2003 Ford Taurus: misfire or rough idle

Filed Mar 18, 2016 · Acceleration · 136,856 miles · NC

Put vehicle in shop vehicle had rough idle, misfiring on #2 cylinder. Shop removed and replaced spark plug, air filter, fuel filter, and ignition coil. Got vehicle from shop. Vehicle idle too high-speeds up on its own. Took back to shop shop removed and replaced idle air control valve got vehicle out of shop. Vehicle still idle too high and still speeds up on its own. When stopped at stop light, when the breaks are released, car jumps forward. When backing up out of garage, car back-up too fast; must hold breaks at all times.

Filed Jun 15, 2009 · Engine · 68,454 miles · MI

While driving at highway speeds (65-70) when accelerating to pass, car bucks violently (at 70k miles on odometer). Also, random rough idling since date of purchase of vehicle in july 2003. After taking car in numerous times to dealership while under warranty and they were unable to diagnose even after hooking up recorder. Did my own research on line and discovered a faulty camshaft synchronizer was the problem. This is a $400 repair that ford is aware of as there is a service bulletin on it. However, the failure rate is usually after the warranty expires making it the responsibility of the consumer. I have also personally spoken with a dozen taurus owners who have experienced the same problem. Lodged a complaint with ford motor company who did not respond or follow through. Very disappointed as this could pose a serious safety problem for consumers not to mention catastrophic engine failure if the synchronizer fails completely. If your taurus has a rough idle that is intermittent and the diagnostic says there is no code, it is probably this problem as the service bulletin from ford indicates that the cam synchronizer does not throw a code to the computer system. Also, if your car bucks or hesitates on hard acceleration or there is a high pitched chirping sound, it is the cam synchronizer. If you take it to the dealer tell them what it is so they don't charge you an additional diagnostic fee that will show no problems! It's bad enough to have to pay $400 for a part that shouldn't fail, but does after the warranty expires. Ford should have issued a recall on this and other vehicles that had the same problems (know to occur in the f150 as well).

Filed Jun 5, 2006 · Engine · OK

Engine misfired then shut down completely while driving.

Filed Apr 23, 2006 · Fuel system · 99,999 miles · FL

Engine starts misfiring and loses power completely and shuts off. You can turn ignition off and restart engine and the engine runs good for a few minutes. The fuel rail sensor corrects this problem, but I've installed two sensors in four months.

Filed Aug 12, 2005 · Acceleration, Brakes · 25,000 miles · TX

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.