First, I want to say that this vehicle is well maintained and serviced on a regular basis. It was a pleasant summer day but had more of a autumn feeling whether. I was driving on the interstate in East Tennessee, I had just merge onto the interstate and had been driving for maybe 10 minutes. I slowed down for traffic to about 40 mph as I crest a hill. When I stepped back onto the gas (going down hill now), I felt the car shift into 4 gear. I then felt, and heard a pop similar to a blowout, but in reality it was the car sliding out of gear. I had only managed to reach about 50mph when the car stop accelerating, (I put on my hazards) I was trying to coast to a safe place, but the construction projects made no place to pull off. Within 5 seconds, a car traveling behind me was bumped by a tractor trailer and was knocked into me. My Ford mechanic says the transmission is shot and the catalytic converter went out (was that the popping noise? I wonder.) $3500 to fix this problem. I have google 05 transmission problems and have found numerous over 500 problems that have to do with. I don't know whether Ford was trying to save a few dollars, or if they were trying to save fuel mileage, but this transmission is a serious problem. I will not buy another Ford if this problem doesn't get resolve by Ford recalling these transmissions. Last laugh, insurance companies will repair any car to the quality it was just before the wreck (no better, no worse.). since my transmission went out before the car wreck, they can replace it, ergo... the insurance covers the body work, but will not cover the transmission. My question to Ford is does someone have to die before you fix your errors. My father worked at Ford for 22 years; he would be.... really disappointed to see what Ford pass for quality.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

Stopped at light, car started to rev RPM's. could not hold on brakes enough to stop moving. Went through red light around two cars as speed reached about 70mph. Both feet on brakes, could smell them burning, got to side of road and slammed into park and turned car off. Wow, the scariest thing I have ever experienced. If there was heavy traffic someone would have been killed, no doubt in my mind.happened on thruway two weeks earlier, only lasted a minute, thought the mat was stuck, it was not. Called Ford and they could not help as there is no recall. Took it to Ford dealer, they disconnect crusie cable. Don't know if this was really the problem, just got it back. I am very fearful to drive it, because you never know when it will do it again. Please someone make Ford wake up about this problem before someone is killed. I wouldn't feel right trading it in, for fear of someone else getting killed.

- Rochester, NY, USA

I just recently purchased a 2005 Ford Taurus and it was running fine for like 2 days. Then the cruise stopped working a few days later the accelerator began to stick. I was going about 30 and suddenly the car began to take off on its own and I nearly hit the car in front of me. I had to steer off the road and pressing the brakes was very hard. This seems to be a trend for the car and is extremely dangerous!! someone should not have to die for this to be recalled!!

- Lake Charles, LA, USA

Transmission went out on my 2005 Ford Taurus sel. There is less than 65,000 miles on this car. The manufacturer should issue a recall on the transmission of this model year. Transmission issues are the number one complaint on all the websites I visited. I now have to pay $3,000+ to fix the transmission on a car worth $7,500 - this is not a good quality vehicle.

- Olympia, WA, USA

This happened in a 2005 Ford Taurus SE sedan with the 3.0L vulcan V6 flex-fuel engine. Car was just hitting 85,000 when the problem appeared. Car began to make a squealing noise- which turned out to be the belt beginning to wear heavily. It was changed, and the noise became even worse. Now an added clunking sound began to manifest itself. It was found out to be the A/C compressor beginning to break. In fact, a nut or something had become lose, which was the clunking noise I heard. The whole compressor had to be replaced and filled (so I can use the A/C.) and a new belt had to be bought as well. If this compressor wasn't replaced, it would have failed- causing it to seize, the belt to break, and my engine to quickly overheat and probably crack. It took around 2 hours to replace everything- including letting the broken A/C compressor out. Illegal, but I could not afford taking it to the dealer and getting charged $800+ so I had my brother in law do it. Altogether I spent around $350 for parts and labor. I later learned, from my mechanic friend, that Taurus' hitting around 80K have this same A/C compressor failure like clockwork. It's a common problem, that is expensive, and should have been fixed if it is known what causes it.

- Clay, NY, USA

While driving home from work in my 2005 Ford Taurus I experienced the following sudden acceleration problem: I was stopped in heavy traffic with my foot on the brake. I then felt the car start to vibrate and the car started to lurch forward. I pressed harder on the brakes and noticed the RPM's were climbing from 900 to over 1500. I tried restarting the engine but when I put the car in neutral or park the RPM's suddenly accelerated to over 4000 and climbing. The engine was "screaming" and there was a burning smell. I tried tapping the gas pedal to see if it was stuck but that didn't help. As I couldn't pull off due to bumper to bumper traffic over the bridge, I had to ride the brakes all the way home. Once home we popped the hood and found that a throttle cable had come off for no reason. What angers me besides that I could have died or been seriously injured causing a major crash, is that there is no safely. If the cable comes off why is it accelerating, it should have slowed or not moved as it would have been in a neutral position. Why hasn't this been recalled"! it seems to be a continuously reported problem for this car. How is it that only the 2005 Taurus model has absolutely no recalls but every year around 2005 has a recall?!? what takes so [xxx] long to recall this obviously dangerous defect?!" I have taken video of my ride home so it proves that no, I did not have my foot on the gas, no, I did not have a car mat stuck under the gas pedal, no I did not hit the gas pedal thinking it was the brake!!!!!!!! even with the cable reattached there is still occasional unintended RPM increase and engine surges. This is [xxx] scary to drive and wonder when it will happen again. Get this recalled already!!! information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Savannah, GA, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated there was an overpowering gasoline fuel odor emitting form the vehicle. The contact discovered that the sixth spark plug was stripped and a portion of the spark plug fractured into the core or the cylinder of the engine, causing the engine to fail. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The VIN was not available. The current and failure mileage was under 100,000.

- Omaha, NE, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. While driving approximately 70 mph, there was an abnormal increase in engine rpms as the vehicle began to lose power. The contact applied the accelerator pedal numerous times yet the vehicle would not accelerate. Immediately, the gear was shifted from overdrive to the drive. The failure continued and the vehicle was turned off and towed to an authorized dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed for the failure. There were no repairs. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.

- New Bern, NC, USA

I am writing you to notify you of the problems I have had with my 2005 Ford Taurus (VIN # [xxx]). the car currently has approximately 66,000 miles on it. I took my car for service and the technician notified me that the timing gear gasket was leaking coolant. The technician knew about this problem and that it is common for Ford engines to start leaking at this spot around 60,000 miles. The dealer wants approximately $700 to fix the leak. Another problem I had with the car happened last winter when the check engine light came on and I took the car in for service and was told this was a common problem with Ford and there was a technical service bulletin on it. A tune up was performed at a cost to me of $416.91. I was told that if the tune up didn't solve the problem then the computer would need to be re-flashed at the cost of $200. I previously sent Ford Motor Company an E-mail about this but never received a response. I don't feel it is right for a vehicle to have these sorts of problems at only 66,000 miles and I believe that the gasket is a poor design. The dealer advised me that he was going to put on an after market gasket and it would be of better quality than the one that it in their now. These problems substantially impairs both the use and value of my car. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Ashburn, VA, USA

When it is cold (30 or below degrees) the engines dies right after you start it. I was going 60 mph on the interstate when the engine just died. I have been trying to get this problem fixed since Dec. 2009, my machanic cannot see to fix the problem. He keeps replacing parts, but, appartently not the right one.

- Dallas, GA, USA

My 2005 Ford Taurus seems to have a mysterious problem that two dealerships and my mechanic cannot recreate. The problem does not occur on a regular basis. The problem is when the brake pedal is depressed, the ABS light and check brake signal flashes, and then the engine light comes on, the battery light comes on and the car stalls...stops dead in its track. If does not happen on a cold start only after the car has been running during the day. I took it to one Ford dealership and they replaced engine intake value. That seemed to work for about 1 year. One year to the day, it starts again. The next Ford dealership had it for about 5 days and could not re-create the problem. However, they replace the air intake valve, spark plugs and a new belt. The problem occurred 5 days later but much worse. The car stalled 4 times in one trip. The following day, it worked on the cold start and 4 hours later, it stalled twice going 1500 feet. There is something wrong with the car no one can fix it. The diagnostic test machine shows no error.

- Pelham, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the vehicle will only start after 4-5 attempts. The vehicle also stalls at any given moment and speed. The most recent failure occurred while driving 55 mph, but the vehicle can stall when coming to a stop as well. Once the vehicle stalls, he places it in neutral and it restarts immediately. The contact believes this is a safety issue because the vehicle can stall on the highway. The current mileage is 53,000 and failure mileage was 45,000.

- Kennesaw, GA, USA

Ford FFV Taurus VIN 1fafp53255A 195410 car was purchased new 9-06-05 car won't start properly on E-85 even though car is advertised as E-85 flex fuel capable. Ford motor has said they are working on repair for the problem.

- Hastings, NE, USA