Problems with 2003 Ford Taurus VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

The accelerator cable gets stuck. which causes the car to rev at 2000 rpms even when the brakes are applied the car is trying to take off when waiting at a red light or in motion.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. while driving approximately 70 mph, the throttle control cable became stuck. there were no warning indicators illuminated. the driver placed excessive pressure on the brake pedal, pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road, and shut off the engine. the contact assisted the driver with releasing the stuck cable. the vehicle was restarted. the contact called avis ford inc at 248-355-7500 (29200 telegraph rd, southfield, michigan 48034) and was informed that an unknown recall repair was previously performed on the vehicle and would not be done again. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

Driving in intermittent rain showers at 60-70mph i had the engine cut out and dropped out of cruise control. speedometer and tachometer bouncing up and down. theft and engine light were flashing on and off at the same time as engine was stalling. then the engine reengaged at 50-55 mph and continued on now responsive to gas pedal and acceleration. this repeated 5 - 8x in the span of 15 miles and several times pulling over. weather cleared and drove another 100 miles with no events. next morning driving kids to school after 10 minutes of running 25-40mph the same problem recurred but engine did not recover and completely stalled 3x in 1 mile. restarted immediately each time. reading through potential causes there were no less than 30 other individuals describing the exact same issue. theft light on and engine stalling while driving. various solutions proposed from electrical grounds, battery, alternator, fuse. mega fuse, dpfe (differential pressure fuel exhaust?) sensor, egr (exhaust gas recirculation) system, pcm, icr, and several others. not sure which it might be. given there are so many and that it occurs in potentially dangerous situations - at high speed and no warning - this seems to be worthy of an investigation or recall.

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?

Car accelerated itself after releasing gas pedal on highway. engine rpm hit about 4000. it was very hard to stop the car by brake. i checked under the hood and found the cruise control cable had problem. a plastic part on the cable was broken and caused the throttle body to stuck. please see attached picture for reference.

While driving my car began to accelerate and the more i tried to put on my brakes it continues on a busy 4 lane street. i was able to turn at a turn in slamming in on my brakes and throwing my shaft into park. it was still shaking like it wanted to go. i got it towed to my mechanic. the cruise control throttle cable insert split and got caught on the throttle bracket. it could have killed me and hurt a lot of people. i can't sell this car like this. i want ford to recall and reimburse me for this terrible traumatic incident.

Put vehicle in shop vehicle had rough idle, misfiring on #2 cylinder. shop removed and replaced spark plug, air filter, fuel filter, and ignition coil. got vehicle from shop. vehicle idle too high-speeds up on its own. took back to shop shop removed and replaced idle air control valve got vehicle out of shop. vehicle still idle too high and still speeds up on its own. when stopped at stop light, when the breaks are released, car jumps forward. when backing up out of garage, car back-up too fast; must hold breaks at all times.

My vehicle with [xxx]. i can not shift my car from park, or if i press on the brake a couple of times, and get the brake light to come on, they say on. even when foot is not on brake. my vehicle in not apart of a recall, it was manufactured in an atlanta plant. i am being out of money and time with repairs that i have had done, and its not solving the issue. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. while driving at an unknown speed, the accelerator pedal became stuck without warning and there was a sudden increase of engine rpms. the vehicle was merged to the side of the road, where it was turned off and towed to a dealer. the technician diagnosed that the throttle cable was defective and needed to be replaced. the contact mentioned that there was a manufacturer service campaign directly related to the failure; however, the vehicle was not included. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 160,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. while driving approximately 65 mph with the cruise control engaged, the contact depressed the brake pedal and the vehicle's speed rapidly increased without warning. the contact lost control of the vehicle, drove into a grass field over a dip in the field which caused the vehicle to roll over and land upside down. while flipped upside down, the engine continued to rev until the vehicle was powered off. the air bags failed to deploy. a police report was filed. the vehicle was destroyed. the contact and two passengers sustained unknown injuries that required medical attention. the approximate failure mileage was 177,000.

My car will accelerate on its own when driving.and in the morning it will be in park but the rpm nozzle will go up like somebody's pushing on the gas pedal.when im pulling off i have to hold the brakes down hard because the car will try to take off before me.it has serious acceleration issues. *tr

My 2003 ford taurus accelerates by itself to 35-45 mph without having to touch the accelerator (note: the car will also accelerate uphill without having to press the accelerator. also, the cruise control light works, but the cruise control itself is not engaging. *tr

Driving down long road, got up to 40 mph, car stayed on that speed as if it was in cruise control mode. i had the cruise control off. i even slowed down to 30, car stayed on thirty. had foot off the gas pedal. it surges forward. i read horror stories of other year taurus' doing same thing, causing crashes. my 16 yr old daughter drives this car. every other car around this years date was recalled, but not the 2003. i changed my hoses, so it's not that. the car is literally staying in cruise control mode even when it's off. when i turn my steering wheel slightly to the right, i can hear a ticking sound once or twice, not sure what that is, it's scary though. before something bad happens i want a recall for this year of taurus regarding the cruise control being engaged. *tr

The car does not slow down (intermittent) sometimes. traveling at bout 55 or 60 i will take my foot off the pedal and the car will not slow down. when i finally come to a stop (which is hard on the brakes) my rpm's are 1000. if i put the transmission into neutral my rpm's will climb to 4000. dealer has not been able to fix the problem and has no idea what to do. *tt

When driving the car the car will accelerate on its own with out pushing the gas. even when you come to a complete stop the rpm will not go down to 0 it will stay above the 1. the car never comes to a complete stop the car is always accelerating even when at a complete stop. *tr

I was pulling into a gas station, going to a gas pump, when all of a sudden the rpms revved up and the car accelerated on its own. i was able to avoid the gas pump and instead went over a ramp which caused the car to go airborne. i went through a fence and hit a pole. the impact caused enough damage on the car for the car to come to an abrupt and complete stop. the car has been totaled. i have seen other reports on 2003 ford taurus regarding acceleration problems/issues. i would like for my incident to be part of the investigation. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the vehicle proceeded to accelerate after she had removed her foot from the accelerator pedal. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to diagnose the failure. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 159,000 and the current mileage was 159,100.

While driving down the road, if i release the gas pedal, the vehicle will continue to increase in speed. when i am completely stopped at stop sign or stop light, i have to pressed on the brakes really hard to keep the vehicle from surging forward

After disengaging the cruise control by tapping the brake (the cruise control indication turned off), the vehicle continued to stay at the previously set speed. i then turned off the cruise control switch, which had no effect. i immediately started applying heavy braking until the vehicle slowed down to about 5 miles an hour and put the automatic transmission into park and turned off the engine ignition. all the while the car was attempting to accelerate back up to 55 mph (the previously set cruise control speed). this happened 2 more times and i was able to put the car in neutral and turn the car off and back on and that temporarily fixed the issue. i also later learned to briefly press and release the pedal to the floor which worked every time. *tr

Car would not stop it seem ads if the accelerator was stuck. *tr

When accelerating to go up a slight incline, the vehicle "surged" and lost all gears. i let my vehicle coast to a stop and put it in park. the vehicle will go into and out of park, but when placed in any gear is motionless....will not move in reverse, or drive. this vehicle only has 52000 original miles on it! *tr

Was driving in traffic when throttle became stuck open. engine revved high. i put it into neutral, applied the brakes and pulled over. engine was revving at 4000 rpm's. open engine hood and noticed the throttle cable mount/harness had broken loose and came out of alignment. i then drove home and tried to call a service station, but it was after 5pm on saturday and could not find an open service station. will call ford on monday morning. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph, the vehicle accelerated independently. the contact was able to stop the vehicle on the shoulder of the roadway. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 157,493. *tr

Driving in city traffic at 30 mph, car began to accelerate on it's own, despite tapping on accelerator or brake pedal to stop. had to put car into neutral and hold brake to come to a complete stop while the car remained at 4000 rpm. even after turning the car off and on several times, it remained stuck at 4000 rpm (in both park and neutral). had to have car towed to mechanic because it was inoperable and a safety concern.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact was driving into a parking space when the vehicle suddenly accelerated. the vehicle accelerated, crashed into the curb and stopped on the grassy area while the rpms continued to increase. the vehicle sustained damage to the front bumper, right passenger headlight and the right tire was flat. the tie rod was also broken due to the failure. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who repaired the damage. there were no injuries. the police and the dealer were not notified of the failure. the manufacturer also was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was unknown.

We have replaced valves. cleaned throttles etc.. on our ford taurus and we continue to experience unintentional acceleration (revving) rpm's at over 2,000-3,000. at a stop light it will be at around 2000 rpms with your foot on the brake and then just drop down to .5. i have to keep my foot on the brake when it is revving so high. if the speed limit is 35 i ride the brake continually until it finally lowers. i am afraid of driving it or selling it, yet it is one of our primary vehicles. the shop doesn't know what to do. i seen there is an investigation on this and i am wondering what the current status is. if i continue to drive it, i am sure i will have to spend $ to replace all the brakes next. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact stated that the speed throttle will sporadically become stuck. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer to be diagnosed. the dealer stated that the grommet would need to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacture was made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 110,000. the current mileage of the vehicle was 117,000.

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! *tr

The car was being driven at 15 miles an hour, slowing down to prepare to turn left. suddenly the car sped up uncontrollably. the brakes would not slow the car down. the car had to be thrown into park to make it stop. we turned the engine off. turning the engine back on, the engine started revving up very high on its own. we turned the engine back off and towed the car to the mechanic, and he found that the cruise control malfunctioned. he disconnected the cruise control cable, and the problem went away. this is identical to the problem reported here: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/03/13/feds-expand-ford-taurus-sticky-accelerator-probe-to-1-million-cars/ we were lucky there were no pedestrians on the road and that we were not driving very fast. if this problem happened on the highway, the results could be very different. this needs to be turned into a recall before it causes a fatal accident. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph when the accelerator pedal became jammed, with speeds reaching 85 mph. the driver was able to stop after depressing the brakes. the vehicle was pulled over and later towed to an independent mechanic. after diagnosis they advised her that the cruise control cable started binding and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired with a new cruise control cable. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure and current mileage was approximately 116,546. updated 05/23/13*lj updated 05/31/2013 *js

Went to my mothers for thanksgiving dinner. on the way home going 55 mile an hour the car stared excelling in speed. my husband was driving and knew to put the car in neutral to get the car to stop. he had to constantly stay on the brakes to slow it down. we got the car home, i looked on line and saw the complaints on your website. my husband then took the car to the local for dealership. he took a copy of the complaint with him. ford service dept. said they didn't want to see that article and wanted $80 to even look at the car. the car is not fixed, we plan on trying to get it fixed in the near future. if you would like to see what it is doing, that should take place in the next few weeks. *tr

While driving on speed control, my car started to accelerate like crazy. luckily, i was able to slam on the brakes, but this was a very scary issue! *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph and releasing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle would remain at that speed and would not decelerate. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where he was advised that they were unable to diagnose the failure. the manufacturer was contacted and stated that they were aware of the failure but there was no remedy available. the contact replaced the throttle body and speed sensor but the repair did not correct the failure. the failure and current mileages were approximately 125,000. the vin was unavailable.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. while driving approximately 45 mph, the contact removed his foot from the accelerator pedal but the vehicle continued to accelerate independently. the driver applied excessive force to the brake pedal and shifted into neutral in order to stop the vehicle. the contact inspected the vehicle and noticed a plastic clip on the throttle cable was fractured, which caused the cable to become stuck. there was a concurrent investigation under nhtsa action number: pe12005 (vehicle speed control:cables) that could have been related to the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 33,000.the vin was not available.

I was driving down state road 9 an as i started around a curve my rpm shot up an mph gauge went down envied revved up. i had no drive no neutral no reverse no nothing. *tr

Transmission stopped working, it was replaced at my expense. *tr

Entered highway on-ramp. as i merged onto highway at approximately 55 mph, i notice that the car was accelerating faster than usual for the amount of throttle i was using. i took my foot off the throttle completely and the car continued to slowly but steadily accelerate. without placing my foot on the throttle, i continued down the highway to the next exit. as i approached the light at the end of the exit, i began braking. feeling the engine fight the brakes, i moved the shift level into neutral and brought the car to a stop on the shoulder of the exit. as soon as i placed the shift lever into neutral, engine rpm shot up as if the accelerator was being depressed. repeatedly pressing and un-pressing the accelerator pedal did not nothing, nor was the pedal stuck on the floor mat. i turned the car off and place the shift lever into park. starting the car again resulted in the same behavior: engine rpm shot up even though the accelerator pedal was not depressed. i turned the car off and opened the hood. i identified the throttle body and notice that a plastic clip had become dislodged from the point where the throttle cable enters the throttle body. after several minutes of reinserting and wiggling the clip, i was able to get it to stay in its proper place, and thereafter, the throttle behaved normally. i carefully drove to the nearest ford dealership where they replaced the following part: yfiz*9a825*ca actuator asy. i have this invoice available if you need it. i have not experience any other issues with the throttle. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the vehicle suddenly accelerated up to 70 mph. the contact mentioned that after he was able to stop the vehicle, he realized that the cruise control cable became detached. he was able to correct that problem with electrical tape. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not offer any assistance. the manufacturer referred the contact to nhtsa. the vehicle was repaired. the failure and current mileages were 84,000. updated 08/28/12*lj

First time we noticed it i was accelerating to get on the freeway and the throttle pedal felt like it was sticking at a point about 1/4 throttle then it would work normally past that point. this occurred on several occasions that day. after that occurrence two days later we were on our way home and while cruising at 70mph on i-40, with the cruise control on, i accelerated to pass another vehicle and i felt the same incident as before. the feeling on the throttle is as follows: hard to press until the pedal reaches the 1/4 point then a snap and the pedal moves down freely. by coincidence two days after arriving home i came upon the msn report of ford taurus throttle problems. i will now be taking my car to the local dealer to report this problem. thank you *tr

Sudden unintended acceleration occurred while driving at 50 mph. after applying brakes, i shifted into neutral, stopped the car and shut off the engine. the car was towed to a ford dealer for service. the dealer found that the cruise control cable had broken and caused the throttle to stay fully open. *tr

Vehicle made noise while driving on flat ground. asked passenger if they heard the noise and they did not. car continued to drive approximately 2 more miles. car started to fail while driving uphill. the car made a revving sound and then stopped moving. turned flashers on and pulled over to the side of the road. scared that car would not park. tried to change gears and vehicle went into park. still scared so hand brake was applied. called father and uncle to move car. car had to be pushed backwards down the hill into a parking space at a secondary school. next day, car was towed to residence. vehicle will be towed to transmission specialist in february for diagnosis. had to worry about getting to work to even pay for repair. scared to imagine the cost. *kb

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact stated that the vehicle would accelerate even when his foot was not engaging the accelerator pedal. the contact also stated that he was able to maintain control of the vehicle by engaging the brakes. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the current mileage is 184,341. ..updated 04/16/12 *bf the consumer stated the engine did not slow down normally when the accelerator was released. the vehicle would maintain speed for 15-20 seconds after the accelerator was released. the engine idle was set too fast. updated

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact stated that the accelerator pedal stuck while driving 30 to 35 mph. there would be an increase in engine rpms up to 4,000 unless the vehicle was shifted into neutral while applying the brakes. the vehicle was taken to a mechanic, who inspected the engine and found that the plastic clip that held the vehicle speed control cable to its bracket was fractured. the mechanic took a piece of wire and wrapped it around the cable and bracket to remedy the failure. the dealer was not notified. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 87,000 and the current mileage 93,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact stated that when starting the vehicle, the rpms would fluctuate rapidly. the vehicle had not accelerated but the contact stated that when the failure occurred, it seemed as if the vehicle was attempting to surge forward. the contact would then firmly apply the brakes as a precaution. the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who stated that the failure was most likely caused by a cruise control cable failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 140,000 and the current mileage was 150,000.

Vehicle was traveling southbound in the outside lane of a 4 lane hwy. vehicle changed lanes abruptly and went left of the center of roadway entering into the nourthbound lanes of traffic, continuing in a southbound direction, the vehicle departed the east side and collided with the end portion of a guardrail. the inside portion of the right front tire caught the outside of gaurdrail causing the car to straddle the top of the rail until the undercarriage of the car caught on a post of the rail causing the car to slide sideways until the left side tires dug into the ground and flipped the car completely over where it continued to travel south, rolling over again, colliding with a wood post then finally coming to rest on it's tires facing northwest. no airbags deployed at any point of the collision. gearshift was between neutral and overdrive. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact stated that while stopped, there was an increase in the engine rpms. the contact had to apply heavy pressure to the brake pedal to keep the vehicle stopped. the failure ceased after a few moments. the failure also occurred while driving at various speeds. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on three occasions and they were unable to diagnose a failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 130,000.

Pulled into traffic just before stop light, car continued to accelerate, at stop light put car in to neutral, engine continued to race, turned car off and back on still continued to accelerate, pulled into traffic as i could not pull out of traffic continue to shift to neutral, in and out till could pull over and call tow truck. breaks were able to control car but engine over heated. took to local dealership where was told it was a broken/stuck cruise control cable and that engine overheating had cracked radiator cap. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford taurus. the contact stated that the vehicle accelerated to 45 mph without the accelerator pedal being depressed. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer where the air idle regulator was replaced but the failure recurred on three separate occasions. the failure mileage was 171,000 and the current mileage was 193,000.

As i was driving, i noticed my car starting to accelerate. at first, i thought it was the cruise control, but when i went to slow down, the car just wanted to keep driving as if by itself; so, i had to make a sharp turn into the nearest parking lot in my attempt to get the car to stop. finally, it came to a stop and almost ran into another car, but when i put it in park, the engine was still running at a fast speed; none like i heard before and then i turned it off. *tr

In addition to previous complaint..confirmation # 10482482...... the repair shop i took it to said that it was the cruise control cable that was causing the problem with my engine speeding up like that. i was in the car with my son at the time. safe to say that me and him were scared out of our wits. i haven't had any problems with my engine speeding up since the repair shop replaced the cable. nevertheless, i just heard a couple days ago about an investigation into my model/year vehicle again about engines revving up on abc news. i don't know if there is a recall or not. however, on my way from church today, my engine light came on for the very first time this year. i stopped by an autozone to get a free engine check and the results said that it detected a higher than normal engine speed due to a possible engine vacuum leak or failed iac valve. i will take it to ford dealership this wednesday to get it checked out officially (if my car will make it) because i have to work monday and tuesday. i'm a little anxious, scared, and wondering if my engine will rev up like that again or stall out somewhere :( *tr