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.
This happened a few times in the past month especially at high speed. When I drove on high way, I found I do not need to hold gas pedal to keep at high speed (say 65). If I brake a little and release brake, the speed will automatically go up itself. There were also a few cases that it was very hard for me to brake to stop the car. It seemed the brake is lost at that time.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated while driving 40 mph, the vehicle independently increased the speed to 65 mph. This failure occurred four times within a day. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed there was a faulty cruise control cable. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 71,000.
The vehicle started slowly accelerating by itself even with the foot off the gas pedal. After several instances of doing this I took it to a Ford dealer. They said the cruise control cable needed replacement and I had the work done. Several weeks later it started doing it again with me and my wife driving it. I took it to a private mechanic who said there was a problem with the cruise control cable and that he had fixed it. A few days later did it again this time with my daughter driving the car and then with me again when I drove it out of incredulity that this could be happening again. I took it to the private mechanic again and after discussion of the issue decided to disconnect the cruise control cable. There has been not a single instance of this problem again after two years of driving the car with the cruise control disconnected.
The car will accelerate by itself from the gas pedal sticking-- total transmission replacement now there is difficulty steering left or right, which forces the vehicle into extremely wide turns or use of excessive force to get wheel moving. -the car will rev/chug excessively while idling at a light, forcing me to turn it off several times for fear of something happening. --car has been checked several times by auto shops and they always claim the car is fine yet I have all these difficulties with it.
The cruise control was activated but continued to be engaged and my car was accelerating after I applied the brake preparing to stop. My car continued to travel and I had to pull off the road while I was tapping on the gas pedal hoping to stop this alarming development. The car eventually stopped accelerating and I continue driving to my destination but I experienced the same problem at least twice on my way and I decided to stop in a business parking lot and inspect the cruise control cable. I discovered that it was partially disconnected from its link to the throttle body and was keeping the throttle plate from closing. I disconnected the cruise control cable and I have not had unintended acceleration since then. I went to the local Ford dealership to inquire about this safety-compromising malfunction and I was told that my cruise control cable needs replacement. I failed to ask if the cable is actually the culprit because it has somehow failed or if the design of its linkage to the throttle body is the cause for the partial disconnection of the cable from the linkage in which case this could happen again even after the cable is replaced.
- Iowa City, IA, USA
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I was driving and coming up to a 4-way stop at an intersection. There was a truck stopped at the sign at the intersection in front of me. I applied the brakes and was nearly stopped when the engine of my car began revving on its own. I pressed harder on the brakes but felt the car edging forward still and thought for a moment I had lost my brakes. Since my foot was on the brake pedal I put the car in park, stopping it from running into the truck in front of me. The engine revved for a few more seconds and then the needle dropped on the RPM dial back to normal. I put the car in drive and completed my trip home without further incident. This is the second time this has happened. The first time was nearly a month ago but I thought it was a fluke, that perhaps I had some how stepped on the gas pedal as well as the brake. I do not believe that is the case now.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact was driving 25 mph when the vehicle independently accelerated to 45 mph. The contact applied the brakes with force but the vehicle did not respond. The contact then powered the vehicle off while stile in drive. The contact attempted to shift into park but to no avail. The vehicle was not taken for inspection and the failure recurred one week later. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where it was diagnosed that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 67,297.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 mph, the cruise control caused the vehicle to accelerate and decelerate independently. The vehicle was not inspected and was not diagnosed. The contact notified the manufacturer of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 86000.
On multiple occasions the vehicle accelerated without warning. The accelerator seems to stick resulting in uncontrollable fuel pedal response. I was nearly involved in three crashes one if which was at a congested intersection where I had to shift the vehicle into neutral and apply the brakes as the vehicle's engine revved uncontrollably. A second instance occurred on a local street where the vehicle again accelerated as pedestrians were within the road. I had to take evasive actions as to not strike the pedestrians.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle increased acceleration to 90 mph independently. The emergency brake and brake pedal were both engaged repeatedly with force. In addition, the gear lever was shifted into neutral. The vehicle decelerated to 5 mph and then the gear lever was shifted into the park position. The vehicle came to a complete stop and was towed to the residence. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 159,810.
I was driving on highway with my baby and suddenly found that even though I fully released the gas pad the engine still kept running at ~3000 RPM. I had to put brake to slow the speed which would otherwise accelerate my car out of my control. I finally stopped by switching to neutral and hard brake. When I restarted the car the problem was still there and the engine made a big noise at parking gear. The problem disappeared after I disconnected the battery. During the whole incident, I did not see any warning signs (e.g. check engine) on.
I was going down the hwy. At 55 and my car started accelerating suddenly. I slowed down a little bit and tapped the brakes again and it kept accelerating. I slowed way down to 40mph and took my foot off the gas and it accelerated up to over 60 mph on its own. I kept my foot on the gas and pulled off the highway at the next exit. When I got to the bottom of the exit I had to stop. My car kept accelerating and would not drop below 2rpm despite the fact I had my foot on the brake. It kept lurching forward slowly and the brakes weren't holding (and I have fairly new brakes). I had to turn the car off. When the light turned green I started again and the car accelerated again up to 30 mph on its own without me hitting the gas. I kept my foot on the break and coasted into a parking lot and turned the car off. I turned the car on again and it shot up to 4rpm and did not drop so I turned the car off and had a shop come pick it up. They said that the cruise control cable became disconnected and caught on the throttle causing the car to keep accelerating. I've never even used the cruise control on the vehicle at all and I have had possession of it since around 60,000 miles.
When I tried to set the cruise control it would not set or hold the speed. Later that day, when driving at approximately 40 mph, the car decided it was going to speed up. I put my foot on the brake and when I took it off, the car sped up again. I again put my foot on the brake and put the car in neutral as I pulled to the side of the road. When I got the car stop the engine rpms were up around 4rpms, at this point I shut the car off. I took the car to a Ford dealership and they ended up replacing the cruise control cable which was broken. It cost me $140.43 this was on 2-21-13 (143,350 miles). About 3 days ago 2-6-14 (159,000miles), the car again did this same thing. Once again I will be taking it into the Ford dealership to have this issue fixed. I am hoping that I will not be charged this time. This is very dangerous and scary when it happens. I am glad I was driving the car and not my 16 year who is just learning to drive.
My accelerator pedal starting sticking and has continued to do so for over a week, now. My cruise control also stopped working at the same time. If I tap the accelerator pedal, it will usually return to normal. The cruise control will work intermittently, but is inoperative more than it is operative. I can live without the cruise control, but the sticking accelerator pedal is dangerous. Also, sometimes when I set the cruise control, I can feel the accelerator pedal accept the speed, but then it will almost immediately disconnect and the accelerator pedal will spring back to its normal position. I've read that other Ford tauruses have had what appears to be the same exact problem. Ford really should issue a safety recall to fix this issue.
This problem first appeared a bit over a year ago. Date above is not exact. After speaking with a mechanic, my husband disconnected the cruise control cable and the problem appeared to go away. I've never received any type of recall notice on the vehicle. Now I have approximately 137K miles on the vehicle. In November of 2013, the transmission died. This past Sunday, on the way home from church, the vehicle accelerated to 4500 RPM's while going approximately 30 miles an hour in a residential zone. It took 2 feet on the brakes, had to make a quick turn and put the vehicle in neutral. I cannot drive the vehicle. Please help us find a solution.
We had our car serviced at our local Ford place on 1-22-2014 because of a problem we were having about acceleration problems. There we found out about the calibration recall. They proptly addressed the recall(we have not ever received the notification). About 2 hrs. Later I was going to get gas. I pulled into the station and it accelerated on me. I thought I would go through the pumps! I was pressing my brakes as hard as I could and put it in neutral fast(which is not good for the transmission) and finally got it unstuck or whatever it does. It was over 3 on the tachometer! it scared me so bad. I have filed a complaint before, the conf. # is 10551674. I just do not want to be the example of when Ford does something about after my funeral!
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph, the engine rpms increased to 3000. The contact had to put the vehicle into park for the vehicle to stop. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnose or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. The VIN was not available. The approximately failure mileage was 100,000.
After getting off of the highway, while driving through a 30 mph zone, car started to accelerate without stepping on the accelerator. I pulled over and put it in neutral and it was racing. I shut it off and waited and started up and it was still racing, I stepped on the accelerator quickly on and off and it went back to normal. I drove down the street and it did it again and again I put it in neutral and kicked it down with the accelerator and it hasn't happened since. It seems very intermittent as the last time it happened was 2 years ago. It is very difficult to diagnose because of this.
On 1/18/2014: I was traveling approximately 45 mph, when all the sudden my 2005 Ford Taurus suddenly started accelerating. I did not have my foot on the gas pedal. When I started to used the brakes it felt like the car was pushing against the brakes. The brakes held and I was able to stop the car. I put the car into park and when I did this the RPM's went to 60000. I quickly turned off the car because I was afraid that I would blow the motor, I let the car sit there for a few minutes. I re-started the motor and the motor was reeving at a high rate and when I put the car in drive it slammed into drive and the car took off. I feel that something is terribly wrong. There are no "check engine" lights on. It feels like the cruise control is engaged, but I continuously pushed the "off" button on cruise control and no light displayed that the cruise control was engaged. I feel this is a defect in the making of this automobile and I'm very concerned that I could have been the cause of a terrible accident. I am forced not to use my car until I can get a mechanic to look it over a diagnosis the situation. I had my 93 year old grandmother traveling with me on this day and I am fortunate that I was not in a serious accident. I am reporting this situation because, I wonder if other 2005 Ford Taurus have had the same issues & reported & maybe have even not been as luck as I, and have been in serious accidence due to this issue that should be re-called by Ford. Thank you.
My problem is my accelerator has been sticking making it difficult to control speed in traffic. I am concerned the problem will gradually get worse. I contacted Ford Motor Corp about the possibility of a recall or warranty with this issue. With a small amount of research it seems there is well known issues with this make and model for accelerator problems. See my correspondence with Ford below: "hi ------, my name is [xxx] and I'm from Ford's customer relationship center (crc). I received your email regarding your 2005 Ford Taurus SE. I'm sorry to hear about the issues with the seatbelt and accelerator sticking. I completely understand your concern for the safety of yourself and your family. After reviewing my resources, there are no warranties or programs in effect that would provide coverage for your current concern. We recommend that you keep your receipts in case Ford initiates a recall in the future based on customer feedback... ------------------- original message -------------------...I have couple of safety concerns. I love my 2005 Ford Taurus and I want to continue to own it. Last year I had a seatbelt issue where intermittently the buckle releases while car is in motion. I called dealership to ask if Ford will take care of this for safety reasons and was promptly told no. Recently I have an accelerator that is sticking. The pedal returns to position but the RPM's remain elevated. I have not notified the dealership yet about this issue. I wanted to contact Ford Corp first so I could have documentation on this recent safety concern for I have not had much luck in the past contacting the dealership...." information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
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- Novi, MI, USA