Problems with 2005 Ford Five Hundred POWER TRAIN

(etb) electronic throttle body on my car causes an acceleration that makes the car jerk forward. i've almost hit a wall, and god forbid this happens on the highway i could cause an accident. its unsafe and should be recalled. poor design i guess but it's not worth my life. this happened while idling in drive thru when i tried to go forward it idled really high then dropped down. would bot accelerate afterwards.

I stopped on a city street at stop sign. as i tried to accelerate, but the car would barely move. the throttle control/transmission warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. i turned the car off and let it sit for about 2 to 3 minutes. i started the car up and was able to make it home. i am thankful that this happen on city street and not on the highway. i plan on contacting my ford dealer tomorrow.

Bought the vehicle used in may 2010. realized early-on that the transmission was not smooth, but willing to settle for less than perfection since it was a 2005 vehicle. in late 2012 or early 2013, i received 'recall' notice that pcm (i.e. - powertrain control module) could need to be reprogrammed due to stalling, herky-jerky transmission, etc. took car to dealership, they ran diagnostics, charged me $100, and told me that my car wasn't effected because no error codes were noted and check engine light wasn't on. i was not happy, and refused to take my car to the dealership for repair. problem persisted, until check engine light came on in october 2017 at roughly 125,000 miles. took to local mechanic, was charged $150 for sensor replacement. light came back on a day later. took back, replaced sensor for free (nice!), but light back on a day later. took to a different mechanic, was charged $250, replaced multiple sensors, light back on the next day. took back to 2nd mechanic, when they shared with me that it was likely the pcm and the dealership would need to fix. called dealership 3 days in a row, on hold for nearly an hour the 3rd time, was never connected to a service writer or tech, left 3 voice mails for service manager and was never called back. researched issue and found nhtsa action number pe11018, where ford initiated a customer satisfaction program 12n03 to extend coverage terms of repair of engine idle rpm surge caused by pcm needing reprogramming with software containing updated idle speed control. per nhtsa, symptoms associated with the condition may include check engine light, diagnostic codes (dtcs) p0505, p0506, or p061b. ford issued bulletin tsb 11-10-21 that included updated powertrain control calibration.

At low speeds, when turning and when accelerating from a stop, the car will shake, lunge and then shut off. sometimes it just shakes and hesitates and then keeps going. sometimes it takes a while to get it running again. it always happens when the car is in motion. a couple of times this happened, the transmission error codes were displayed. i have had the transmission checked out and it was fine.

Front driver side lower control arm ball joint sheared off at 25 mph while making a left hand turn and then snapped the cv joint axle shaft causing the driver side wheel to jam inside the wheel well and damage lower part of body and fender. the vehicl was totally disable at this point sitting in the middle of an intersection. similar incident happened two years ago with the passenger side front wheel and the lower control arm ball joint sheared and snapped the cv joint axle shaft at 45 mph and caused vehicle to turn 180 degrees blocking two lanes of hwy. that time front wheel damaged wheel well and sensor wires on that side fo the engine bay

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford five hundred. while driving various speeds, it was difficult to shift gears. the contact did not notice if any warning indicators were illuminated. a mechanic determined that the transmission failed. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was unknown. the failure mileage was 145,753.

The transmission disengages at various speeds even on the interstate at 55+ mph causing it to lose power. you must be able to get it stopped on the side of the road and shut the car off and then restart it to correct the problem for a short period of time.

I own a 2005 ford five hundred cvt. 2 months ago the transmission began acting up. driving along and the "wrench" lite comes on then the "skid" lite comes on. the car goes into a loss of power, like low gear. it moved but revs up and won't shifts up. i know its a constant velocity trans so it is at it's lower ratio. after hours of diagnostic it comes down to the trans control module, and still not sure. the obd codes say loss of communication, a u code. every inch of harness has been checked the whole interior has been removed, dash disassembled. i'm into it over $2,000. i love the car, it rides great. its has been well maintained. ford i need help. need to recall this issue or how about a p01 or z01 policy adjustment.

Leaving a grocer at 13:15 on 9/7/2015 started to back out of parking spot when auto suddenly accelerated backward, across the aisle and slammed into parked vehicle with impact sending that auto into a 3rd. damages to both vehicles. when i went to pull into my original slot to deal with situation, as soon as i removed foot from brake, auto lunged forward at high rate of speed, jumped a 6" landscape curb and plowed into the front end of a cadillac srx causing major damage to that vehicle, still unk total damage to mine. it was a very hot day and the ac was running. no other vehicles were occupied other than mine, and i was sole occupant. my airbag did not deploy and passenger's was not turned on. i did receive a significant bruise on my sternum from the shoulder component of my seat belt. my foot was not on the accelerator for either "lunge". crashes were witnessed and peoria az police did respond with 2 units. officers did take information, but when i inquired about incident # for my records officer responded that there would be no report and no citations as it occurred on private property. my insurance carrier was contacted from site, but being a holiday, i was not able to speak with adjuster at that time. knowing that it was not my actions that caused this incident, i checked the next day and discovered that this identical situation had been under investigation with nhtsa at the time i purchased the car on or about 11/16/12 at which a service program to retify was in effect. with my incident though, major damage occurred. neither at the time of purchase, nor throughout the investigation & tenure of my ownership (current) was i notified of the known safety problem nor it's program to mitigate. attached aerial photo shows back to back dimension to first impact and back to front dimension of 2nd. i was parked in position of white vehicle.

This problem is going for a while, even in a stop light, foot on brake pedal the engine accelerate himself and while shifting from park to reverse or drive the sound on the transmission is hard. it go from 700 rpms to 1300 rpms on seconds, and now is worse. took the vehicle to two ford repair dealers, after putting on the computer,both wanted to charge me $6,000.00 on a transmission, even knowing the recalls on this units.this car looks like new i can send you photos, and i love my car.

Throttle assembly problem. very similar concerns as earlier recall which supposedly applied fix to the car a couple years ago. except .along with unexpected acceleration while stopped a new problem arises. motor acts as if it is not getting fuel and slows to a crawl sputtering to a stop.. wrench malfunction light comes on. after cars sits for a period of time wrench display goes off and car operates normally. owners manual indicates that this may be a throttle assembly problem. prior recall notice that has expired. on multiple web boards problem is mention with great frequency for the ford 500. this happened to my wife on a side street at 15-20 mph. if it occurred on next bust street it could have presented a dangerous scenario. ford dealer acknowledged this as a known problem, but ford mfg only provided 1 time fix in recall & since the throttle cleaning fixed the problem at the time of recall no further attention was needed. i mentioned they did extend for recurring problem but that extension 2013. i don't feel a mfg should be able to time limit a problem resolution that they never permanently fix. by what i read on the web this is an issue that needs areal resolution.....cost me 900+ dollars to fix and ford nothing! *tr

I was driving down the road 35mph at the time and all of a sudden my car stops in the middle of the road and the wrench light came on. i had to cut the car off then sit for a few minutes then crank back up. the next time i drove it i was driving 55 mph and then all of a sudden it stopped while i was driving the wrench light came on again i was stuck in the road then after a few minutes i was able to crank back up. i drove the car for a few weeks so i decided to drive home one day on i-95 as i was driving it stopped again with crazy traffic. after this episode when i finally made it home i decided to park my car for several weeks until i called ford to see if there was a warranty and they told me to bring my car to be repaired only to be told it was not under warranty and it would cost me $2000 to get my car repaired because there was a also a leak which is supposed to be under recall. i've read a lot of things going on with this car in particular the 2005 ford five hundred. i called the ford 800 number that the mechanic gave me to see if they would repair the throttle for my car they told me that its over the mileage warranty and there is nothing they can do and they didn't even apologize for my inconveniences when i was stopped on the road, i am currently using a borrowed car because i don't want to put my life in jeopardy driving this car until i am able to get it repaired. *tr

Part of an ongoing series of issues with this vehicle (see earlier reports), initial symptom was the dash lights & needles shutting off intermittently (but now for extended periods). vehicle then began showing random warning lights including "check engine", which was diagnosed first time as low fuel level sensors a & b. since that time i'd disconnected the battery on a suggestion of a mechanic friend and all the issues disappeared for a few weeks. yesterday the check engine light came back, and the car was running poorly (creeping when first off brakes, not up shifting), when the dash was operable it showed alternating check engine/check transmission warnings, and vehicle was surging/lagging noticeably at highway speeds. i again did the battery disconnect last night, and the car is operating normal today, but i'm sure it will recur shortly. i am hesitant to take it to a dealer as this sounds like a significant electronics issue, and i have already read up on the ford tsb 06-17-9 that is documented online, not all of which aligns with my issues. had the battery reset had no impact on the problems i would say it's a mechanical matter, but it seems clear its a computer or electrical issue. *tr

On the interstate headed towards denver, after about an hour, when to accelerate from about 70mph to ascend up the hills, the engine rpms accelerate, however, it feels that the transmission is disengaged (slipping) with no power to the drivetrain resulting in a drastic loss of speed. this happened numerous times in efforts to regain control and maintain speed. this was extremely hazardous as traffic was somewhat congested, and other drivers are expecting me to accelerate, however, vehicle was in a decelerating mode. this was only with light pressure to the accelerator. it sounded as if the gears had stripped in the transmission. we turned around and headed home, auto would not allow speeds over 60mph. later the same happened at speeds of 35-40 on local roads. these transmissions are extremely dangerous. ford knows of this problem and refuses to do anything about them. *js

2005 ford five hundred this product with a cvt transmission should be investigated and recalled immediately. there are thousands failing and it is very dangerous! the transmission disengages causing the automobile to lose power without warning. i've seen posts of thousands of this same failure beginning at 3500 miles! i contacted ford because mine is doing this and they basically sent a form letter saying oh well, sorry about your luck. many of ford's products have this same issue with the cvt transmission including the ford flex which is involved in a class action lawsuit. the five hundred should be involved in this lawsuit as well. *js

Traveling down the interstate at 75 mph we received a message on the message center about a failure of some sort (i don't remember what it said exactly now). we lost all acceleration of the car. we pulled over and let it sit while i looked up the error on my phone. i tried the car a bit later and it was fine. then we kept getting the error. i took it to our ford dealer and he cleaned the throttle body...then replace it a week later when that didn't fix it. a about 2 weeks later we were getting another error about the transmission failing. it started making a terrible noise. i still owe 3200 on this car,,.and a new transmission is over 7k. seriously?? i have read so many posts about the cvt transmission on the five hundred and other cars failing. ford should be ashamed of themselves for passing off something like this. now i have a 3200.00 paper weight in my driveway....and i cannot afford to buy another car. thanks ford!! *tr

When stopped at red light, car shook a couple times then check engine light immediately came on. when red light turned green, took foot off of brake and pressed gas pedal and was unable to drive, but car was still on. throttle body control system failed and needs replacement. *tr

When i started it up and tried to take off it stalled out and the wrench light came on. *tr

my 2005 ford 500 while driving 25 mph, the engine stalled without warning. the vehicle was coasted off road and restarted, but no power. the vehicle was checked where it was diagnosed as a throttle body failure. *js

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford five hundred. while driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle failed to shift into gear and became inoperable. the failure occurred five times. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. the technician stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 139,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford five hundred. the contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while driving uphill at 40 mph . the vehicle was taken to dealer for inspection but a clear diagnosis was not given. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the issue. the approximate failure mileage was 55,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford five hundred. the contact stated that while driving 25 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate and both the fail safe engine mode and the wrench warning lights illuminated. the vehicle was stopped and restarted, as it operated normally. the vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis and the contact was informed that the throttle body would need to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. the failure and current mileage was 168,400. updated 08/15/13*lj

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford five hundred. the contact received a service notice from the manufacturer about a throttle body remedy. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and routine service. the throttle body was cleaned but the contact stated that the vehicle began to idle at various speeds. the check engine lamp illuminated. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the incident. the approximate failure mileage was 51,000. updated 01/07/2014*lj the consumer stated the during the test driving the vehicle it went into fail safe mode. the tech reset the light and returned the vehicle. n the way home the vehicle went into fail safe mode again almost causing an accident. updated 01/22/2014 *js

Approximately two months after service performed under nhtsa campaign pe11018 the vehicle began to accelerate irregularly and then it placed itself into "fail safe" mode and illuminated the check engine light. vehicle was returned to the ford dealer that performed the service and they determined that the electric throttle control was at fault but was not associated with the service they performed on the same component just weeks earlier. dealer contacted ford motor co and they also claimed the two were not related regardless of the similar claims found online. *tr

I bought this car a year ago through rondupratt used cars in january 2012 car seemed to drag a little but didn't pay much attention to is as summer came around tried to use the ac it only blew cold on the freeway i just thinking it needed to be serviced buy the time i got the ac charged it was winter again. buy march of next year the car started doing this weird shaking at every stop light and every stop sign the car would start to shake in april a letter comes in the mail explaining the car was being recalled due to the cars rpm idle surging took the car to fairfield ford an when i got the car back it was worse then it. had ever been so i decided to go pay rondupratt to diagnostic the car the said where i took the car to didn't perform the recall and the car needed an ac compressor and an egr valve i have gotten the egr valve replaced an the same day the car wouldn't go in to gear so confused on why they are allowed to sell cars that they know are experiencing theses problems and rant willing to do anything to fix the problem. *tr

While attempting to slow to a stop or make a turn, at approximately 25 mph, the transmission downshifted hard. it does not do this while speeding up. i have had two mechanics tell me there is no known fix, short of replacing the transmission, and there is no information available, parts brake down, etc, for them to diagnosis the problem. i had the vehicle at a ford dealer to have the throttle body issue fixed. at that time, the power control module and the transmission control module were both re-programmed. no long term fix was achieved. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford five hundred. the contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, the all wheel drive malfunctioned and the check engine warning light illuminated. the contact merged to the shoulder of the road, powered off, then restarted the vehicle. the vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the technician stated that the oxygen sensor and dim module needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure and current mileage was 150,000.

In august 2010, i had the continuously variable transmission replaced at ~98,000 miles. luckily, it was under warranty. now in october 2012, the second transmission as the service member said at the ford dealership "the transmission exploded, we're not even sure how you were able to drive this vehicle. this was at ~146,000 miles, but there is only ~48,000 miles on the transmission itself. two transmissions have failed in this vehicle. searching the internet i have come across several instances of the ford five hundreds continuously variable transmission failing. i called the ford care line to report it, but they claim they are unaware of any issues. my concern is this third transmission will also fail at some point. *tr

Out side air temp was approx 96 degrees so ac was on . while shifting into reverse the vehicle lunged so hard it was uncontrollable,and unstoppable, if some one had stepped out behind me they would have died as i could only stop reward movement by shifting into drive. this occurred three times trying to get out of a parking space at a crowded mall.the vehicle then stalled. the lunging was so fast the brakes could hardly hold the car from moving in reverse. in checking there is a service bulletin tsb-05-25-13 from ford motor company on this very issue but no recall, also many incidents/accidents recorded in this regard. if i was not prepared enough during this incident in a crowded parking lot some one would have died, this must be addressed b-4 someone is run over. currently ford has no comment. please contact me for further details. *tr

On hot summer days and only on hot summer days when stopped at light or stopped period car begins to surge forward while holding brake. went asked ford why is this happening they said they don't know. that i should get the throttle body and mass air flow sensor serviced if not done already. i guess it had to be done at 90k but i did not know. well i did what they said, went home and car is now idling rough went back and they want to charge me another $90 dollars ontop of the $105 they have already charged me for the throttle and mafs. i have almost gotten in numerous accidents because of this but ford doesn't want to acknowledge that this is a problem with this car. *tr

On hot days, when backing out of parking spaces, the car has sometimes "surged" meaning that there has been unintended acceleration without the accelerator being pressed at all. i have had to suddenly and firmly put my foot on the brake to prevent the car from hitting other vehicles. this has happened on several occasions in august of 2012. i own a 2006 ford five hundred also and it has had the same problem in the same conditions (filing separate complaint). *tr

I had previously had problems with unintended acceleration when parked and then putting the car into reverse (automatic transmission). after reading many complaints on your site in which consumers said the throttle body had been diagnosed as causing the problem, i had the dealership replace the throttle body. ( a few months later, ford sent a letter offering to replace the throttle body). despite having had the dealership replace the throttle body, the car continues to accelerate faster than it should sometimes when put in reverse and i must always be prepared to brake rapidly. if a driver was unaware of the problem or had slow reaction time, a car or person in a parking lot could be hit. *tr

So here i am another victim of a faulty throttle body. thanks ford i love when my car takes off on me without notice, especially when you have kids in the car. how many of these do i have to read before action is taken. does it take a death or serious accident. cost me 718 dollars i expect a recall soon and my money back i will not quit until this is taken care of. it's sad when you go to a mechanic and they say "wow there is still not a recall on this". oh by the way it is such a common problem i diagnosed my own car issue in 5 minutes by using google and typing failsafe engine mode. *tr

We were driving down a highway and went to get back to speed after passing through a speed zone. i noticed a decrease in power and looked at the information screen. the fail safe mode and the "wrench" icon was on. i pulled the car over and turned it off. i then turned it on and the car acted normal. it has happened twice since the first incident. my wife took it to the dealership and ford cannot duplicate the problem and the issue does not throw a check engine code or leaves any type of electronic history of the issue. i cannot allow my wife to drive this car because she is seven month pregnant and cannot have her drive it if the car breaks down due to this issue. *tr

My ford five hundred has been unexpectedly surging when releasing the brake pedal when going forward and reverse. it has almost caused me to hit other vehicles in a parking lot on several occasions and makes it extremely difficult to control the speed of the vehicle when starting to accelerate. something needs to be done about this issue. i am not the only person who is experiencing this. there are many more people who have posted the same issue on blogs and websites i have read. please look into this issue. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford five hundred. the contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the transmission failed and the speed dropped to 30 mph. the contact moved the vehicle off the roadway and allowed the vehicle to cool down. the contact was able to drive the vehicle home. the vehicle was later taken to the dealer for inspection where they stated that the transmission control module needed to be reprogrammed. the vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 200,000. the vin was unavailable.

I had the need to avoid an accident by suddenly changing lanes but when i step on the gas pedal my transmission failed to shift to higher speed. instead two clunking sounds took place before finally switching into higher gear .i was able to avoid the car in front of me , but now the car behind me almost rear ended us. this would have created a fatal chain reaction we could have been crushed in. i found out this cars have a great amount of failures on record ford 500 2005 please help *js

I have an ongoing issue with the transmission de-engaging when the temperature of the transmission warms up. when i accelerate when passing or using the cruise control the transmission will dis-engage leaving me with no forward power, i must put the car in neutral and hope it engages all the while almost being run over by two semi-trucks. this happened almost a dozen times down and back on my trip from buffalo to peapack nj on monday 4/16/2012. this is a know problem that ford is aware on the five hundred model, montego and some fusion models. many start to fail at less than 30,000 miles and happened at 65,000 miles on my vehicle. i consider this an extremely dangerous situation and amazed no one has been killed due to these defective transmissions. the ford forum has over 10 pages of complaints regarding this problem. ford told me they would not do anything unless there was a recall.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford five hundred. the contact stated that the vehicle down shifted and lost engine power. the failure was experienced numerous times. the dealer reprogrammed the computer, but the failure was not corrected. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer for a diagnostic test, which located the failure at the transmission valve body. the transmission valve body was replaced. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the approximate failure and current mileages were 67,407.

The car sudden surges forward or back when moving out of park. if your foot is not firmly on the brake it will go move significantly. upon research online and talking to ford directly this is known problem that is not under re-call yet but should be. our local ford dealer carries the throttle bottle in stock because they sell so many of them. they average 10 a year. a simple research of the problem shows up. it is extremely dangerous. also if there is quick stop it will go to a fail safe mode and basically shut off the car completely. the car has to be shut off and restarted in order to move the vehicle again. the throttle bottle must be replaced in order for it to be safe as a parts cost of almost $600.00. *tr

2005 ford five hundred. consumer writes in regards to hard shifting and two instrument panel lights illuminating. *tgw the consumer also stated the rpm's would race at times. the consumer went to her local dealer and a diagnostic's test revealed a problem with the pcv valve. the pcv was replaced at a cost of $ 112.95. however, it did not resolve the problem. the consumer went back to the dealer for a transmission diagnostic test, but the dealer was unable to give a definitive answer as tow hat the problem was. ford customer service was then contacted and they informed the dealer to replace the transmission at a cost of $5000. there was also another intermittent problem where the vehicle would rev while stopped at a stop sign, or red light etc. after getting other opinions, the consumer was informed, the problem was not with the transmission. after doing some research online, the consumer discovered it was a very common occurrence with her particular make, which seemed to be a manufacturing defect.

Driving from sj to la, calif. 200 miles into my journey with wife and 3 kids, pulled off highway for gas. slowed down and noticed the wrench and check engine lights on and car would only go 10 to 15 miles per hour and revved at more than 3000 rpms. the car clunked hard when put into drive or reverse. turned off the engine, several times and restarted. sometimes fixed problem, other times did not. i had car towed to hanford, california, and then again to los angeles-another 198 miles to ford dealership. i had to rent a car and drive the rest of the way to la and drive back - 198 miles-to hanford-to return the rental car. i tested the car a few times in hanford and when it was at the ford dealer. from a cold start, the car worked fine. drove and shifted well with no problems. but once the car warmed up, it went back into limp-mode, clunked hard when you shifted into drive or reverse, and would go only 10-15 mph at 3000 or more rpms. the dealer test drove it and had the same result. the dealer got codes p0701, p0871, and p0961 and said that meant the transmission had internal problems. they said they called ford engineers who told them the likely problem was when the transmission fluid warms up, it is not properly circulating due to leaks in what they called two variators inside the transmission. they quoted the cost to replace the variators as $3600 for parts and labor of $1200 for a total of $4800 and that is more than the cost to replace the transmission for which they quoted $4500. so they replaced the transmission. after starting, they found a broken transmission mount so they replaced that for another $250 (part only - no labor charge). i test drove the new transmission yesterday. the car no longer goes into limp mode and drives nicely except after it warms up it clunks hard into drive and reverse and wines in reverse gear. not taking car till fixed properly. *tr

2005 ford five hundred sel 3.0l v6 automatic 6 speed transmission accelerating on interstate car severely hard shifted and then rpms flared let off gas and car slammed into a lower gear now car hard shifts in down gears and rpms go up car doesn't move sometimes while accelerating very sporadic and dangerous. *tr

We bought my car in july 2011, its was garaged by the 1st owner so it was like brand new!! low miles just 12,850 , start what now seems to be the endless drives in a rental car and with empty wallets totaling now approx; close to an additional $3,500 now in repairs from the battery in aug 2011 to now to having the throttle being replace along with a set if tires and the 2nd set of both rear and front brakes in less then a year , all due to the consent stopping and going of the car by hitting the brakes too much and having to accelerate, because the car would while tempting to pull out of my garage at what should of been a mere 3miles per hour; resulted in flying backwards suddenly while foot was applying pressure on the brakes to keep from mowing down my teenage son at 15 miles a hour on its own with the mp rising rapidly , was the scare of my life!!!! please someone recall this car , before someone really does get killed or hurt!!! as of today the total this time to repair my car is at a total if$ 1,585.00; to replace the throttle and tires & brakes again, and ford wouldn't even comp, us a rental car this time on our 5 trip down to the service dept of ford!!!! *tr

While stopped at a red light, the car started to jerk and the motor raced/idled up high. *tr

The vehicle has rpm surges at low speeds either in reverse or forward. i nearly had 3-4 accidents in 2 days because of the issue. the vehicle will actually increase up to 1000 rpms by itself while i have my foot on the brake. as soon as i begin to release pressure off the brake while trying to park or negotiate the vehicle at very low speeds the engine will just take off. the first time i noticed it i was backing out of a parking space and the vehicle took off backward causing me to have to slam the brakes on. i almost hit a woman who was passing on the other side of the lane. *kb

I have the wrench light up on the dash board and it said engine failsafe mode in the message centre? this started happening to me a few weeks ago from time to time. no warning, i just accelerate from a red light and i notice i have no power, i look down and sure enough - wrench is lit and engine failsafe mode. i pull over, turn the car off for a few minutes and then the problem is gone when i start again. i couldn't find any specific info on what is causing this around the 'net - and even the manual says, if it is persists, take it to the dealer. it happened a few more times, but this time it seemed the rpm's were revving without my foot on the accelerator. i had my foot on the brake so nothing happened, but did it a few times, so i brought it to the dealer last week. they ran some diagnostics and ultimately said they repaired a vacuum hose at my airbox. ok, sure, whatever. next two days, no problem. the third day, happened again. this time, i was going into an underground parking spot and it started revving and i ended up (very lightly) hitting the wall as it lurched forward. when i went to leave the spot - in reverse - happened again - almost hit the parked car behind, as it lurched. so took it to the dealer this morning - and the service advisor mentioned he suspects the throttlebody as he has had some other 500's in for the same thing. no idea why, but the computer didn't have a code for the throttlebody problem last time - but it did this time, so as i write this, they are putting the new one on and i'll be there in an hour to pick it up. *tr

Backing out of the driveway in a 2005 ford 500 awd, car stumbles then launched backward violently. luckily i had my foot on the brake or the car would have kept going. "failsafe engine mode" appears on the dashboard. this has happened several times before. should be a recall on this car. *kb

Throttle body bad all most had wreck car would not go just idled. *kb

The vehicle in question was idling in park. vehicle was shifted into reverse with the foot on the brake. once foot was released from the brake the car lunged backward, the tachometer read about 3000 rpm, with no pressure on the gas pedal. just as quickly pressure was applied to the brake and the car entered "engine failsafe mode" and shut down. turning the vehicle off and restarting would clear the problem. this has happened 4 more times since the reported incident date, all with the same circumstances. the vehicle had the a/c on and was idling in approximately 90 degree fahrenheit temperatures with +50% relative humidity. *kb