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.
I was driving down freeway when car kept accelerating after I had taken foot off of gas pedal. Exited freeway and had to use both feet on brake pedal to get car to slow down. At this point, the engine RPM's were stuck at 4000 and engine was revving as high as it could go. I managed to get car home and at that point, I started car back up and the engine was still revving all the way up to 4000 RPM's. so, I stepped on the gas pedal ( while in park ) a few times and it returned to normal RPM's. but now, I cannot use the cruise control. This has happened 2 times so far. The second time I was on residential street and I turned a corner and car would not slow down when I applied brakes. So I simply put car in neutral and suddenly the engine begin to rev up to 4000 RPM's again so I stepped on gas pedal about 10 times and eventually it returned to normal RPM levels.
I am not really sure when this started to happen, it has been a long time. I thought it was a problem with my gas pedal, have been taking it to mechanic to fix it, never helped. After reading the reports of the cruise control problems being experienced, I realize that what is being reported is exactly what I am experiencing. Today it happened when my 19 year old son was driving. He was on the freeway at 70 mph, and when he needed to exit, the vehicle would not slow down. The vehicle accelerates on it's own at times, and at other times the accelerator gets stuck as though the cruise is set, even when you have not set it. Thus you wish to slow down, and you are still stuck going 70 mph. I have been stuck in traffic jams and had it start to accelerate, and have to keep the brakes on to slow down. If you try to put it in neutral or park, the rpms race badly. I took it back to my mechanic to try to completely disconnect the cruise control last Friday (8-31-12) and it seemed to help for a few days, but now today when my son had the vehicle get stuck at 70, he looked and the cruise control cable had reconnected on it's own. We have now removed the plastic assembly cover to try and prevent this from recurring, after reading suggestions from others online who are also experiencing this problem. In reading other driver's descriptions online, I believe this problem is occurring to many other drivers of the 2005 Taurus. I have contacted Ford, their response was that I have to take it to the dealer where I purchased it for a complete diagnostic. I called the dealership, they said the diagnostic was $98 and would only do me any good if I can "replicate the problem" while it is at their dealership. As this problem occurs very randomly, I don't see how this is possible. I firmly believe that this problem needs to be further investigated before a tragedy occurs.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the accelerator pedal became stuck while driving. The contact tried to stop the vehicle but failed. The contact eventually slowed the vehicle down and pulled into a parking lot where the vehicle was towed to a repair shop for inspection. The technician stated that the throttle plate was found to be dirty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 127,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while was driving 40 mph the vehicle accelerated abnormally. He was able to stop the vehicle by applying the brakes but the vehicle continued to accelerate. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the issue was not under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 105,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving the vehicle suddenly accelerated without warnings. The vehicle continued to accelerate with the brake depressed and the RPM increased to 3,000 when the vehicle was placed in park. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000 and the approximate current mileage was 141,000.
- Taylor , MI, USA
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Today, August 31st, I was driving off navy base at the naval air station on roosevelt blvd., in jacksonville, Florida. It was around 4:00 a.M. and my 2005 Ford Taurus would not stop. I kept pressing the brakes and the car kept accelerating. The car was accelerating by itself...I was not in control of the car. I kept pressing the brakes... as I came out to the intersection I noticed a concrete truck to my left and I had the yield sign....scared to death and heart pounding I had to put the car in park and turn the car off. In park the car was still accelerating; a loud sound. I would have crashed into that concrete truck. Please help. Is there some type of recall for this car? this is dangerous...what if my kids was in the car.
On two different occasions. First, my wife was driving approximately 30 mph and the car rapidly accelerated to approx 55. Difficult to stop, engine revved up to 5K on tach. Second incident (next day), I was driving on highway doing 65 mph. Car accelerated rapidly to 85 mph and would not slow down until I threw the tranny into neutral. Car was revving at approx 5K on tach. I brought the car to my mechanic. Cruise control cable changed. I have been driving 36 years and this scared the hell out of me. No instances since. Is Ford going to wait for someone to be killed. My two daughters who drive the car often would not have known what to do in these instances. There is no doubt injury or death would have occurred if wither of them were driving the vehicle. Are there not enough documented cases to require Ford/GM to step up to the plate? please help us that have incurred the expense as well as those who have yet to experience what thousands of us have. Updated 7/31/13 the consumer stated the sudden acceleration occurred again, this time while his daughter was driving. Updated 08/06/13
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that as he started the vehicle, the vehicle abnormally accelerated to 40 mph. The contact depressed the brakes and shifted into park but the engine rpms continued to increase excessively. The vehicle was powered off to stop the failure. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer and the manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 85,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the vehicle suddenly accelerated independently without warning. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 100,000 and the current mileage was 106,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the contact attempted to slow down by engaging the brakes. The vehicle failed to respond and the engine rpms increased to 5,000. The contact was able to stop the vehicle and shift into neutral however the rpms remained between 4,000 and 5,000. The vehicle was taken to dealer who diagnosed that the failure was caused by carbon build up in the throttle plates. The dealer performed a carbon treatment however the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 93,200 and the current mileage was 93,320. Updated 10/10/12
As I was driving, the vehicle started to speed up on its own. It continued to speed up even when I took my foot off the gas pedal. I pulled on the side of the road. Even while I had the brakes applied, the car was jerking as if it was going to take off. I put the car in park and the engine was still revving up. I turned the car off and let it sit for a while. When I started the car up it was ok for a few minutes, but then started accelerating on its own again. I pulled over again, let the car sit for a while, and then started the car again. Shortly after restarting the car, the acceleration started again. Eventually, the acceleration started acting normally. This has happened several times since, but now when the car starts to accelerate on its own I lightly tap the gas pedal and the acceleration stops. Around the same time as the problem with the acceleration I also noticed that when I first start the car, the engine revs up really high and I have to let it run for a few minutes until it stops revving up.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact was driving 45 mph when the vehicle suddenly accelerated to 80 mph. The contact applied the brakes and the vehicle slowed down. The contact pulled over to shut the vehicle off and once the vehicle was restarted, the RPM's continued to race excessively. The contact did not take the vehicle to a dealer or local mechanic. For inspection or repairs the failure mileage was 123,000.
The cruise control was not working properly and had not been since I bought the car one month ago. It worked only a couple of times. On yesterday, I tested it again, as I have almost everyday. I turned it on at 40 mph to see if it would kick in. It finally did but it would not go off! when I hit the brakes, the motor revved up, when I pressed the off button, it did not work, the car just kept going and surpassed 40 mph. When I stopped the motor revved up very high. I tried several times but when I turned it off and turned it back on the car would abruptly move forward on its own - making a loud jerking sound in the motor. We were at my grandsons' football practices where children and adults were all around and I was very afraid that I would accidentally hit someone. I finally took it to a nearby mechanic and he had to unplug the cruise control cable, and for now its fine. This is very dangerous and according to other posts it happens quite often. I read where other had disconnected their cruise control cable and yet had problems with rapid acceleration. Is there a recall" and if not, why? what can I do to get this problem corrected" I had my daughter and grandchildren in the car with me and it was very scary for all of us. If I had hit another vehicle, stationary object, or much worse a child or an adult, that would have been devastating. Sincerely....
While driving on the freeway, I noticed my car accelerate a little on its own. It alarmed me but I ignored it, thinking I may have been on a slight downgrade. A month later, while driving over a mountain uphill, my car accelerated on its own and I could not ignore that. I pressed the brake but the engine kept trying to move faster. The road flattened out and I saw a stop sign. Luckily there was no one in front of me because I could not stop without having to floor the brakes and put the car in neutral. As I did that, the rpms went up to 5000. I tried turning the car off and on, and as it turned back on the engine revved up to 6000 and would not go down after shifting into neutral. I turned off the car and had it towed because I was too frightened to continue driving it on a narrow, windy road.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the vehicle abnormally accelerated to 60 mph. The contact was able to maintain control of the vehicle. The contact mentioned that an independent mechanic inspected the vehicle and diagnosed that the cruise control cable separated from the plastic holder that was attached to the metal shaft, causing the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The current and failure mileage was 150,000.
I was driving at 40 mph down the road when traffic slowed down. I released the throttle to apply the brakes and the engine rpms increased and the vehicle would not slow down. I narrowly avoided an accident by applying the brakes as hard as I could and drove into a parking lot before shutting the vehicle off. Upon restarting the vehicle, the engine RPM was around 4,000 RPM and would not come down. After pressing the accelerator pedal several times the vehicles engine returned to idle speed. Upon further inspection I found that the cruise control cable had become disconnected from the throttle body. I assume that the cable was able to wedge the throttle open and became unstuck once I depressed the accelerator pedal several times. The plastic end on the cruise control cable is not broken but does fit loosely on the throttle body when I reconnected it. I have applied a plastic zip tie to the cruise control cable to keep it from coming off again.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the accelerator pedal would become stuck. As a result, there was an increase in engine rpms. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the throttle box and cable were fractured and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 132,000 and the current mileage was 132,500.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph, the accelerator pedal became stuck in open throttle. As a result, there was an increase in engine rpms. The contact mentioned that she was able to maintain control of the vehicle by continuously depressing the brake. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 170,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the vehicle periodically accelerated independently. The dealer was notified and advised the contact that there was a standard fee for the diagnosis and offered no assistance. The manufacturer was notified of the failure who stated that the vehicle was no longer under warranty and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 110,000 and the current mileage was 115,000. Updated 08/29/12
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving 20 mph, the contact depressed the accelerator and when he removed his foot from the pedal, the vehicle continued to independently accelerate. The failure continued for approximately two miles until the vehicle stopped accelerating independently. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop where they provided minor maintenance to the vehicle several times. The repair shop replaced the idle air control valve also but the failure recurred. The repair shop also disconnected the cruise control as a precautionary measure. The VIN was unavailable. The current and failure mileage was 140,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Flint, MI, USA