Coming down poway road in poway, ca it was very difficult to stop and it seemed the engine was revving. I pulled over to a safe turnout and it was difficult to stop completely as the brakes were spongy. When I put the transmission in park, the engine speed was over 2500 RPM. I turned the engine off and could smell the brakes. Suspecting a stuck throttle, I removed the protective cover and the accelerator was being held open by the cruise control cable which had become disconnected at the throttle linkage area. I removed the assembly and pushed it aside so we could continue driving. I consider this a very dangerous situation as we were driving down a grade and I was trying to apply the brakes at the same time the engine was pushing us faster. Since it was saturday I drive to the dealer. I knew there had been a similar recall I checked to see if our vehicle was included and it was not but the service advisor was very familiar with the recall which ford had done as "customer satisfaction program 13b04" which he provided me a copy of. I have seen this in my son's 2002 ford taurus also. The clip that holds the cruise control cable to the throttle linkage disconnects and because of the stiffness, actually prevents the accelerator linkage from returning to idle. Although it has not failed, I can see the same linkage on my 2003 mercury sable which of course is a repackaged taurus. This clip is a very poor design in that it does not do a good job of holding onto the accelerator pin. From observation I know that it was used in at least 3 model years and perhaps more. This should have been more than a courtesy fix as unintended acceleration can be very dangerous as the last few years have shown. It should be expanded to include any vehicle that used this design. It's not a question of if it will fail but as our experience today shows, when.
2004 Ford Taurus engine complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 44, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My 2004 ford taurus accelerated on its own quite a few times. After goggling the problem I saw that there had been a recall. I called ford & was told my car wasn't included in the recall. They also told me to get it fixed because it could be dangerous. I know that because I was almost in a few accidents because of the sudden acceleration. I'd have to pull over, if not at a red light or stop sign, put the car in park & hit the accelerator a few times. I actually had to turn the car off & back on once to get the rpms down. I had the cruise control cable totally removed. The cruise hadn't worked in yrs. My mom owned the car before I did. I'd like to know why my taurus wasn't in the recall.
The plastic bracket that attaches the cruise control cable assembly to the throttle is defective it slips off the throttle and gets caught causing the throttle to stay open.. This has caused my car to continue accelerating with my foot on the gas pedal to speeds in excess of 50 MPH... Braking is difficult because the car is continuing to accelerate.. This is causing stress on my braking system... I had a brother who was nearly killed in an accident because of a similar issue on a different vehicle .. The ford reps I have talked to are aware of the issue yet ford refuses to issue a safety recall.. Are the waiting to be the next "gm" in the news.. Waiting until people are killed instead of being proactive...
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. While driving approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle accelerated independently. When the brake pedal was depressed, the throttle would continue to rev intermittently. The failure occurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the mechanic stated that the control cables detached from the throttle body and subsequently interfered with the throttle fully closing to the idle position. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000.
When accelerating at about 40 MPH the cruise control would not work when I tried to engage it, however the car began speeding up quickly while my foot was off the gas peddle. I tried to engage/disengage the cruise control but got no response, except the engine RPM and car was still speeding up, the car was getting close to 60mph and I began putting on the brakes the car was still trying to accelerate and RPM still going up as I was stopping the car. This car continues to accelerate faster on it's own when driven and today 5/19/14 again from about 35 to 50 in about a mile, this was not as severe as the first time but is troubling and a waste of my gas and brakes. This is a taurus sel with automatic trans. And a 3.9l v6 engine. I found the cruise control cable off of the lever it connects to near the intake manifold( after reading about other taurus models/years with the same problem). I will be contacting a ford dealer to see if they have a fix as cable is still very loose after I tried to reconnect it.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. The contact stated that after driving off from a traffic stop, the vehicle failed to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. Where the technician diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure recurred on three occasions. The technician replaced the fuel pump, the intake manifold, and map sensor but it failed to repaired the problem. Also, the contact mentioned that while driving 65 MPH, exhaust fumes began to emit into the vehicle and smoke started to emit from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic who stated that the intake manifold had a hole on the side causing the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was unknown.
I was driving and coming to a complete stop, when the car began to accelerate itself. I brake, that didn't help much. It stopped the car, but did not stop the engine from abnormally revving itself up. I pushed the gas and it was okay, but still at a higher RPM than normal. Again, 5 mins later, while sitting in traffic it revved up again. It was at about 2500 RPM, coming from a dead stop. I freaked out and tried to put the car in park thinking that would help. When I put it in park, it revved itself to about 4000rpm. I turned it off. I turned it back on a short while later and drove to a parking lot and kept it parked.
I was trying to stop for a red light. The engine RPM suddenly increased and when I pressed the brake the RPM kept increasing. I shifted from drive to park and the RPM still kept increasing. I finally pumped the gas pedal while in park and the RPM went down. This happened again about 20 minutes later when I accelerated after being stopped at a light.
Over the past three weeks, the engine would quit running while driving on the road. I took the car into the ford dealership on 9/16/13 and the problem has not been found. This happened 5 times over a 3 week period. I can't be driving this car on the highway and have the engine shut down. I am afraid of this car. I have keep up all maintenance required at the local ford dealership, the mileage is low for the year of the car. I have all the receipts for maintenance and repairs since buying the car in 2007.
Went out one morning, cranked the car and the engine was racing and would not slow down. The engine sounds like it is going to blow up. It is revving up around 3000 RPM and will not slow down. I have to constantly use the brakes to keep the car from going too fast. I tried to tap the gas pedal but it does nothing except rev higher. Some kind of cable had fallen off and a friend of mine put it back on, but now I think it is off again. The car has made me feel very unsafe while driving it and I do not have the money to get another car.
While traveling on the highway, auto speed increased to 70 miles per hour with foot removed from the gas pedal. Application of brakes slowed the auto but the brakes were working against the engine. *tr auto returned to 70 miles per hour without applying gas, when the brakes were release. Pulled off the highway. Shifted into neutral and engine revved up to 4,000 RPM. Applied brakes to a stop. Turned off the auto. Checked that the floor mat was not restricting the gas pedal. Opened the auto hood operated throttle by hand and the throttle seemed to release. Continued to destination without problems. Checked throttle at destination and noted that the cruise control cable was disconnected.
I was driving and had turned into a store parking lot. I made a turn down a row to park and as I ran over a grate, going no more than 25 MPH, the car began to accelerate. The RPM's went up to about 40 MPH. I could feel it. My foot was not on the gas. My daughter and I were horrified. I pulled into a parking spot as far away from the other vehicles as possible. The car was roaring so hard. I called my mechanic because I had just had the vehicle inspected. The mechanic told me to quickly pat down on the gas (then release) while the car was safely in park. I did it and it and it stopped it. I could feel it immediately stop the acceleration.
We were driving into aurora, il on hwy 88. Suddenly, the engine began speeding and we had to apply the brakes and ride the brakes to keep the speed at 45. We were in a work zone, there was a lot of traffic, and the car was hard to control. We pulled into an oasis/rest area where we turned off the car and restarted it. We would push down the accelerator and the revving would drop off some, but it continued to be a problem. When we returned home, we took the car to our mechanic, who did fuel injector cleaning and flushed the transmission; he also found that the accelerator line had disconnected the cruise control. We thought the problem was fixed. Today, it happened again. We googled it and discovered the federal safety agency's investigation of sudden, unexplained acceleration in the ford taurus model. My wife is now afraid to drive this care or have me drive it. Please advise.
While driving the accelerator was racing so high,I turn off the engine then I start the engine it still racing .when I put in reverse then drive it stops racing it really scares me.
First incident: put the car in reverse to back out of a parking space and the car accelerated in reverse to 40 MPH until I stepped on the brake. The same night as I was driving on the highway at a speed of 60mph, the car accelerated up to 75mph before I stepped on the brake. Second incident: the car was in park and the engine made a loud noise as if the car was accelerating. When I switched gears and put the car into drive it darted off it stopped when I stepped on the brake. The car reached 55mph.
I have a 2004 ford taurus and around 2006 the throttle sometimes accelerates and sticks on its own. The cruise control also stopped working around this time. When I was driving I would notice the RPM's going up and not coming down, so I would have to put the car in neutral and rev the engine. This is happening more frequently. I have asked multiple mechanics to help with this problem but no one has had a clue about this or how to fix it, including classic ford in mentor, ohio.
Everytime the vehicle is driven the vehicle accelerates on its own even while applying the brake. While moving or stopped, I have to shift into neutral, the rpms rev up and I have to tap the gas pedal for the rpms to drop back down. Then, I have to shift back into drive. The only solution I have been given is to replace the idol air control valve (iac) and that didn't make a difference. I don't have a problem shifting into neutral while driving, because I am an experienced driver, but my 17 yr son drives the car as well and I worry about his safety.
Gas pedal sticks and car accelerates. Cruise control stopped working.
The car will try to accelerate when coming to a stop as well as when you foot is off the accelerator. In the instances that this has happened my wife or I has shifted the car to neutral at a stop and the engine will rev to 3,000 rpms and stay there. Please note when this happens the car will try to move forward and accelerate in drive even when your foot is on the brake.
I read this story u.s. Investigates ford tauruses for stuck throttles by peter valdes-dapena @peterdrives march 12, 2012: 1:19 pm et and when it happened to me did not think much about it but after reading this I am now concerned. I just pulled out from a gas station accelerated to about 30mph when I notice it was still accelerating without my foot on the accelerator pedal. As it was still gaining speed I became nervous and put it into neutral it did rev up to a hi tach speed (5000) or better. I kicked the accelerator pedal quick and hard to see if that would knock it down before I would have turned it off but it did work. I latter stopped opened the hood looked for anything obvious around the area where accelerator & speed control cable come to and found the speed control cable not connected to the ball. Reattached it but seemed loose plastic seemed to be worn some. But has fallen off again. Checked the speed control cable where it goes into the control box seemed to be loose and no binding. In all the years I have had this car have had this problem one time....oh and by the way just before I kicked the accelerator I did try to turn on/off the speed control thinking that somehow it had engaged but had no effect.
Starting approximately a month ago my throttle started getting stuck on my car. I was driving down the highway and when I took my foot off of the gas peddle, the speed slowed down some, but then it acted as though the cruise control was on and the throttle was stuck. I was pressing the brake but the throttle was still engaged. Even when I was at a complete stop, the throttle was still engaged and the engine racing. Several times I had to put the car in neutral and/or stomp on the gas pedal several times to get the throttle to release. This doesn't happen all the time but is an intermittent problem.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. The contact stated that would lose power while driving at any speed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the dealer performed a diagnostic that located the failure at the catalytic converter. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and the current mileage was 87,000.
While driving my car, without any warnings, seemed to have lost gears. My car would idle but would not go forward or backwards. I am told, from my mechanic, it is my transmission. I have always taken care of my car. This happened without any warning. Fortunately I was not on the highway! Very scary!
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. While driving 5 MPH, the vehicle stalled. There were no warning lights prior to the failure. The vehicle was towed to a local repair shop where the contact was informed that the engine needed to be rebuilt. The vehicle was being repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 97,800.
Car had no pickup, then the manifold caught fire. Found out it was a bad cat which caused it. Had to replace the manifold asy, sensor asy, egr valve gasket, egr solenoid.
Purchased car as fourth owner (according to carfax report) on saturday 31 may 2008. The following thursday the car began to act as though it was going to cut out and the ABS and brake system lights flashed and sounded. The lights and A/C were typically surging. Car was inspected that friday by dealers mechanic of choice. He put the computer to the car and it read all 6 stator coils were bad. He reset the computer and drove it trying to get the car to act up again and it did not. Today, saturday 14 jun 2008, the car did it again and the engine light stayed on. Dealers mechanic was closed so I had someone else check it and they got the same reading with this message: p0606 PCM processor fault. Mechanic told me this was the computer. My car has 80,710 miles on it. Is this a normal failure? Were there any recalls?
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. The vehicle jerked forward and a loud noisewas produced when in the idle position. The check engine light illuminated intermittently. After three visits to a repair shop a sensor was replaced. The contact has the repair orders for the vehicle. The current and failure mileage were 77000.
Vehicle started stalling at expressway speeds, most notably when pulling a hill or during acceleration. This progressed to stalling at idle and low RPM speeds, and eventually LED to surging and the inability to keep the vehicle running. This problem LED to the vacuum boost for the power brakes failing which caused the power brakes to fail unexpectedly and the vehicle would not stop, hit my garage and caused $3000 damage to my home, and $1000 worth of body damage to the front of the vehicle. Took the vehicle to 2 different ford dealers. First one stated that it was the fuel pump and pressure regulator, replacing these did nothing but cost $800. Second one discovered that the plastic upper intake manifold was cracked at the egr valve and pcv valve locations leading to the engine running too lean. Stated that this was a common problem on 2000 to 2007 ford taurus and that even in the small town we live in he replaced 3 or 4 a month even on brand new vehicles, that ford was aware of the problem with this part but would not repair or fix. Repairs then totaled an additional $620.
Car started to miss badly at stops and eventually would not accelerate while shaking violently. Car then stalled on the highway while my wife was traveling at 70 miles per hour. This was a very dangerous occurrence that eventually LED me to surrender the car even with the consequences to my credit.
2004 ford taurus ffv. 1) the car takes two or more attempts to start the engine after sitting for 6+ hours ("cold" engine). Vehicle is running e85 only. 2) after it starts, the engine cannot find an idle and can stall or rev up unexpectedly. 3) so far two different dealerships have replaced the fuel pump with no chnage in status. Additionally, one dealership has been playing around with the computer programming. This has not sovled the problem. Ford's only solution to date is to not use e85 even though this vehicle is a ffv.
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