Problems with 2004 Ford Taurus VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

While pulling out of my driveway and trying to pull into an alley that leads the main road; my vehicles rpm went from just above idle to almost 4000. it caused me to fly through a stop sign, as my brakes were not working. after some tugging i was able to shift it into neutral and get it to a full stop. i turned the vehicle off, then back on again, while in park the rpms were gradually increasing. i stepped on the gas while in park, and it corrected the issue. second incident occurred while going fifty five mph down a county road. i took my foot off the gas and the rpms continued increasing again. i got to almost seventy mph. i was able to shift into neutral again . i came to a full stop in the middle of the road and restarted the vehicle. it started back up without incident. i will be having the vehicle looked at first thing monday.

After exiting the highway, braking to stop a red light, the car proceeded to slowly accelerate on its own. after letting it go for a while, it topped out around 52mph, as if the cruise control was working on its own. i kept pressing off, but that wouldn't work. the car stopped revving rpms when i put it in neutral.

My 2004 ford taurus suddenly started to accelerate on its own with foot off the gas pedal. driving in city street at 30 mph, the car all by itself suddenly started to accelerate (with my foot off the gas pedal) at speeds in excess of 75 mph. after braking and parking car, i turned car off and noticed that one of the accelerator / throttle cables in engine compartment was completely disconnected . apparently it is a a black plastic clip that was wearing out and slipping off the throttle linkage. the cable then can get stuck or tangled causing stuck acceleration. i called ford on june 7, 2018 and they said they did not hear of this problem and that there was not any recalls attached to my vin. case # cas-14980128. i mentioned to them that i researched the problem and that they have recalled over 400,000 ford taurus and sable models with this same issue. since my car did not come up as being recalled, they are not going to fix this dangerous problem. apparently, other ford models have the same issues with poorly designed throttle cables.

Takata recall - while driving taurus accelerates without touching fuel pedal. also retains speed for a while after releasing fuel pedal. fuel pedal does not seem to be stuck as when i tap fuel pedal car does dot slow down until i apply brake. when first starting in morning engine revs to 3,000 rpms and falls gradually.taurus has 139,600 miles.

The problem is the cruise control cable can come a loose from the throttle body when the accelerator is pressed. when the driver releases the accelerator, if the cruise control cable has come loose, the fitting at the end of it can get jammed in the cam that rotates the throttle plate, and it won allow the throttle to close, causing the engine rpm to stay high. this can happen randomly. it may happen while driving, and it can be duplicated when the car is in park. several other people have had this concern. i "googled" throttle sticking on 04 taurus, and came back with several hits, including some shadetree fixes. i feel this should be a recall as it can lead to a crash if the brakes arent powerful enough to overcome the engine's power output or the driver doesnt think to turn the ignition off (or they turn the key too far and lock the steering too) and/or engine/transmission damage.

Throttle stuck open while driving down the street at 40 mph. the car did not slow down with the foot off of the gas, slowly increased speed instead. the cruise control linkage became detached and got stuck in the throttle. had to put the car into neutral to stop the car from accelerating. the car revved other 4000 while idling.

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.

The vehicle continues to gain speed without the foot on the accelerator, regardless if we are on flat ground or moving up a small hill. if i take my foot off of the brake the car gains speed immediately and has almost caused me to crash my car. the only way it does not continue to gain speed is by putting the car into nuetral, braking and turning it off. i know this has been an ongoing problem with other ford taurus's close in the same years proximity. this is clearly a safety hazard. this has happened many times and i now have my vehicle parked for safety reasons.

2004 ford taurus accelerating by itself to 4000 rpm...throttle is sticking...looking under hood... throttle appears to be getting stuck on cruise control cable end that keeps falling off of throttle arm.

While attempting to stop, car continued to act as if the accelerator pedal was pressed, maintaining about 3000 rpm. was able to stop using brakes, but would not go to idle. tapping the accelerator resolved the issue. happened again a few minutes later. looks like plastic clip that attaches the speed control cable sheath to the throttle body bracket has broken, and the sheath catches on the bracket holding the throttle open.

This is crap, the same cable is used on the 2000-2003 taurus as my 2004 has, numerous people have nearly wrecked, including myself because the throttle sticks open propelling you at excessive speeds. i was smart enough to shut the key off to keep from rear ending someone, numerous times before i found the issue. the cruise control cable is the same junk design on previous models, and the internet is filled with thousands of taurus owners like me in the 2004 and up model years nearly crashing, yet ford has done nothing. someone need to get killed before you all make them do something about this hung throttle issue???

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. while driving 45 mph, the vehicle accelerated without the accelerator pedal being depressed. the dealer diagnosed that the throttle assembly was faulty. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 126,000.

The vehicle accelerates on its on up to 4k plus rpms and drives itself with increasing speed. this is our 18 year olds car. i can't believe this is a known issue by the nhtsa and ford and no recalls have been issued. how many deaths does there have to be before some one issues a recall for the accelerator cable/cruise control system. ford had the same issue with there 90 models taurus and a recall wasn't issued til 2008. wow is all i can say. ford should be held responsible for their known issues that they continue to have repeated issues with. the cruise control doesn't work and the car continues to accelerate without the gas pedal being touched. an the rpms shoot up, almost rearending other cars.this has been an ongoing issue but i thought my daughter was over exaggerating till we took the car out.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. while driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle accelerated independently without warning. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was unknown. updated 11/01/16*lj

I entered the highway accelerating normally to blend in with traffic in the right travelling lane. within seconds the car accelerated on its' own up to any alarming rate of speed. i slammed on brakes- nothing happened. attempted to put car in neutral- nothing happened. i could not steer the car as it was going at least 100mph. i weaved between 3 lanes of traffic before hitting a car's bumper and flipping over 2-3 times and landed upright in the ditch in the medium. i was awake the entire time- in sheer terror. had i not been wearing a seatbelt i likely would have been killed. the car was totaled. to my knowledge this 2004 ford taurus 24vt has had many other accidents and ford motor co. has not issued a recall. this is inexcusable!

Car suddenly accelerates by itself i will not be touching the gas and the car will speedily and consistently accelerating by itself without hitting the gas whatsoever. the car will be in park and its still trying to go by itself getting up to 3000 4000 rpms while its in park. this is ridiculous and very dangerous. the car needs to be recalled before someone gets hurt or worse !

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. while driving 10 mph, the vehicle independently accelerated without warning. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was not diagnosed nor repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 165,000. the vin was unavailable.

Sitting at stop light foot on brake vehical accelerates on its on. this is a problemi have experianced before on a 1976 mecury wagon. its the cruise control. ford was told then and did nothing but charge me for the inspection saying nothing was wrong. it happened again so i disconected the cruise control. now its happening on a 2004 taurus. if i was the one driving it wouldnt concern me but my x-wife panics easy so will disconect her cruise control. ford needs to fix this before someone dies

Vehicle throttle got stuck, daughter was drive had to put car in neutral to kick throttle down, found out that cruise control cable is coming off throttle body and jamming, been happening multiple times for last year

Today i noticed my cruise control would not engage. later as i pulled up to a stop sign, my car revved forward and i had difficulty stopping it with the brakes. when i proceeded, it accelerated quickly with no gas applied, until i stopped it. it continued to rev after putting it in park. i troubleshot it with a coworker who saw a few other friends with this problem, and he showed me what it was: my cruise control cable disconnected from the throttle, and then stuck in front of the throttle so that it would not close. the clip locking the cruise cable to the throttle is defective. very dangerous! i can't believe there hasn't been a recall for this.

Tl* the contact owned a 2004 ford taurus. when the vehicle was shifted into reverse, it suddenly accelerated and crashed into a tree. immediately after the crash, the vehicle independently shifted into drive. the contact attempted to engage the brakes; however, they failed to respond. the contact's vehicle sideswiped another vehicle on the passenger side before crashing into an embankment and tree stumps. a police report was not filed and no injuries were reported. the vehicle was destroyed. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure the failure mileage was 52,728. updated 03/24/17*lj *cn

This has happened over the past two days. the first time was at a freeway speed of 65 mph and the second time happened on a side street at a speed of 40 mph. as i released the gas peddle the car maintained the speed or accelerated on it's own. updated 12/08/2017*cn

My 2004 ford taurus accelerated on its own quite a few times. after goggling the problem i saw that there had been a recall. i called ford & was told my car wasn't included in the recall. they also told me to get it fixed because it could be dangerous. i know that because i was almost in a few accidents because of the sudden acceleration. i'd have to pull over, if not at a red light or stop sign, put the car in park & hit the accelerator a few times. i actually had to turn the car off & back on once to get the rpms down. i had the cruise control cable totally removed. the cruise hadn't worked in yrs. my mom owned the car before i did. i'd like to know why my taurus wasn't in the recall. *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

I was accelerating after being stopped at a red light and noticed the car kept accelerating after taking my foot off the pedal. i applied the brake and it continued to accelerate after removing the brake. i put the vehicle in neutral and it went up to 3000rpm. i put it back in drive and the car corrected once drive was re-engaged. the cruise control in the car will not turn on and if it does it will not set an acceleration. the problem was noted earlier in the year but pushed off as a fluke. then after doing research i see that most taurus' have this same problem. when i contacted ford they will not fix the problem because there is no recall. this is a huge safety concern and should be issued a recall. perhaps if there is an accident there will be more investigation into the problem. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. while driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle accelerated independently. when the brake pedal was depressed, the throttle would continue to rev intermittently. the failure occurred multiple times. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the mechanic stated that the control cables detached from the throttle body and subsequently interfered with the throttle fully closing to the idle position. the vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was not notified. the approximate failure mileage was 68,000.

This has happened to me a couple of times already. i was driving behind my boyfriend we where headed to his house, and my car started accelerating at a fast unusual pace. he stopped in front of me at a stop light, and as i was pressing on my brakes there was a couple of loud clunks coming from inside my engine. i was just riding my brakes, luckily the car was able to slow down and come to a stop. when the light turned green, it was behaving normally. i've looked this up, and noticed that this was a recurring problem with almost all models of ford taurus. yet there is no recall? i hope you realize how dangerous this problem actually is, and i hope that something is done about it soon. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. the contact stated that while she drove up an incline the vehicle suddenly accelerated. the local mechanic performed a diagnostic which located the failure at the cruise control clip attached to the throttle body failed. the vehicle was repaired. the dealer disconnected the cruise control cable. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 166,000.

Vehicle unexpectedly gained speed while backing out of driveway causing collision with mailbox before car could be brake to stop. prior to this the vehicle speed would remain constant when foot was removed from accelerator pedal while driving at approximately 35mph then the car gained speed on its own. vehicle was able to be brought under control by braking even as the idle surged. vehicle was taken to autonation ford of katy where they diagnosed "rolling idle from proportioning valve leaking at back of intake" as the cause. work was not performed because our son who happened to be in town saw that the cruise control cable had become detached from the throttle. my son reattached the cable and there have not been any further issues with a stuck idle or unattended acceleration. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. the contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the vehicle suddenly accelerate independently without any warnings. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. the technician diagnosed that the cruise control disconnected and became lodge on the throttle. as a result, the cruise control needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was repaired. the failure mileage was 148,000 and the current mileage was 148,035.

Have owned this car for 1 week. while replacing the spark plugs, found the cruise control cable was not connected to the throttle, which explained why the cruise didn't work. reconnected the cable. on a test-drive, had the cruise set at 50. in testing the 3 right-side cruise buttons (resume, set, coast) the car accelerated past 65 on its own. "off" button and brake pedal did not disconnect cruise system. rode the brakes to a stop and shut the engine off. started the engine and it revved up to 3,000 without my foot on the pedal. engine returned to normal idle speed after a blip or two on the gas pedal. carefully drove home and checked - the cruise cable had come undone from the throttle again. unintended acceleration of this model should be a recall issue before someone gets hurt. *tr

Driving down a side street going approximately 15 mph. the vehicle started racing and speeding up. i applied the brakes and could feel the jerking of the car fighting to speed up. i pulled over and put the car in neutral which caused the rpm meter to race. i pushed hard on the hard accelerator and let off and that stopped the rpm's from racing. this has been happening more and more over the past few months. one time, i had to turn the car off and when i started it up it was still racing. a combination of pressing hard on the accelerator (in n) and turning the car off seems to help. there is not always a place to pull over, this is an accident waiting to happen. my mechanic had no ideas why this is happening so i researching solutions myself. *tr

I was headed to the grocery store a little after noon and when i pulled away from a stop sign and accelerated toward 45 mph the rpm kept increasing after i took my foot off the accelerator once i reached the desired speed. they quickly jumped to between 3000 and 3500 rpm so i applied pressure to the brake and thought it would stop. it didn't. the second i let go of the brakes the car started to accelerate on its own quickly. i pulled over, turned the car off, but when i turned it back on the rpms went high again as if i was flooring the gas pedal. i turned around and cautiously went back home, riding the brakes the entire way (almost 5 miles) and parked it. the next day everything was normal.

Car continues to accelerate at moderate rate when foot is not on the accelerator. i was still able to stop the car easily using foot brake, but when stopped the car was revving at a much higher rate than usual. not clear yet whether the problem is getting worse. *tr

Vehicle suddenly began to accelerate after i had taken my foot off the gas pedal. it reached approximately 50 mph before i applied the brakes. it responded to the brakes, but was difficult to hold at a stop for a stoplight. putting the car in park or neutral caused the engine to rev to 3,00 - 4,000 rpms. the problem recurred several times on a 4 -5 mile drive. car was taken to a dealership where the problem was diagnosed as a faulty cruise control cable holding the throttle open. cruise control cable assembly was replaced and problem has not recurred. i have contacted ford to discuss the issue and mentioned the high number of similar complaints seen on this site. *tr

Driving on interstate and the cruise control started speeding up would not stop and when brakes applied it continued to rev the engine. i stopped the auto and it was still racing and squealing tires. turned vehicle off then sat for awhile turned engine on and it took off again with engine racing and tires squealing as i sat in parking lot with foot on break. finally after sitting for some time the cruise no stopped working all together and i am able to drive car but cruise no longer works and the gas pedal sticks at times now and i have to double tap to release. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. the contact stated while driving various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal it became stuck intermittently. the failure was not diagnosed by a mechanic. both the dealer and manufacturer were made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 165,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. while driving at 45 mph, the vehicle accelerated without warning. the failure recurred several times. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 208,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. while driving 30 mph, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and continued to do so even after the contact removed her foot from the accelerator pedal. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but the failure could not be duplicated. the manufacturer was notified and the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 150,000.

I was driving and coming to a complete stop, when the car began to accelerate itself. i brake, that didn't help much. it stopped the car, but did not stop the engine from abnormally revving itself up. i pushed the gas and it was okay, but still at a higher rpm than normal. again, 5 mins later, while sitting in traffic it revved up again. it was at about 2500 rpm, coming from a dead stop. i freaked out and tried to put the car in park thinking that would help. when i put it in park, it revved itself to about 4000rpm. i turned it off. i turned it back on a short while later and drove to a parking lot and kept it parked. *tr

I was trying to stop for a red light. the engine rpm suddenly increased and when i pressed the brake the rpm kept increasing. i shifted from drive to park and the rpm still kept increasing. i finally pumped the gas pedal while in park and the rpm went down. this happened again about 20 minutes later when i accelerated after being stopped at a light. *tr

The car jumps when stopped at a light. you have to leave plenty of room between cars or it will jump into a car. also, we have had to replace the alternator and battery several times. the alternator was 3 times and the battery 5 times. all of the sudden out cruise control went out and after that is when the jumping started. hard to start and it jumps while idling in park as well as all other gears. transmission replace 4 years ago. *js

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. the contact stated that the throttle seized. the vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where it was found that the throttle cable was off track. the vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. the manufacturer was contacted about the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 70,000. the vin was unavailable.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. while driving approximately 70 mph, the vehicle accelerated independently. the failure recurred multiple times. the vehicle was diagnosed and repaired, but the failure recurred. the vin was unavailable. the failure mileage was 10,033.

Every once in a while, the throttle in my 2004 ford taurus ses will stick and i have to tap the gas a little bit to make it unstick, and also when i turn on cruise control, on the dash it lights up, but cruise control doesn't engage. *tr

Vehicle accelerating on its own and gets stuck. unable to stop car, have to slam on brakes and put the car in neutral. car continues to accelerate and lifting the gas pedal with my foot does not stop the problem. had iac motor replaced, throttle position sensor, and egr valve replaced but none of that helped the problem. car seems to be stuck in cruise control or something and i am unable to stop the acceleration. *tr

To start decelerating on a multiple-lane freeway in heavy traffic, i removed my foot completely from the accelerator. i was surprised to find that instead of slowing down, the car began to gradually speed up even though my foot was not touching the accelerator pedal. the speed rose from 45 to 48 to 52 mph without my touching the pedal. i then braked, and the car slowed, only to resume speeding up when i lifted my foot off the brake. after i braked again, harder, the car slowed and the ghost acceleration problem went away. however, the same thing happened again several times during the 50-mile freeway trip. the pedal seemed to be mechanically sticking. the problem did not seem to be electronic, although i could not be sure. after exiting the freeway, the accelerator got stuck several times while on local roads. i was familiar with the problem by now and was ready at any time to shift into neutral if necessary. i did shift into neutral once to avoid a potential collision when approaching an intersection. while the car was in neutral, i tried tapping the accelerator pedal to see if that would unstick it. instead, the rpms merely increased to a higher level, sticking again at the higher rate. i managed to get the car home, mostly on the freeway, without any serious mishaps. i previously had been somewhat skeptical of the much-reported acceleration problem with toyota vehicles. however, i can now say from experience that when your car holds its speed or speeds up after you lift your foot off the accelerator, it's a strange and unsettling experience. i can easily imagine some drivers panicking. we were lucky that i was driving, and not my wife or kids, who have much less driving experience. at home, i discovered online that ford has recalled many 2000-2003 tauruses for sticking-accelerator problems. i can tell you that it's a problem for our 2004 taurus as well. *tr

when accelerating at about 40 mph the cruise control would not work when i tried to engage it, however the car began speeding up quickly while my foot was off the gas peddle. i tried to engage/disengage the cruise control but got no response, except the engine rpm and car was still speeding up, the car was getting close to 60mph and i began putting on the brakes the car was still trying to accelerate and rpm still going up as i was stopping the car. this car continues to accelerate faster on it's own when driven and today 5/19/14 again from about 35 to 50 in about a mile, this was not as severe as the first time but is troubling and a waste of my gas and brakes. this is a taurus sel with automatic trans. and a 3.9l v6 engine. i found the cruise control cable off of the lever it connects to near the intake manifold( after reading about other taurus models/years with the same problem). i will be contacting a ford dealer to see if they have a fix as cable is still very loose after i tried to reconnect it. *tr

Wife was taking child to an appointment in another city (half hour from us) and got into town there and the accelerator stuck. she called me scared wondering what to do. she was able to make if off the busy street and into a parking lot. put in park and the rpms went up to over 4k. shut car off and turned back on and same thing. had to have it towed back to our house. thought we fixed the problem and then last night it happened to me as i drove down the highway. had to hold brakes to keep at highway speed and keep from running into car in front of me. now cruise isn't working. *tr

My car began accelerating on its own. it was traveling around 65 mph without touching the gas pedal. i had to drive with the brakes depressed to keep the car from accelerating even more. when i turned the car off and then restarted it, the engine was going very fast and if i put it in drive, it accelerated on its own. ' however, today it seems okay. *tr