On february 5, 2010 my 2003 ford taurus caught fire at 1:00 p.m. Parked under our car porch and there was no one in the car and no one had driven the car for 5 hours on saturday morning. The shreveport fire department was call to keep the house from burning down with the car. The city fire marshall said the fire was caused by the cruise control switch. I told him no one uses the cruise control in that car because we just go in town and there is a red light at every corner. He stated that he had been to many other fires just like this one and it was always the cruise control switch. My husband is emotionally disabled and I nearly had a nervous breakdown just the sight that our investment was burning up and there was nothing we could do. I have call the fire marshall for a written copy of his report. I have taken pictures of the vehicle and their is some minor damages and lots of smoke damage to done to the house.
2003 Ford Taurus acceleration complaints
Page 4 of 4: complaints 71 to 88 of 88, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Cruise control cable become disconnected and get lodged behind throttle linkage.
On my 2003 ford taurus sel the throttle body sticks causing an unusually high amount of gas pedal pressure to release it and once it releases the high pedal pressure applied causes a rapid, dangerous acceleration of the vehicle. This is the 2nd time this problem has occurred with this vehicle the first repair was done by the ford dealer on january 15, 2005 and now it is occurring again. This appears to be a common problem with ford vehicles and there are websites devoted to discussing this. In every occurrence the throttle body must be replaced.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. While driving 45 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated as the contact turned onto a road. She attempted to stop the vehicle, but was unsuccessful. She was finally able to shut off the engine and the vehicle was towed. The tow truck driver stated that a cable had become stuck, which caused the failure. The failure recurred approximately 3-4 weeks later. The contact performed the procedure the mechanic showed her in regards to the failure and continued driving. The contact's son explained that it was the cruise control cable that was stuck and he proceeded to disconnect the cable. Ford informed her that her VIN was not included in the cruise control recall. The current mileage was 75,300 and failure mileage was 74,000. Updated 04-08-08
Throttle sticks at the top of the pedal. The 'barrel' going from the air cleaner to the carburetor has a butterfly in it, when the butterfly returns, it gets stuck, there appears to be some kind of seal material. To throttle up sometimes means excessive pressure on the throttle, when the butterfly breaks loose, the car will lunge forward.
I was going to work the monday after thanksgiving 2005, I stopped at a light and then proceeded to go, went to push the gas pedal to speed up, and it revved, and I coasted in a parking lot.
Dt: sometimes the vehicle will accelerate when the consumer would take his foot off of the gas pedal just as if the cruise control was on when it was not. This has been happening off and on since december 2004. There were other problems with the vehicle that were not related. When the consumer had taken the vehicle to the dealership, they had replaced different parts on the vehicle. Although the repair made improvements, it did not completely fix the problem. The dealership could not find the exact problem. *ak (11/15/05) ford repurchased the vehicle. The consumer received compensation but did not feel that it was fair.
Dt the vehicle surged forward when in park. Contacted dealer, they checked it, and said was a sensor problem. They had to have an order to fix it. Did not say from who or why. Had not contacted the manufacturer. This happened on august 12, 2005.
Dt: while coming to a stop the caller hit the brake and the vehicle surged forward. It happened when vehicle was in park as well. Also, there was a sudden loss of power and rough idle when on the highway or city streets. The caller said there was poor gas mileage. Tool vehicle to dealer 7 times, on february 11, 2005, july 6, july 22, 2005, july 27, 2005 , and august 12, 2005. Called the manufacturer, and manufacturer said they have had this problem in other vehicles. Dealer said they could not fix the problem and someone form the manufacturer will get back to him.
Owner was driving in a parking lot at approximately 5 MPH and suddenly the vehicle began to accelerate. Owner drove into a large plant which got caught under the vehicle, causing the front of the vehicle to become airborne. This caused damaged under the vehicle and the front bumper. *ak the dealer replaced the iac valve assembly.
2003 ford taurus experienced sudden acceleration when brakes were engaged.*mr the dealer acknowledge the problem, but has been unable to correct it.
2003 ford taurus problems with sudden acceleration.***no answer required***. *mr while parking the vehicle accelerated suddenly and jumped over two curbs. The vehicle came to a stop after hitting a flower pot which became lodged under the vehicle.
The consumer experienced sudden acceleration. The manufacturer has been contacted by consumer.
Involutary acceleration of car at low speeds while the traction control is engaged due to slippery surfaces. This has happened four times in the last month and, everytime the driver's foot was on the brake pedal and not on the accelerator. The dealer has had the car twice and has not been able to replicate the conditions. Ford motor company refuses to take further action.
Consumer complained that the vehicle would continuously accelerate to 200 RPM and causes the engine to overheat. Vehicle had been to the dealer on two occasions, but problem recurred. Dealer contacted the manufacturer, and manufacturer informed that dealer that was the normal characteristic of that vehicle.
The consumer experienced unexpected acceleration. The driver stated while sitting at a stop light he lifted his foot off the brake the and vehicle suddenly accelerated. *jb the vehicle hit another vehicle in the rear . This same instance recurred another time and on the time, the vehicle was in the park position. Ford suggested that nothing was wrong with the vehicle. *sc
Intermittently driving at any speed, the cruise control would disengage with out warning. The cruise control would have to be reset in order for it to be engaged again. The vehicle has been examined by the dealer, who could not duplicate the problem. *ak checked vehicle with a ford engineer, but cruise control won't disengage. It has to be set at 55 to 65 MPH to disengage.
While going down a hill the vehicle shifted from over drive to drive, the vehicle gained speed and appeared to be in a "free wheeling" mode. The dealer stated the problem was the idle air control. Mr scc
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