On two separate occasions, my 2008 Ford Taurus sel automatic transmission dropped out of gear while I was accelerating slowly away from a stop and then slammed into gear. The first time it occurred I was leaving my driveway. It dropped out of gear at about 5 mph and made a growling noise. I stopped the car, thinking somehow the shift lever wasn't in the right position, I put it in gear and the transmission slammed into first. I had my foot on the brake, so I just shifted it into neutral and turned the engine off. When I started it again everything worked fine. About a year and a half later I had a similar incident. I was leaving a parking lot and I had reached a speed of 5-15 mph when there was no longer any gear, then it slammed into gear for a moment, went a few feet, then dropped out again, then slammed into gear again. I was able to coast to the curb in a residential area and turn the engine off. Fortunately no traffic was coming. I started the engine again and had no further trouble, but this time I took it into the Ford dealer where I had bought it new. They checked it out keeping it two days but said they could find nothing wrong with either the transmission or the software controlling it. I was told that there was no memory access to the transmission so that they couldn't find out or verify that there was a problem. I was checking out recalls and service bulletins on it today and I found that other owners reported similar problems. If I had been pulling out into traffic and my transmission failed the way it did, there could easily have been an accident.

- Alpine, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. The contact stated the vehicle was not moving when it accelerated and shifted into gear with excessive force. The failure also occurred whenever the contact shift from first to second gear. The failure began to occur without warning immediately after the vehicle was purchased. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer several times and stated there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. The failure mileage was 100 and the current mileage was 34,000.

- Lorain, OH, USA

I was entering I 70 East in columbus Ohio off the james road exit, while attempting to merge into the outside lane. I sped up to adjust my speed, as a vehicle was in the same lane. When I accelerated, the car automatically took over and suddenly accelerated and revved up high and fast. My first reaction was to hit the brakes, I did, but the brakes would not depress or brake. I was trying to think of everything to do and monitor the cars around me, as well. I tried holding down the brakes hard and taking off while the car went flying by two exits, I knew I would not be able to exit because I couldn't stop. I continued with trying to locate the flasher and thinking about hitting the emergency brake but, I didn't because I was unsure whether it would come to a quick stop. I kept pushing down and up on the brake pedal. Suddenly, the revving began to settle down (a fast downward revving sound) and I was able to brake the car. I was unsure whether to pull over so I decided to continue to my destination which was only 3 exits away. I parked and looked at the car and especially the area near my feet, there was nothing interfering with the brakes or the accelerator. I panicked all the way home, not knowing what would happen so I stayed off the freeway, believing the freeway speed would cause a similar issue. As soon as I got home, I researched the issue and found some similar instances with the same make and model. I will call the dealer tomorrow. I had a previous experience with the transmission stopping on the freeway and disengaging while driving and when I stopped. When I would pull over and switch the gears, the car would make a loud dropping sound. And it would be difficulty to switch gears. The car shifts at times and kicks back. The dealer replaced a sensor but, it has not resolved the issue completely. I've taken it back and they found nothing. I hope they will find something, as I am afraid to drive this car after tonights experience.

- Columbus, OH, USA

While driving to work, my 2008 Ford Taurus' transmission slammed, then all the panel lights lit up and the speedometer reset to zero, staying that way until I was able to pull over. Because I was in the center lane of traffic, on interstate 75, in atlanta, I was not able to move to the far left or right. Though it was approximately 4:30 in the morning on a workday, the traffic was heavy and fast. I was afraid that the car would stop right there but was able to continue to work because I did not do any sudden braking or speed shifting. I kept driving until I got to work, which was the only safe stopping point for me at that time of day and on the path that I was driving. I was unable to drive it again and had to have it towed back to the dealership. The mechanic who worked on it stated that the vehicle was not drivable and had to order a replacement oss sensor. I have my car back but am very nervous about driving it. It still does the slamming(on a small scale) but everytime it does this, I worry. When the initial problem starting, I had ~500 miles left to my warranty. Now I am over the warranty and will have to take it back in for the same problem. This is a major problem and could possibly stall a car in heavy traffic, with no ability to move to a safer location.

- Fayetteville, GA, USA

I recently purchased a used 2008 limited Taurus had 24000 miles and currently has 26,000. When the vehicle is idling in park a loud humming noise comes from the transmission about 95% of the time, brought back to the dealer and the couldn't duplicate the problem. But the car still does it. Ford has been notified.

- Fall River, MA, USA