2003 Ford Taurus: jerking or lurching

Filed Oct 29, 2016 · Acceleration · 116,000 miles · SC

I was driving and the car revved the engine which made it feel like the car was going to take off.the car did jerk forward. And another time, I was at a stop light and the car revved like it was trying to go, even though the brake was being held down. The gray cap that holds the throttle cable in has broken on one side and the cable is slipping out. Is this a recall part?

Filed Sep 7, 2015 · Electrical · 130,000 miles · NJ

Riding down route 539 at 5:00 pm when the theft alarm came on and car cut off and jerked and restarted at the time the truck almost hit me in the rear end which I could have been killed I made to the shopping center and had it taken to my auto repair shop were it still is. My repairman is running all kinds of test to find the problem and correct it. Ford needs to recall the car before someone gets killed and car dealer should also be held accountable for selling a car that is unsafe.

Filed Sep 11, 2014 · Transmission · 89,000 miles · GA

Sitting at a stop light. Car would rev when light turned green but no acceleration. Pushed it to the side of the road. No warning lights, no slipping of gears, no fluid leaking no sounds or jerky feelings. Called ford and got a case number, but they are no help. Contacted [xxx] , consumer advocate and he advised me to contact ford. Found 299 complaints of the same problem on carcomplaints.com and same problems on autosafety.org. I was told by ford that the transmission is out of warranty. I said I would help with cost but feel ford should take responsibility. Are they waiting for a fatality? Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Jun 3, 2014 · Transmission · 82,000 miles · MO

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. The contact stated that the vehicle jerked forward intermittently and the transmission failed to engage. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the filter and the transmission needed to be flushed. The vehicle was repaired and the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who diagnosed that the pumps needed to be replaced. The vehicle was schedule to be inspected and repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 82,000.

Filed Jul 8, 2013 · Acceleration · 130,000 miles · PA

My 2003 ford taurus wagon RPM's rev up and down causing the car to sputter, hard lurches forward and die when stopping, usually if the air conditioner is running, also the gas pedal does not release at higher speeds. When first starting car up, it rev's to 2000 RPM and I have to wait for it to idle down to 1000 before shifting out of park to drive. If I am driving at speed of 30mph or more, I can take my foot off the gas pedal and it will maintain the exact speed on its own for miles, sometimes even speeding up 10 more MPH. If I turn on the air conditioner, still not putting my foot on the gas pedal, the car will decrease its speed by about 10mph, consequently if I turn off the air conditioner the car will speed up about 10 more MPH's. I have had the wagon in the mechanic's shop twice, one was an independent shop, the last was a ford dealership. Between the two shops I have spent over a thousand dollars and neither one could diagnose or fix my problem. It is becoming increasingly hard to control the car at stops and I'm scared to drive it with my three children in the car but being a single mother with no outside help, our lives depend on the wagon and I have no more finances to try a shop again. Has there been a recall or could you add my problem to your database to see if someone else has my problem, maybe they can tell me what fixed theirs, thank you!

Filed Aug 8, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 88,000 miles · AR

The latest incident was today. Vehicle was started, idling, put into reverse with foot on the brake. Engine suddenly increased speed and vehicle lurched backwards. Vehicle was put in drive with foot on the brake, engine would periodically increase speed and vehicle would lurch forward. On several other occasions while driving, notably at speeds 20-40 MPH, vehicle speed would start increasing on it's own. On those occasions, the increase was not rapid or extreme, these were thought to be flukes, but now it's lurching after the vehicle is put in drive or reverse. The frequency of these incidents with this vehicle are increasing and I believe this is a serious safety issue.

Filed Dec 19, 2010 · Transmission · 43,000 miles · FL

Without any warning my gas pedal of my vehicle stopped working. I was driving down the road - the car jerked and then nothing. The car would not go into gear. I had to roll and then push my vehicle to the side of the road. Thank god there was no one behind me or I would of been hit - it was very scary. Turns out it was the torque converter. Had to wait for aaa and then get my car towed to transmission place. They replaced and it cost me $1,133.58.

Filed Nov 11, 2010 · Fuel system, Transmission · 198,000 miles · AL

The 2003 ford taurus while stopped at a light or applying brakes will surge and lunge forward. Very dangerous, because it surges with people walking in front of it and cars in front of the car. The car then feels like it is hit from the rear end and smells like it is about to catch on fire. Very scary situation, my children are very scared and we already have an evacuation plan if the car catches on fire. It is defintely not safe. A similar problem has been addressed with the 2006 ford freestyle. It also goes dead while backing up. Even when brakes are applied to the floor, it surges and moves forward. The enginge jerking is a very hard jolt. We hope this will be addressed.

Filed Apr 23, 2010 · Transmission · 128,095 miles · PA

I was driving down the road and with no warning at all, my 2003 ford taurus starts to rev as if it was in neutral. I pull off to the side of the road, I try putting it gear with negative results. Not even a little jerk. Get it towed to a shop, they tell me I need a new transmission. Tranny just stopped with no warning. I tried googling the defect and I found a web site called www.topix.com and I find out that this is a very common problem with the ford taurus. The one thing for sure is, is that I will never, ever buy a ford vehicle again. I wouldn't even take one if I won it in a drawing. This is my 3rd one and each of them had major problems. 3 times, shame on me. I believe ford needs to fix this transmission problem and stop making shoddy products. I had a tempo, the engine went at 88,000. I had a ford windstar, the tranny went. Got it rebuilt 3 times in a 6 month period and finally just junked it. And then when I already told myself that I would never buy another ford, I get a good deal on a taurus. What a mistake. I know that I'm rambling on, but I do believe that ford could do something about this transmission problem. I've googled this problem on the web and there are many people just like me that feel the same way. That the taurus is junk.

Filed Aug 6, 2008 · Fuel system · 89,000 miles · TX

I was on my way home on 08/05/2008 and the car would not throttle down. When I came to a stoplight the car was jerking forward and trying to accelerate. Had I not slammed on the brakes and set the emergency brake the car would have rear-ended a car in front of me. I was able to get the car to the side of the road and put it in neutral at which time the engine began to "redline" in rpms until I shut it down. Upon inspection of the engine, it appeared that the accelerator cable simply "fell off".

Filed Jul 26, 2008 · Engine · 75,000 miles · TX

This vehicle continues to get check engine light with code p0175. The vehicle bucks and jerks and hesitates. The car also has been using alot of gas as well which is abnormal.

Filed Jun 5, 2008 · Suspension · 46,931 miles · MI

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. While driving 25 MPH, the contact heard an unusual noise and felt the vehicle jerk. When he arrived home, he noticed that the front driver side coil springs had fractured, which damaged the brake hose and tires. The vehicle has not yet been diagnosed by a dealer or mechanic. The current and failure mileages were 46,931. Updated 06/30/08 *bf the dealer confirmed the left front coil spring was fractured. Updated 06/27/08