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 has happened about 3 times in the last 2 yrs but while sitting at a light my car suddenly went forward. It didn't go.to far. Maybe a ft or 2 but was enough to scare me. My foot was on the brake. It will also get stuck in gears and lose power on the road. No check engine light is on as of now. One light did come on today while sitting at a light and without notice my car would not go. It was the power throttle/transmission light. I turned the car off and then back on and it drove fine all the way home. It did jerk once. The gear shifting and loss of power happens when I am driving on the highway.
While I was driving on the freeway my car started to idle high and speed gained without me doing it. I tried to push on the brake to slow car down but brake would not work, I got off freeway and pushing as hard as I could on the brake the car slowed somewhat., there was a hill which caused me to again gain speed and I put car in park and to stopped. I towed to auto repair and when computer test was ran no codes came up.
Car would suddenly jolt forward even though I was securely stopped at a light or stop sign. Sometimes, it felt like it jolted forward as much as 4 feet - even though my foot was firmly on the brake at all times. (I tried turning off the A/C to see if there was a power surge causing the problem. A/C on or off made no difference at all.) this would happen so often, that I would have to stop more than a car length away from all intersections or other vehicles already stopped so I would not hit them when the car jolted. It became an expected event. Brakes were not sufficient to hold the car back from these sudden jolts - unfortunately. Coming home one night, car started accelerating beyond the amount I was pushing the gas pedal and then it suddenly lost power even though I was now trying to accelerate. New dash lights - wrench, airbag, and gas all came on. Mileage display disappeared and, instead, car showed that car was empty of gas (I had filled the tank night before and was showing "full" prior to this sudden change with vehicle.) barely made it home and car did not accelerate enough to go up the slightest incline of driveway apron. Repair was made to transmission speed sensor. Less than a week later, I am noticing the same sudden power surge/sudden loss of power. I try to convince myself that it's just because I was so scared driving home that night. Less than a month, the car is doing the same thing and I am having it towed back to dealership. From complaints I've seen on internet, this is a common problem and this should be subject to a recall. I believe the replacement parts are also defective. The older woman I bought the car from was told she was at fault for an accident that I now believe was completely this problem! she was been told she is not allowed to drive (which is why she sold me her car) and it is the fault of the car!!!!!
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. While driving at low speeds, the vehicle failed to accelerate properly. While accelerating from a stop, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate and drove very slowly when the accelerator pedal was depressed to the floorboard. The vehicle would then rapidly accelerate and almost cause the driver to lose control. The vehicle was taken to mouw Ford (1245 North main ave, sioux center, ia) where it was diagnosed that the throttle body was faulty. The throttle body was replaced, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 81,000.
On 1/23/2018, my 2008 Ford Taurus experienced, for the first (and so far, only) time, the same powertrain symptoms described at Ford tsb numbers 07-21-11 and 08-26-13 (found at www.revbase.com/bbbmotor/tsb/downloadpdf"id=139970 and www.revbase.com/bbbmotor/tsb/downloadpdf"id=147402, respectively). Specifically, while idling at a stop light in preparation for a turn, my vehicle shifted out of gear with no input from me. I noticed this when, as I attempted to slowly accelerate into the merge lane, the vehicle did not move. There was no sound or other sign that the vehicle had shifted out of gear spontaneously. I shifted the vehicle into reverse, and the vehicle rolled back as it should. When I shifted back into drive, there was a small clunk. The vehicle did not respond to the accelerator, up to around 1,500 rpms. I put the car in park, and heard/felt a larger clunk, and noticed that the yellow wrench icon on the dash illuminated. I turned off the engine, waited 30 seconds, and restarted the engine. The vehicle then operated normally from that point forward with no signs of transmission or shifting issues. The yellow wrench light did not reappear, and no check engine light has illuminated since that time. I have driven approximately 100 miles and 6 drive cycles since that time with no symptoms. My research into this issue identified the above tsbs and I contacted Ford directly about the issue. They told me that, while those tsbs do apply to the same model and year of vehicle, my VIN was not included on the list. They said I needed to have my vehicle inspected by NHTSA so that it can be added to this list.
- Birmingham, AL, USA
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The Ford Taurus sel has 237,836 miles on it. Two times while driving the vehicle on the interstate highway then on a county road the dash showed all zeros and the car lost power. The check engine light came on. The car exhibited slow acceleration and unusual shifting. I took it and had the obd code read. The code indicated that it was a speed sensor in the transmission (P720). The code was reset and the car is currently being driven. It happened twice within a two-week period. I own two 2008 Ford Taurus and it happened on the same day to both of them. I will be filing incident information on the other vehicle too.
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving at 60 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 73,000.
I was pulling out of a parking lot, stopped and on the brakes waiting for an opening in traffic when all of the sudden my car tried to surge me forward, revving up very high. It sounded as if the car may blow up. I had to stomp on the brake pedal with both feet and fight to keep from the car throwing me out into traffic. I put the car in park and it stopped. I immediately went to the nearest service station, where they looked at it & took it for a drive. It didn't happen while they looked at it so they told me they have no way of knowing what went wrong with it. My husband called Ford and they claim they have never heard of that and we were the first ones that had that go wrong with their Ford Taurus. I'm very frustrated, I saw numerous complaints on the internet about the exact thing happening to other people. I'm scared to drive my car now, and will no longer teach my son to drive with it. There's no way I'd put my son behind the wheel of it knowing it might throw him into traffic and harm him in any way. Is Ford waiting for a death before they admit to anything?! I need help from anyone to guide me in how to find out what went wrong and how to get it fixed. I have a couple doctor appointments coming up in St louis and I can't get the fear of it happening on an 8 lane highway out of my head. Help!
Purchased vehicle in Feb 2010. Driven to take children to and from school and back home approx total mileage round trip daily is 6 miles at most. First instance happened when approaching a stop sign and slowing down by pressing the brake but the motor accelerated rpms instead as if I were pressing the gas. Lasted few seconds and began doing as it should. Next instant happened couple months later when pressing the brake to stop after returning home from taking children to school. Tried to stop in my driveway when I reached the house and the motor accelerated instead and had to turn the switch off to make it stop making the acceleration noise. This has happened several times with each time a little more intense. Most recently, while taking my son to a travelball tournament I slowed to stop at a stop sign and it briefly revved the motor. When I tried to start going again it took a second for the car to actually go, then began running normal. Few miles down the road traveling about 45 miles per hour all of a sudden lost all ability to control the vehicle when the motor began accelerating but car slowing down as if it had been knocked out of gear. The difference was it was still in gear and pressing the brake did nothing and steering became very difficult. Managed to get off the road and stopped then it just started driving normal again. Proceeded to drive to destination and slowed to turn right at intersection with oncoming traffic when car did the same thing again. That was a month ago and has not done it since.
2008 Ford Taurus. Parked in driveway with foot on brake...all of sudden the engine accelerates rapidly and I proceed to hit the side of the house. The next day was just sitting at stoplight with my foot on the brake and the engine for no reason accelerates to over 4000 RPM.
This car has only about 16,000 on it. I was driving on the interstate when I started getting this hard jerk and then the car speed went down to about 30 mph. After a few moments, the speed will pick back up for about a mile or 2. the hard jerk will come again and the transmission will not change out properly. This could have cause an accident on the interstate, so I got off the interstate and started traveling on the back roads to make it home. By the time I got home, I could have hardly make it. I had the car towed to a Ford dealership and they informed me that the transmission was gone out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I called the Ford company, but said it was not a recall on the transmission. This is a very serious ordeal, someone could have gotten hurt from this situation. The hard jerk, the speed dropping while the transmission trying to change out. Please look into this matter. I am sure this has happen to others, but has not been reported.
Had cruise control set to on position, I accelerated to pass a car, then the acceleration continued on even though my foot was off of accelerator pedal. The car continued to speed rapidly with the engine revving even though my foot was pressed hard on the brake. I was able to slow the car down to 60 with my foot pressed hard on the brake. Unfortunately there was traffic around me and I did not have the ability to control the speed of the car. I had to move onto the road shoulder to avoid hitting the car ahead of me. Luckily the paved shoulder of the road was grated and somehow caused the car to stop (intermittent acceleration 3X), and then coming to a complete stop. Upon explaining this to my father, he wonders if the acceleration cable stuck when I initially attempted to pass a car and then shook loose and became unstuck when driving over the grated road - not sure. I was glad to make it out of that situation alive but need your assistance in how to proceed with this problem. My father called a Ford dealer mechanic and they want to charge for a diagnostic and repair. I feel that this should not be our responsibility as this is possibly a manufacturer defect that should be taken care of by Ford. Please advise me. Thank you for your time.
Started driving and car would just jerk and then would go again and not go into gear.only could get speed up to 20 or 40mph. Took to dealership and they state I need a new transmission. Called for and they can do nothing about it and still owe on it.
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving 25 mph, the vehicle decelerated and went into limp safe mode. The contact mentioned that all of the warning lights illuminated on the instrumental panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the speed sensor was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage 146,000.
Made left turn onto major street. There was traffic so everything was slow. As soon as I got onto the street, the engine revved up and started to move faster than I wanted and I put my foot on the brake. The car shot forward and I hit the vehicle in from of me. This was not driver error. It was sudden acceleration.. it caused significant damage to the front end of my car. Luckily, no injuries.
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the brake and accelerator pedals were too close in proximity, causing her to depress both pedals simultaneously. The contact mentioned that on one occasion, the driver crashed into another vehicle as a result. A police report was filed and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 45,000 and the current mileage was 50,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, the vehicle accelerated abnormally. The vehicle had to be maneuvered to the side of the roadway in order to stop the failure. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle would roll forward after the being secured in park. The failure recurred over a five year span. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the technician could not diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 28,000.
Stopped at a red light, suddenly engine surged, racing like it was going to take off. I stayed on the brake, then put the car in park, it continued to surge. Moved it back to drive and within a few seconds the surging stopped. I was able to continue on without incident. My mechanic checked the vehicle out without finding anything. I took it to a Ford dealer. They went over it, took it out on the road for a test, nothing showed. My concern if it should occur when I didn't have my foot on the brake.
Car was in a parking lot. I put car in reverse and very lightly applied gas pedal and vehicle shot back at a tremendous rate of S peed which I was unable to stop and vehicle was stopped by hitting a low cement wall. If anyone had been behind me they would be injured.
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while stop at traffic light the vehicle suddenly accelerated and crashed into the proceeding vehicle rear end. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who repaired the vehicle front end damage. However the sudden acceleration failure was not investigated. The failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 35,000 and the approximate current mileage was 42,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Frankston, TX, USA