333 N. federal hwy. Fort lauderdale, fl 33304. Car now sitting in my garage. It won't run and I'm afraid to drive it. It starts but is very rough and won't respond to gas pedal. Can I try and drive it back to the dealer at 10 mph without damaging the engine" I am retired and don't have the big bucks to repair this car. Will Ford pay for the repair" the failure mode has happened 4 times since the repair but has "fixed" itself until today.
2005 Ford Five hundred. Vehicle accelerates without the gas pedal being depressed. Vehicle enters into failsafe mode. Occurrences are intermittent. Diagnostic checks show something other than the real culprit which is a faulty throttle body. Has not been repaired yet. Dealer is asking for $800.
Experienced a spark plug blowout requiring replacement of front head. Repair cost $2600. I understand this is a problem on Ford trucks. I think Ford should investigate why this occurs and fix it! I'm lucky I didn't experience a fire, that would have totaled the car!
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Five hundred. While driving approximately 50 mph, the contact stated that the vehicle stalled. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road, turned it off and restarted it. Once the vehicle was restarted, it began to jerk when accelerated. The contact stated that at times when the vehicle was stopped at a traffic light, it would accelerate slowly upon take-off. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who lubricated a component (the contact was unsure of what component) but the failure continued. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 80,000. Updated 03/24/11 updated 05/23/11
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Five hundred. The contact stated that when driving at any speed, the vehicle would intermittently display a fail safe mode message on the dashboard. The vehicle would then stall once the message was displayed and would not restart. The vehicle would then be towed to an authorized dealer where they were always unable to diagnose the failure. The ECU was replaced approximately three times but the failure persisted. The contact also stated that while in park, the vehicle would attempt to accelerate. The vehicle was not further repaired. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 82,000.
I took my 2005 Ford Five hundred sel in for a scheduled oil change a couple of weeks ago and was informed by the mechanic that the torque strut mount, also known as the top motor mount was broken. Price to repair is $619. After doing more extensive research, I have found out that this is apparently a dealer known problem with these particular cars! so, why doesn't Ford Motor Company issue a recall to fix these faulty parts instead of making consumers pay these ridiculous repair bills??!
Our car stalls while driving. It often happens on the highway, but also on residential streets and at all speeds. The car will lurch forward, the lights on the dashboard will all light up, and then the engine will shut down causing us to have to shift into neutral and try to pull over to safety. When we try to restart the car it will sputter and die again. Occasionally we will be able to get it to a parking lot, we have had to be towed home. We have replaced the fuel pump and spark plugs. The Ford dealership drove it and ran diagnostics on it for weeks at a time and found nothing to tell them anything. This has been happening every week or so for nearly a year, and no one can tell us what's wrong. There are times when it happens every day, and there are times when it doesn't happen for a month. Many people's description of a defective transmission body matches our description, but that part is, apparently, on backorder. The car is essentially un-drivable, because we cannot count on it to get to us work on time or safely.
Ford Five hundred (500). Fail safe engine mode comes on and engine " shuts down" have to pull over and restart car. It seems that it doesn't want to accelerate when you want, but does when you don't want to. Serious safety issue. I had throttle body "cleaned" however, car still is not performing as it should. On top of that I had it serviced, oil change and tune up, and I am still have problems. Problem still is not corrected.
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- Trumbull, CT, USA