The vehicle was merging into a lane of bumper to bumper traffic with the air conditioner on and it lurched forward in such a way that the brake needed to be applied so the the vehicle would not hit another vehicle. The driver felt as if she was not in control & the vehicle quickly accelerated without the driver pressing the gas pedal.

- Cheverly, MD, USA

Sudden acceleration while stopped in 2008 Ford Taurus X.

- Morris Plains, NJ, USA

At 62K my 2008 Taurus X began having "surging" issues while what was first felt at high way speeds. It almost felt as if I was driving with somebody that had the bad habit of pressing down on the gas and letting off continuously, only I knew this was not the case for it was myself driving. It was worse when the cruise control was engaged. The problem did not occur everytime driven but the frequency began to increase. One day I turned the car on and you could hear the surging in the idling and see it in the tachometer. This day I was coming to a stop with my foot on the brake and the entire car lurched forward causing me to almost rearend the car in front of me. Once stopped I stepped on the gas to pull forward from the stop and the car would not go although my foot was pressed down on the gas pedal. I continued to drive the car home and while accelerating up a hill the car was waiting until about 3500 rpms to shift - almost like it was slam shifting and bucking until I got to cruising speed at the top. My car is now at the Ford dealerships and has been for 3 days. I have been told it was not throwing any error codes but Ford head quarters had been involved and once they placed a certain code into my car others came up. Right now I am waiting for the throttle body to be replaced - or so I have been told.

- Henniker, NH, USA

Vehicle was accelerating without any command.

- Mounds View, MN, USA

Failure of vehicle to stop. Two incidents - 10/25/08 & 7/13/09. Traffic light turns red, and I tried to brake and car does not stop, engine remains at traffic speed and roars. Shift to neutral and still no response and then turn car off and on. Back to normal and proceed to safely get off road and call Ford service. First time cruise control was on an they replaced cancel switch on brake. 2nd time no cruise control and had just left one light and another turns red. Ford cannot determine what is wrong with the vehicle. They drove and could not duplicate and returned with black box to record incident. 2 weeks later I receive a call that on a hunch they ordered a new throttle body and replaced it 8/8. no one feels safe driving this vehicle. I am afraid it will happen again and this time I will not be the first car to approach a traffic light or someone will pull in front of me and I will not be able to stop. The service department at my local Ford said there have been no similar incidents. I have contacted Ford customer service on line and they have only replied that someone will forward it to the proper department and that I should contact my local dealership, who retains repair records. The local dealership does not have any answers and would not drive the car unless they had to. Which since I purchased the vehicle leaves me no option. I was wondering if there have been any similar incidents. The vehicle in question is a 2008 Ford Taurus X.

- Leland, NC, USA

Dangerous design of relation of brake pedal and accelerator (gas) pedal. The gas pedal is located within approximately/4 of an inch of the brake pedal. And the gas pedal is on a 15deg.angle from the top to the bottom leaning towards the brake pedal. When brake is applied there is insufficient space to avoid the gas pedal causing acceleration and braking at the same time. Stopping is dangerous!!!! I called the factory and told them about it and asked if it could provide more space between gas pedal and brake pedal and was told no because is was a design feature and must remain so or loose the warranty on the vehicle. No crash or injury yet but close shaves have occurred. I feel on edge when ever stopping at a red light behind another car afraid my car jumping into the one in front of me. Entering a busy intersection afraid the car will not stop because the gas is applied when the brake is also applied. The car is a 2008 model and costly for my pocket-book and cannot sustain damage due to a faulty design that could be correct very simply by the manufacturer by providing more space between pedals. I invested much of my savings and not to have to an automobile that is dangerous to drive and endanger other people. I was a victim of another incident but I am speaking up now to get a dangerous situation corrected.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA