Problems with 2004 Ford Taurus POWER TRAIN

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. the contact stated that the gear shifter would not move out of park. the contact had to depress the brake pedal multiple times for the gear shifter to move. the vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing or repairs. the contact believed that the failure was related to nhtsa campaign number: 04v106000 (exterior lighting). the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact to call nhtsa. the failure mileage was 123,000.

I am filing dual complaints pertaining to this issue, first with the national highway transportation safety authority and a second consumer complaint with mr. patrick morrisey, attorney general west virginia. the attorney general has a consumer protection division to help residents in the event of a safety concern and a consumer complaint that brings a concern to the safety of others, as well as the safety of the public and the consumer. under "speed control" as checked off, this includes systems and devices intended to control (accelerate) the speed of the vehicle to the driver's intent such as the accelerator pedal, throttle control cables, linkages, actuators, electronic control units and software, cruise control system actuators and deactivating systems, and other components and systems that may interfere with the speed control system (e.g., floor mats). my 2004 taurus has nearly 90,000 miles. it has been running well. on multiple incidents in 2017 my taurus would without any warning or indications suddenly begin to accelerate on its own. i describe it to others as having to throttle stick. i was freaking out, because cars behind me did not understand what was happening and i was afraid they would easily become collateral damage. i put the car into nuetral and the engine on its own volition revved up to over 4000 rpm. a person on the side walk thought i was about to strike them as they jump out of the way. i learned 150 faulty speed control problem complaints, 6 injuries, and 1 death. this problem is a very common problem the nhtsa has known since 2004, people have been injured as a result and even death reported but strangely no safety recall has been issued about this terrible and tragic problem, which is another reason i am filing the dual complaint in the hopes that attorney general morrisey. he is responsible for public safety from such issue.

I was driving on the highway doing around 70 and, all of a sudden, the rpm's revved up really high (into the 7000's) and the car indicator said check transmission. i quickly changed lanes and got onto the shoulder and shut off my car. i let it sit for ten minutes while i checked for visible problems. finding none, i then turned the car back on and put it in gear and it would not move. i tried it in every gear but the car still refused to move. i then had it towed to a mechanic that said that my transmission was bad. my regular mechanic and i had done some research over the phone while we were waiting to hear back from the mechanic and found that other people had the same problem. they said that it was the fault of a bad torque converter. ford actually has a lot of complaints about bad torque converters and did a recall for their 2004 freestar which i had heard uses the same torque converter as the taurus. after researching, i decided to take my car to a transmission shop instead and they confirmed that the torque converter was indeed bad. the splines had stripped out and/or broke. it cost $1400.00 to replace it for a car that had a little over 57000 miles. during my research i came across others who had even less mileage on their taurus's when their torque converters died.

My car has the same problem as nhtsa campaign number 04v106000 (ford recall number 04s12-manufacturer's report date april 5, 2004). yet, it's not flagging my vin as part of the recall. the badge on the driver's door shows the car was built 02/2004. it's been doing it a long time off and on, i thought it was the tilt steering wheel. the gearshift will not come out of park with your foot on the brake pedal. i understand that it's a faulty brake light switch. my car should be covered by this recall. thank you for any help with this matter! *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. while driving approximately 45 mph, the steering wheel was difficult to turn left or right. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was unknown.

I ran by a friends house to pick up an item. after putting my gear selector in reverse i realized that i not only couldn't back up, but could not get any gear to engage! my transmission had completely failed with absolutely zero indication that it was about to die.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. the contact stated that the transmission failed to shift gears without warning. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 172,666.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. the contact stated that the gear was unable to shift out of park. the contact had to make numerous attempts to get the vehicle to change gears and, at times, the vehicle was unable to be driven. the vehicle was not inspected and diagnosed. the contact was to check with the manufacturer to determine a repair solution. the vin and failure mileage were not available.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. after the vehicle was refueled, the gear shift failed to switch out of the park position. the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 105,000.

Torque converter failed in transmission, which led to total failure. on highway at 65 mph when vehicle started to slow while driving. got to shoulder, and had car towed. this is common problem with this car. ford will not recall or help. spline is to thin, and, out of spec. in regard to thickness. *tr

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. *tr

When i drive, the gas pedal will get stuck and either stay at the speed without me setting cruise control or it may accelerate on its own. to get it loose, i have to jiggle the gas pedal (which can be very dangerous especially while driving), this usually stops the problem but i'm concerned that someday it will stop working and i won't be able to control this anymore. if i put the car in park or neutral it increases the rpm from 1 to 3 or 4. also if the rpm are increased while in park it makes it super hard to shift to drive and is stressful to my transmission. *tr

When going from 1st to 2nd there was a loud and hard bump, transmission repaired now after having car back for 1 week when i put it in reverse it hardly moves and shudders and shakes. *tr

Transmission lost all gears with no warning. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. the contact stated that the vehicle's brake lights remained illuminated without the brake pedal being depressed causing the battery to fail at times. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift from park to drive when depressing the vehicle's brake pedal properly. the brake lights were no longer operable. the contact had not taken the vehicle to the dealer. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 16e026000 (service brakes, hydraulic). the approximate failure mileage was 130,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. the contact stated that the gear shifter failed to release from park. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 94,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift from reverse to drive. the vehicle was inspected by a private mechanic who stated that the shift cable had failed. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted about the failure. the failure mileage was 142,854. updated 12/5/13*cn the consumer stated the shift cable was replaced.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. the contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, the engine stalled without warning. the engine failed to restart after several attempts. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the torque converter was replaced. the manufacturer was notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 66,700.

While driving and approaching an intersection i began to apply brake for red light, the rpms spiked to 4000. the car continued to accelerate on it's own.tried to tap brake again..no change. put the car in neutral and tapped gas to finally get the rpms to lower to at least 2000 level. this has happened at least 4 other times. *tr

I own a 2004 ford taurus ses v6 with an automatic transmission. i drove to work with no warning sounds, smells, or warning lights, and it drove perfectly. i attempted to go to lunch, and the vehicle started just fine, but wouldn't shift into any gears/reverse ect. i have researched online as well as the transmission shops, and this is a known problem. as far as i know so far the ford freestar has the same issue & a class action was filed & then ford followed up with a recall. please do something about this! i have filed a complaint with ford with no acknowledgement or resolution. i feel sick to be out so much money for a known problem. of course i do feel lucky i wasn't driving when it happened like many others. ford shouldn't be able to turn a blind eye to this! *tr

Drove from work to home, parked car. when i went to go start car, it would not go forward or reverse. had it towed to ford dealer.upon further investigation with friends they told me taurus/sable were known for bad converters, went on internet to investigate information and had huge response to this problem. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. while driving approximately 30 mph, the engine rpm reading increased abnormally however, the vehicle would not accelerate. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. the mechanic advised the contact that the transmission would have to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 82,000.

I was driving on the interstate and the check transmission light came on. i pulled to the side of the road and checked the fluid, it was at the correct level and was clean and smelled good. i pulled back on to the road and it ran ok for about 2 hours. we came up on an accident and stopped, when we went to go forward the car made a big bang, shuddered, then drove ok. i went to the nearest exit and stopped at the light, the car drove away normally to the gas station. at the station i re-checked the fluid, again everything normal. when i went to pull away the car just revved up like it was in neutral. it would not go in to any gear. *tr

I was accelerating from a stop light, when all of a sudden the engine speed increased and the car slowed down. as the car was slowing down in heavy traffic i attempted to accelerate but all that happened is the engine revved higher. i was in heavy 2 way traffic and was lucky enough to notice a turn off into a parking lot before the car came to a complete stop. i proceeded to try the car in all gears but no movement occurred. it is like it is like the car is stuck in neutral. i had to have it towed to a local garage where it was diagnosed with a known problem with these transmissions. i was told the splines inside the torque converter strip out and fails to spin the shaft that spins the fluid pump. this is a know problem and a recall was issued (11s25) for ford freestar using the same transmission. i called ford and was told this car does not fall under the recall even though it is the same transmission. *tr

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. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. the contact stated that while driving 70 mph, the transmission light illuminated. the contact stopped and had the vehicle diagnosed by a personal mechanic; however no problem was found. as the contact continued to drive, whenever the vehicle accelerated to 70 mph the transmission light would illuminate. the vehicle was taken to another personal mechanic and the contact was informed that the transmission would need to be rebuilt. the vehicle had not been repaired. the vin was unavailable. the failure and current mileages were 133,000.

The transmission went out. ford taurus transmissions seem to go out a lot! why is there not a recall on this??? *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. the contact stated that while driving approximately 65 to 70 mph, the rpm's increased excessively. the vehicle became resistant to acceleration attempts and was towed to the contact's residence where it was inspected by an independent mechanic. the mechanic advised her that the transmission failed and either the converter or the pump needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. the failure and current mileages were approximately 60,000.

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. *tr

The shift will not go into gear have to wait until the car is ready and then the shift will move. *tr

Driving on the highway, the car just died. the transmission failed. i had to coast to the safety of a parking lot, and i am lucky i made it. i understand that there have been a lot of complaints regarding this transmission in this model year. i also understand from a ford dealer mechanic that this transmission has been recalled in association with a truck in which the same transmission was used but that it has not been recalled in the ford taurus. i feel this should be looked into. *tr

Cpsc#i1220619a. 2004 ford taurus. consumer stated the transmission failed and left his wife stranded in the middle of the road. *ln

My newly licensed 16 year old son was driving home from school and suddenly the car stopped pulling. it stayed running and he was able to barely coast to the side of the road. it would not go forward or backward and there was no noise or prior indication that there was a problem. after investigating the problem on the internet this is a very common problem. recall this vehicle immediately before someone gets killed. a class action lawsuit is warranted due to the danger of this problem. i am hoping taking this route will get results. if not i will take other routes to get the attention this matter desperately needs. local news media as well as bbb and other avenues. *tr

The throttle sticks when slowing down to a stop, it suddenly revs up. must then stomp on the brakes and try to throw it into neutral. usually can catch it however, 2 days ago ended up rear ending someone. the front end of my car is damaged. ran into a truck which wasn't damaged. *tr

The throttle sticks when slowing down to a stop. it suddenly revs up. must stomp on the brakes and attempt to throw into neutral. had been able to stop but 2 days ago rear ended a truck. damage to my car. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. the contact stated that the vehicle stalled without warning. a local mechanic diagnosed that the transmission would need replacing. the manufacturer was notified of the failure, but denied any assistance with repairs to the vehicle. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and the current mileage was 146,000.

Torque converter failed in driveway october 2012. almost $1000 in repair costs. 2004 taurus with only 35,000 miles. the only owner/driver is my retired mother. car was always well maintained. very fortunate the failure did not occur on the highway. *tr

i spent 4 hours at night waiting for a tow truck to arrive. all most got hit by a semi trying to get this pos off the road. that was $150 for the tow and now i need to spend more to get this 2004 taurus running. i am a ford fan as you can tell by my email address. i even drag race mustangs. i am thinking about going honda for my daily driver. problem was a improperly heat treated torque converter spline. has left 100's if not 1000's of us stranded. gives out with no warning. car just stops moving. car was down for 1 week and cost ended up being just over $1000. *tr

2004 ford taurus with approx 101k miles. turning left at a traffic light, the transmission disengaged without warning. the engine runs fine, but the transmission will not engage in any gear. the dealer says there is zero line pressure and the pump shaft and torque converter needs to be replaced. $1700.00 or basically a total rebuild. this is dangerous!!! *tr

I have a 2004 ford taurus ses with a 24v duratec 3.0l dohc engine and 4f50n transmission. my wife was pulling out of a parking lot on july 19, 2011 around mid-day, when the transmission lost all forward power. she stopped the car and tried the other gears with no result. no movement in any gear, forward or reverse. *kb

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. while driving on a decline, the contact depressed the pedal to accelerate, but the vehicle would not respond and rolled down hill. a local mechanic diagnosed that the trans-axle needed to be replaced. the dealer was notified, but did not assist the contact with the failure. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure and current mileage was 113,500. updated 8/30/11 *cn

I have a 2004 taurus and on my way home from work my car stopped dead in the road and had to be towed. there was no prior warning or issues just my transmission stopped dead in the middle of a busy road. mechanic told me i need a new transmission. i see this is a common issue but also a serious safety concern. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. the contact was driving 60 mph when the vehicle stalled and the transmission failed. the contact stated that the failure was the second occurrence and the vehicle had been taken to the dealer several times for repairs. the transmission was previously replaced yet the failure recurred. the failure mileage was 83,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. the contact stated that he deactivated the cruise control while driving 55 mph, but the vehicle would not decelerate. there was a constant increase in engine rpms until the contact applied heavy pressure to the brake pedal. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the throttle position sensor was replaced. the contact examined the vehicle the following morning and noticed that transmission fluid had leaked onto the ground. the failure persisted. the contact then disconnected the cruise control cable and the failure had not recurred since. the transmission leak continued despite numerous repairs performed by the contact and an authorized dealer. the failure mileage was 86,311. updated 04/13/12 *bf the consumer stated the vehicle would not decelerate normally. there was a higher than normal engine rpm and he had to use heavier than normal braking to both slow and stop the vehicle. just prior to arriving at a safe parking area, the idle returned to normal. after a brief stop, the consumer went back home. initially, the idle was normal, but then the high idle returned. the vehicle wa taken to an independent mechanic, where the throttle position sensor was replaced. the consumer examined the vehicle the next day, where he noticed transmission fluid was leaking. the transmission dipstick shaft and dipstick was extended about 3-4 inches onto the ground. all fluids appeared normal after inspection was performed. the consumer replaced the iac and returned to the mechanic to verify proper installation. the consumer then disconnected the cruise control cable from the throttle body as the high idle persisted. the transmission leak continued despite numerous repairs performed by the consumer and the authorized dealer. updated 04/23/12

I bought my 2004 ford taurus new and have had no major repair problems. it currently has just over 140,000 miles on it. yesterday my wife was traveling on the interstate, when the vehicle suddenly lost power at 70 miles per hour and began making a loud "whining" noise in the engine compartment. she was fortunately able to coast to the shoulder, where she put the gear selector in "park" and turned the ignition off. after letting the vehicle sit for a few minutes she restarted the car and put the gear selector in "drive". the loud "whining" noise continued, and each time that she depressed the accelerator the rpm's increased as the engine revved, but the car would not move. i had it towed to a transmission repair facility where the electronic components of the transmission were tested. there were no malfunctions detected in the electronic components. i was informed that the transmission would have to be removed, as the malfunction was due to a failure of either the torque converter, the transmission, or possibly both. the repair estimates were quoted to be about $850.00 if the failure was due to a faulty torque converter, which the technician informed me was a quite common problem with that model, as the splines often stripped out. the second quote was for about $1500.00 if metal shavings are found in the transmission pan, which would indicate that the failure was a result of a faulty component in the transmission, which would require a transmission overhaul. i searched yahoo for "2004 ford taurus transmission problems" and discovered an overwhelming amount of consumer complaints involving the same manufacturer defect. many of the consumers filed complaints with ford motor company, but ford refuses to admit that there is a defect in the parts, materials, or design. ironically i found that the defective transmission components were used in the 2002 to 2006 models. prior to my 2004 model, i owned a 2000 model taurus with over 100,000 miles and never had any problems. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. the contact stated that while reversing and attempting to shift the gear into drive, the gear would not release from the neutral position. the vehicle was towed to a local transmission specialist, where the contact was informed that the torque converter failed. the manufacturer denied assistance with the repair. the vehicle was repaired. the failure mileage was 64,105 and the current mileage was 65,000.

Transmission total failure with no advance warning. just lucky that was not rear ended or worse. *tr

After executing a right turn onto a side street, the vehicle lost power to the wheels and coasted to a stop. there was no shoulder to pull over to, and state patrol arrived to push vehicle to a safe location.

After reading all of the complaints, i can definitely relate to what i'm reading. unlike most of the people on here i actually had the transmission light come on before a drastic failure occurred. however my cars symptoms are exactly the same. it has started pulsing slightly while at freeway speeds. i'd like to keep operating it to see if it goes away, but after reading all the reviews i'm too afraid to try. ford has finally started to develop a strong reputation for themselves, and if they want to keep things that way they better get a hold of this one before its too late. i can imagine that they aren't interested in becoming the next "toyota" in the car industry. come on ford, make this right! *tr

I was driving my 2004 ford taurus and suddenly it jerked and made a noise. i was on my way home not far away and did manage to get to my house into my driveway but then it would not pull at all , the transmission went out completely. we are still making payments on this car that is even worse and it could have been dangerous if it had quit in traffic on the road. *tr