2005 Ford Five Hundred: adaptive cruise control problems

Filed Aug 22, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 177,320 miles · KY

I was driving in town going about 40 MPH when the car lost all power, then engine failsafe mode displayed on the information center and a little wrench was also displayed. With no power steering, I had to pull over quickly in lunchtime traffic. After stopping the car, I waited a few seconds and restarted it. No problems with it until the next day when the check engine light came on. I have also noticed a mechanical smell coming from the AC. It appeared, at first, that this problem had come out of nowhere when I suddenly remembered two occasions when the rpms suddenly stuck on 3000 and would not stop until I put the car in neutral. Also, when using cruise control, the whole car shakes and stutters slightly when going up or down very slight inclines.

Filed Apr 18, 2012 · Transmission · 65,000 miles · NY

I have an ongoing issue with the transmission de-engaging when the temperature of the transmission warms up. When I accelerate when passing or using the cruise control the transmission will dis-engage leaving me with no forward power, I must put the car in neutral and hope it engages all the while almost being run over by two semi-trucks. This happened almost a dozen times down and back on my trip from buffalo to peapack nj on monday 4/16/2012. This is a know problem that ford is aware on the five hundred model, montego and some fusion models. Many start to fail at less than 30,000 miles and happened at 65,000 miles on my vehicle. I consider this an extremely dangerous situation and amazed no one has been killed due to these defective transmissions. The ford forum has over 10 pages of complaints regarding this problem. Ford told me they would not do anything unless there was a recall.

Filed Dec 23, 2011 · Transmission · 155,000 miles · WV

Not long after purchasing my vehicle my husband and I were driving on the interstate with the cruise control on and the transmission stopped working. We were able to pull off safely onto the shoulder and shut the car off and once restarted was fine. We have since stopped using cruise control in fear of an accident. The problem is still there and seems to be getting worse. The dash will light check transmission, traction control and sometimes check engine. Once the car is turned off and back on it is fine for a while, the check engine light takes some time to go off. It is getting so we are afraid to drive it, sometimes it drives fine and others the transmission quits. The other day I went to pass a car and the lights came on as I had moved into the lane to pass on the interstate. Once I was in my lane again a few minutes later it does it again and this time a big mac truck is coming up on me. I have read of several problems of this with this same car and it has been said there is a problem with the throttle body and/or electrical system. This is very dangerous and ford should be issuing a recall to fix the problem before someone is injured or killed.

Filed Jul 17, 2009 · Transmission · 25,000 miles · MI

I have an 05 ford 500, 2 wheel drive, w/6 speed at/trans. At 30k miles it developed a transmission "slippage/jerk" when slowing to a stop from 35mph or less. I have also noticed the same when accelerating at highway speeds or climbing a hill when I hit passing gear. I cannot use the cruise control in hilly terrain because of this problem. It feels as if the whole front end of the car will jerk loose.

Filed Sep 12, 2008 · Airbags, Electrical · 74,500 miles · FL

Started driving my 2005 ford five hundred sel front wheel drive as I normally do, except the instrument cluster and lights started flickering, my A/C turned off and check engine light came on. After stopping on the side of the road everything returned to normal. About 40 minutes later a similar situation occurred, only this time just the instrument panel failed. My cruise control still worked but my tach, speed, battery and power gauge all dropped to zero, however the lights remained on. I am writing today because I saw online that other owners of the same make and model are having identical problems. This is a major safety issue and could cause an accident, especially if the lights cut off at random. I'm surprised there hasn't been a recall issued or an accident yet as a result of this.