2005 Ford Taurus: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Jul 23, 2014 · Electrical · 100,000 miles · OH · fire

Waiting at a green light (due to heavy traffic and a congested intersection), there was a sweet burning smell, followed by white smoke. I made it off the road to a gas station parking lot when seconds later, the smoke coming from under the hood in the front driver's side turned black and flames erupted from the same spot. I took myself and my three children out of the vehicle and in less than a minute later, the entire car was engulfed in flames. Apparently, there was a recall on a recall of this make and model about the wiring for cruise control being too close to the brake fluid. This happened in front of witnesses and I discussed this with mechanics. Ford needs to wake up, because people can't just blow up in cars they take care of.

Filed Jul 27, 2012 · Body, Engine · 150,000 miles · NY · fire

My husband was driving our 2005 ford taurus with the air conditioner on high, he heard a pop and then saw flames coming out of the engine. He was able to get out of the vehicle and call the fire dept. The car went up in flames. The mechanic said the fire started in the air conditioner. The car is a total loss.

Filed Mar 27, 2012 · Transmission · 85,000 miles · WI

Sudden loss of power transmission power/burning smell. Driving in madison wisconsin, the 2005 ford taurus suddenly lost power. I was able to coast to a stop, but needed to be towed to a repair shop. The symptoms, transmission id and other characteristics are the same as the transmission issues with freestar and other ford minivans/autos. Upon consulting with a ford authorized dealer, the only remedy is to replace the transmission. When pressed for an answer, they described the same situation as the current recall ... And stated that my taurus transmission was the same transmission .. Most likely with the same issue.

Filed Jul 18, 2011 · Electrical · 85,000 miles · NH · fire

Tl* the contact owned a 2005 ford taurus. The contact stated that after experiencing a problem with the windshield wipers, she realized that smoke was being emitted from under the wipers. In addition, all of the warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel and the contact experienced a difficult time trying to stop the vehicle. After stopping the vehicle, the engine exploded and the vehicle engulfed into flames. The fire department appeared on the scene, but no injuries were reported. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileages were 85,000. Updated 08/31/11*lj the consumer stated the windshield wipers began acting a erratic a week prior. Prior to the fire, the gas and brake pedal became hard and the engine light illuminated. Updated 09/12/11

Filed Feb 23, 2011 · Engine · 48,000 miles · GA

While driving home from work in my 2005 ford taurus I experienced the following sudden acceleration problem: I was stopped in heavy traffic with my foot on the brake. I then felt the car start to vibrate and the car started to lurch forward. I pressed harder on the brakes and noticed the RPM's were climbing from 900 to over 1500. I tried restarting the engine but when I put the car in neutral or park the RPM's suddenly accelerated to over 4000 and climbing. The engine was "screaming" and there was a burning smell. I tried tapping the gas pedal to see if it was stuck but that didn't help. As I couldn't pull off due to bumper to bumper traffic over the bridge, I had to ride the brakes all the way home. Once home we popped the hood and found that a throttle cable had come off for no reason. What angers me besides that I could have died or been seriously injured causing a major crash, is that there is no safely. If the cable comes off why is it accelerating, it should have slowed or not moved as it would have been in a neutral position. Why hasn't this been recalled?! It seems to be a continuously reported problem for this car. How is it that only the 2005 taurus model has absolutely no recalls but every year around 2005 has a recall?!? What takes so [xxx] long to recall this obviously dangerous defect?!? I have taken video of my ride home so it proves that no, I did not have my foot on the gas, no, I did not have a car mat stuck under the gas pedal, no I did not hit the gas pedal thinking it was the brake!!!!!!!! Even with the cable reattached there is still occasional unintended RPM increase and engine surges. This is [xxx] scary to drive and wonder when it will happen again. Get this recalled already!!! *tr information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Feb 4, 2011 · Electrical · 107,000 miles · RI · fire

Tl*the contact owned a 2005 ford taurus. Upon starting the vehicle the contact began to smell a burning odor and noticed smoke underneath the dashboard. The vehicle was shut off. The contact opened the hood and observed that everything under the hood was on fire. The police and fire department appeared on the scene to extinguish the fire. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to an independent repair shop where they were in the process of diagnosing the failure. The failure and current mileage was 107,000.

Filed May 12, 2008 · Electrical · 43,000 miles · MO · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford taurus. The contact plugged an air pump into the cigarette lighter of the vehicle and the wiring underneath the dashboard caught fire. By the time the fire department arrived, the fire had extinguished itself. The vehicle has not been inspected by the dealer; therefore, he does not know the cause of the failure. Currently, the engine does not start. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 43,000.

Filed Feb 8, 2006 · Engine · 838 miles · NY · fire

Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle caught fire and burned. The vehicle was parked for over an hour prior to the fire. The fire department made an assessment and report of the fire and determined it could have started around the engine compartment due to the massive damage sustained to the engine. The insurance company investigated the vehicle and deemed it totaled in a written report.

Filed Jan 10, 2006 · Visibility · 7,400 miles · MI · fire

Dt*: the contact stated a rear mirror was attached to the back window of the vehicle by a suction cup. The back defroster system was in use when the aftermarket mirror caught on fire while attached to the window. The contact was able to extinguish the fire by pulling the mirror off the window. The window received minor damage.