I was returning home from a gas station and came down the steep hill to my house and when I went to back into my parking space the transmission completely failed. I thought my tires were just spinning due to some ice. When I put the car in drive to try to find another space I discovered the only gears I had were park and neutral. The car then coasted to the middle of the intersection and stopped, I then had to get my neighbor to help push the car around the corner and into a parking spot. There was no warning at all the transmission never slipped and there were no indicator lights. Nothing at all just total failure. I'm just glad it didn't happen with my family in the car along the highway on our way to cub scouts.

- Lansford, PA, USA

Without any warning my gas pedal of my vehicle stopped working. I was driving down the road - the car jerked and then nothing. The car would not go into gear. I had to roll and then push my vehicle to the side of the road. Thank god there was no one behind me or I would of been hit - it was very scary. Turns out it was the torque converter. Had to wait for aaa and then get my car towed to transmission place. They replaced and it cost me $1,133.58.

- Leesburg, FL, USA

The 2003 Ford Taurus while stopped at a light or applying brakes will surge and lunge forward. Very dangerous, because it surges with people walking in front of it and cars in front of the car. The car then feels like it is hit from the rear end and smells like it is about to catch on fire. Very scary situation, my children are very scared and we already have an evacuation plan if the car catches on fire. It is defintely not safe. A similar problem has been addressed with the 2006 Ford freestyle. It also goes dead while backing up. Even when brakes are applied to the floor, it surges and moves forward. The enginge jerking is a very hard jolt. We hope this will be addressed.

- Satsuma, AL, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the check engine light illuminated on the dashboard.the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the cam sensor was replaced. Approximately 5 months later the failure recurred and the vehicle was taken back to an independent mechanic where the cam sensor was again replaced. The failure recurred again and the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the cam sensor was reset. The failure has not recurred. Approximately 1 year later while driving at approximately 20 mph the front passenger side tire blew out. Upon examining the vehicle the contact noticed the coil spring was broken and pierced the tire. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the front passenger side coil spring was replaced. The contact also stated that approximately 2 months later while attempting to operate the vehicle it would not shift into gear and would not move. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where it was in the process of being diagnosed. The failure mileage was 77,000 and the current mileage was 90,600.

- Quinnesec, MI, USA

On 3/31/10 I was driving my 2003 Ford Taurus southbound on I-5 in the sacramento, ca area at about 7:20 pm. Just North of richards boulevard my auto began slowing down for no apparent reason. No dashboard emergency lights came on and there was no unusual sounds. As I depressed my accelerator my RPM indicator would increase but my car continued to lose speed. I was able to safely exit the freeway and my auto coasted to a stop on a side street. I then placed my car in reverse, drive, 1 and 2 and depressed the accelerator and the car did not advance forward or backward. Car was towed to a Ford dealership on 4/1/10. On 4/3/10 a customer service manager called to tell me that they need to remove the transmission in order to diagnose problem further. The car has less than 59,000 miles on it and I had purchased it used in 2007 with approximately 23,000 miles on it. I have searched the internet for similar complaints and have come to the conclusion that it is a possible transmission failure which could cost me approximately $2500 to fix. I bought the car for $8,900! I've owned a 1989 Mazda 323 and a 1998 Toyota corolla which each had over 110,000 miles on them and I never encountered a transmission problem.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. While driving 55 mph, the anti-theft warning light illuminated and the vehicle lost all power and shut off. The dealer replaced a sensor at the cost of $400, but the failure continued. The vehicle was taken to the dealer three times and they replaced the sensor again. The automatic control and powertrain control modules were replaced and a new computer was installed; however, the failure continued. During the final time the vehicle was taken to the dealer, they stated that an engineer would be flown in to determine the cause of the failure. The engineer concluded that the vehicle was losing 2.4 volts while driving, which caused it to shut off. Bypass wires were installed on the vehicle in an attempt to get it to operate correctly. The vehicle was in the shop for over 30 days and is currently awaiting repairs. The failure mileage was 65,000 and failure mileage was 66,693. Updated 09/25/08 updated 09/26/08.

- Bluffton, SC, USA

2003 Ford Taurus, transmission fails. It dies on the highway with no warning and Ford says there is nothing wrong with it. Of course now that it is out of warranty they are more than happy to repair my car. Started in Sept of 07 with 73,000 miles. I have been told by an independent mechanic that it is an electrical problem with the transmission. Interesting that he can get the car to show symptoms, but the dealership could never find anything wrong with it, after they had it off and on for 2 months. Ford replaced fuel pump and filter and I have been told that is the only thing that is under warranty with Ford now. This is strictly negligence on the part of Ford. They put a car out there that they know has transmission issues. There should be a recall on these cars. Shame on Ford.

- Crestwood, KY, USA

2003 Ford Taurus has problems with transmission, engine backfiring, hood latch is broken, and seat bracket fell off. The tires were continuously going flat. Six flats occurred while the consumer was on a trip, the transmission was slipping and would jerk in traffic, the engine would back fire intermittently and stalled on one occasion, the seat bracket was replaced by the dealer but failed again (the seat bracket was incorrectly installed from the start), the engine also displayed knocking and had taken about 9 visits before the problem was corrected, it was discovered that a valve was sticking out. The A/C did not cool, the consumer smelled coolant which leaked inside the vehicle. The tires and rims were a problem and the vehicle had been in for repairs about 18 visits/two rear tires remained a problem due to severe inflation problems and the tires would need to be inflated several times daily. The consumer requested another vehicle. The gas mileage was poor. Tire loosing air pressure from the time of purchase. The consumer was involved in an accident on 2-25-06 and the air bags failed to deploy. Updated 03/29/06.

- Corona, CA, USA

While driving the vehicle in overdrive the vehicle would slow down. The dealer was notified. While driving the vehicle in overdrive the vehicle slows down. The dealer has been notified.

- Coulee Dam, WA, USA