2005 Ford Taurus: adaptive cruise control problems

Filed Oct 3, 2023 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · WA

I was on my way to work. When I came to the stop sign to turn on the main road. I felt my car jerk. I thought it was weird and kept driving anyways. Then I noticed the resistance was gone from the gas pedal and it went straight to the floor. So I came to the stop light and kept my foot on the brake. When the light turned green and I had let go of the brakes. My car was accelerating on its own. I had to keep pumping the brakes so I wouldn't crash or hurt anyone. I managed to pull into a mechanic's shop and asked for help. The mechanic told me that it was my cruise control and that it wasn't disengaging. So he had to disconnect it from my car.

Filed Feb 10, 2022 · NC

On December 10, 2020 I acquired tis particular automobile. In the calendar year following, I have been advised of and experience "sudden acceleration" and other anomalies . I have found further oil pan plug bolt, and today 02/10/2022 the Complaint of other owners. Particularly airbag sudden inflation and brake shift Interlock and no airbag operation. This is presumed to be a collision sensor relationship. I am in the process of restoration and replacement of the affected components. I have difficulty in data and trouble shoot information on the website and brand dealership. (Napa, Adv.auto parts, auto zone, orielly, salvage yards. I have spent $163.50 at Ford dealer charged me. I spent $269.70 at the American automobile association. No repairs have taken place by these people who have been advised that the manufacturer of the vehicle is alerts for further information and details of the job description and replacement parts for airbags components and sensors and clockspring set. I have been advised to contact the seller and demand replacement at no cost to me. To top it all off, Mercury and Ford plants keep duping each other and me for more money on a known defective product and vehicle.A Holdover surplus of one brand to another brand. These being as 2004 Mercury Sable airbag module and 2005 Ford Taurus airbags components and sensors and clockspring and sudden acceleration by cruise control modules and defects. Help please. Truth and reliable information on cost and parts source. Parts source and retailers. Thank you very much. Loyal to the end of living. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

Filed Aug 3, 2021 · Acceleration · 125,000 miles · OH

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated while driving 45 mph, the vehicle accelerated independently from 45 mph to 65 mph. The contact stated the accelerator pedal was not being depressed during the failure. The brake pedal was depressed to slow the vehicle to a stop. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and inspected under the hood. The contact noticed that the cruise control cable was jammed up into the accelerator cable which caused the accelerator cable to open. The contact moved the cruise control cable back into the correct position and drove back to their residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 125,000.

Filed Dec 16, 2020 · Acceleration, Engine · 120,000 miles · FL

My car will accelerate on its own without me pressing the gas. This happens at least 4 times a week while I am driving and happens when I am driving between 20 and 50 MPH. I can make the engine rev/acceleration stop by quickly tapping on the gas pedal. I have had the cruise control disconnected because my mechanic thought this was part of the problem but the random sef-acceleration has continued and seems to be getting more frequent. This has been going on off and on for a few years but has increased in frequency over the past few months.

Filed Dec 4, 2019 · Acceleration · 146,000 miles · IL

Uncontrolled acceleration and cruise control stopped working the same day. Engine accelerates with RPM climbing without any pressure being applied to the gas pedal. The fix for me is to put into neutral and tap the gas pedal which gets the engine to bring the RPM's back down. This happens when driving and in gear usually at less than 50 MPH. This has happened everyday for a few weeks. Going to bring it in to be repaired at a ford dealership.

Filed May 29, 2019 · Acceleration · 177,000 miles · MN

I was leaving the grocery store and driving down a local road when I realized that I was accelerating without having my foot on the gas pedal. This had happened twice before in the previous few weeks but far less severe. This time I had to keep my foot heavy on the brakes to maintain control. Fortunately I was near home and managed to get my car home without incident, although I saw that I had suddenly developed a flat on my front left tire. This had been a problem the previous year and when I took it into the shop I was told the cruise control cable was causing the problem. I had the car taken in (may 20, 2019) after the two minor incidents the previous week but the repair shop couldn't find the problem so I took the car back promising to come back if it acted up again.

Filed Dec 19, 2018 · Acceleration, Steering · 111,000 miles · WI

First time (oct 2018): while driving on freeway car kept accelerating without my foot on accelerator. I had to brake to slow within acceptable speed. Within 10 minutes the problem stopped occurring. I took it to mechanic & he could not find any problem or replicat the problem. 2nd time (oct 12, 2018, 4 days after being st mechanic) & 400 miles away from home-- I was driving on surface street in the city, acceleration happened again without any use of accelerator. I had to brake & get to side of street, put in park & turn off engine. Waited 10 minutes & tried again. Problem remedied. We looked on internet & found "unintended acceleration" problem with same make & year due to cruise control cable coming off the throttle control & getting in the way of throttle trying to close. Took it to mechanic, told them to look for this problem with cruise & throttle, & they said they would check. They said they could not replicate the ui but ascribed it to something else & charged me over $400, so I could drive back 400 miles to home safely. 3rd time- within 7 days, same acceleration happened after just leaving home, driving in city. Happened right way, throttled really high RPM's & so I shifted to neutral to stop. Tried it again over next 24 hours & problem continued. Tried it 2 days later when taking it to mechanic & it had resolved so I could drive it there. Told ford mechanic about the internet explanation. Indeed, that is what they found: the cruise control cable was off the throttle control. Was pinching against the throttle, causing it to stay open. They tri ed to get the part, but were unable. So they used a cable tie to secure it in place. That has been almost a month ago, & I have not had the unintended acceleration occur since.

Filed Dec 7, 2018 · Acceleration · 60,000 miles · DE

My car accelerates rapidly even when my foot is off the gas pedal; I notice this begins to happen when I go above 50mph. For example, tonight I was driving at about 55mph when I had to brake to go around a curve; I would say I slowed to around 35/40mph. As soon as I took my foot off the brake, the car began accelerating and went all the way up to 65mph within a few seconds. My foot was not on the gas pedal when this happened, and I had to apply a lot of pressure to the brakes for an extended amount of time to get my car to slow back down. This also happened last night, driving at the same speed, except instead of braking for a curve I had to slow for traffic. Once again, as soon as I took my foot off the brake it accelerated. Sometimes it seems as if the gas pedal is stuck, and if I gently tap it a certain way the acceleration issue is resolved, but other times this solution doesn't work. I researched the issue and see that you began an investigation regarding the problem in 2012, but I do not see any current updates. I haven't had the car very long and don't drive it often, so I just began to notice the issue within the past couple of weeks. I have not taken it to a mechanic yet, but based on similar complaints I'm assuming it's the cruise control issue you are investigating. While I have managed to get the speed under control somewhat easily so far, I'm extremely concerned about losing control entirely.

Filed Sep 26, 2018 · Acceleration, Transmission · 127,000 miles · OR

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford taurus. While driving 15 MPH, the vehicle accelerated without warning. The brake pedal was applied and the gear shifter was engaged in park; however, the vehicle continued to accelerate. In addition, the revolutions per minute increased to high and the cruise control failed to operate. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact called the local dealer (rowe westbrook, 91 main street, westbrook, me 04092, (207) 854-2555) and was referred to the manufacturer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the local dealer. The failure mileage was 127,000.

Filed Aug 18, 2018 · Acceleration · 58,000 miles · CA

While driving his low mile 2005 ford taurus both on the highway and on city streets, my son has experienced several incidents of unintended acceleration or stuck throttle while letting off the gas pedal in order to slow down or brake. Additionally, the cruise control does not work. Driving on the very busy highways of northern california with its prevalent stop and go driving make this condition extremely dangerous. An internet search of this issue shows this is not an isolated incident. As I have been a mechanic since 1973, I decided to take a look at the throttle cable / cruise control cable to see if these two issues were related. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the cruise control cable was decoupled from its post mount (see pictures). I have surmised that the decoupled cable could block the throttle cable roll back to the idle stop, and if the cruise control was initiated, the loose cable could drive forward and articulate the throttle forward to the wide open throttle position as it searches to control the drive speed. As both the throttle actuator and the cruise control cable interface are made of plastic, one or both have worn past the point where the cruise control cable will stay securely coupled to its mounting post. Why aren't both of these parts steel? Well, plastic is cheap and easy to make. But profit over safety is unacceptable. The federal safety agency, please address this. This is a safety issue that can or will wreck the car, which could injure or kill someone.

Filed Jun 15, 2018 · Acceleration · 100,500 miles · FL

While driving down first street in winter haven, florida the vehicle began to accelerate even though the cruise control was not engaged. The only way to prevent an accident was to put the gear shift in neutral because the engine was overriding the brakes. I had the cruise control disconnected and I haven't had that problem since.

Filed May 3, 2018 · Acceleration · 118,000 miles · TX

My accelerator is sticking, it happened today and 2 more times in the past 2 weeks while driving in the highway and side roads, I was not using the cruise control. The accelerator stuck at high RPM and it will not slow down, I had to apply the breaks very hard to stop, it was a scary situation, this is obviously a safety concern. I hit the gas pedal several times to make it go down but it did not respond, I had to stop in the side of the road the first time an hit the are in the motor where the accelerator cable is and actuated it manually after turning the car off. But it has happened twice since then. This is not normal and could result in a bad accident or even death. When putting the car in park or neutral the RPM stayed around 4000. Something has to be done, I found that other complaints have been submitted for the same reason.