2008 Ford Taurus: sudden loss of power

Filed Oct 16, 2020 · Acceleration, Transmission · 157,087 miles · TX

This has happened about 3 times in the last 2 yrs but while sitting at a light my car suddenly went forward. It didn't go.to far. Maybe a ft or 2 but was enough to scare me. My foot was on the brake. It will also get stuck in gears and lose power on the road. No check engine light is on as of now. One light did come on today while sitting at a light and without notice my car would not go. It was the power throttle/transmission light. I turned the car off and then back on and it drove fine all the way home. It did jerk once. The gear shifting and loss of power happens when I am driving on the highway.

Filed Jul 6, 2018 · Acceleration, Brakes · 49,456 miles · OH · crash

Car would suddenly jolt forward even though I was securely stopped at a light or stop sign. Sometimes, it felt like it jolted forward as much as 4 feet - even though my foot was firmly on the brake at all times. (I tried turning off the A/C to see if there was a power surge causing the problem. A/c on or off made no difference at all.) this would happen so often, that I would have to stop more than a car length away from all intersections or other vehicles already stopped so I would not hit them when the car jolted. It became an expected event . Brakes were not sufficient to hold the car back from these sudden jolts - unfortunately. Coming home one night, car started accelerating beyond the amount I was pushing the gas pedal and then it suddenly lost power even though I was now trying to accelerate. New dash lights - wrench, airbag, and gas all came on. Mileage display disappeared and, instead, car showed that car was empty of gas (I had filled the tank night before and was showing "full" prior to this sudden change with vehicle.) barely made it home and car did not accelerate enough to go up the slightest incline of driveway apron. Repair was made to transmission speed sensor. Less than a week later, I am noticing the same sudden power surge/sudden loss of power. I try to convince myself that it's just because I was so scared driving home that night. Less than a month, the car is doing the same thing and I am having it towed back to dealership. From complaints I've seen on internet, this is a common problem and this should be subject to a recall. I believe the replacement parts are also defective. The older woman I bought the car from was told she was at fault for an accident that I now believe was completely this problem! She was been told she is not allowed to drive (which is why she sold me her car) and it is the fault of the car!!!!!

Filed Oct 4, 2017 · Acceleration, Engine · 237,000 miles · IN

The ford taurus sel has 237,836 miles on it. Two times while driving the vehicle on the interstate highway then on a county road the dash showed all zeros and the car lost power. The check engine light came on. The car exhibited slow acceleration and unusual shifting. I took it and had the obd code read. The code indicated that it was a speed sensor in the transmission (p720). The code was reset and the car is currently being driven. It happened twice within a two-week period. I own two 2008 ford taurus and it happened on the same day to both of them. I will be filing incident information on the other vehicle too.

Filed Jun 15, 2016 · Transmission · 80,000 miles · VA

Transmission speed sensor issue: car would get stuck in high gear losing power at slow speeds. Attempts to put the car in reverse or park would cause a large clunk. Speedometer would also fluctuate uncontrollably during this time. Diagnostic codes showed failed output sensor and I had it replaced. Function of transmission after sensor replacement is still rough. The safety issue caused by this caused me to lose forward power several times while in traffic almost causing several accidents.

Filed Jun 9, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 96,000 miles · MI · crash

Waiting at a flashing red arrow to turn left. Traffic cleared, I accelerated, got barely into intersection, car choked, would barely move. Semi truck put up huge plumes of blue smoke from tires burning on dry pavement. Truck barely stopped before t-bone in my drivers door. Certainly would have been killed. Coil pack on cylinder #2 burned out, also burning out PCM computer on board. Repaired and replaced both. Cylinder #2 coil pack burned out 2 more times since. Cylinder #4 coil pack burned out once since. Pcm computer had to be replaced twice more since original incident. Ford has had a tech bulletin out since 04/2011 on this problem. The loss of engine power with no prior warning is going to get people killed. I would not be writing this right now, if the semi would have been going a little faster, or would have been a little closer. Googled problem...very, very common, and mostly on cylinder #2. Ford motor company unwilling to do anything. Spoke by phone 06/09/2015

Filed Jun 6, 2015 · 147,000 miles · TN

2008 ford taurus(automatic transmission) , I was on interstate doing speed-limit 60 MPH. When traffic became heavy so was slowed to 45 MPH. An when I went to accelerate the car began to jerk an had hesitation like transmission but only when pushed gas pedal. I have notice it bogs down around 60 MPH an jerks 3 or 4 times an seems like losing power an then it will pick back up normal drive few more miles an it will repeat. Also checked fluids an they are fine an dash isn't showing any service lights. But when o/d is off it gets intermittent power surge. Also leaving my house got to the stop sign an car would not hold it keep rolling backwards.

Filed Nov 9, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 86,341 miles · OH

At highway speed, vehicle suddenly, without any warning lights, stops running, resulting in loss of all power assist to maneuver vehicle to safety. Unable to restart vehicle. Towed to repair shop. Problem determined to be failure of "coil on plug" ignition coils, which shorted out PCM/processor assembly (main computer). Additionally, this mis-firing resulted in partial low effiency in catalytic converter, which will eventually impair vehicle's ability to meet emission standards. Total repair costs: ignition coils (6), spark plugs (6), and PCM replacement - $2,314.14, catalytic converter replacement - $1,589.95, for a total of $3,904.09 ford motor company has been aware of this problem since at least 2010, and has issued two technical service bulletins regarding this problem.