Problems · by component
2008 Ford Taurus vehicle speed control problems
32 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2008 Ford Taurus cite vehicle speed control, 18% of all 175 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
32
18% of all complaints
Crashes
7
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
Reported by owners
What owners say about the vehicle speed control
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the front driver's side seat belt had failed to unbuckle and was previously repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously rear-ended on several occasions, and the air bags did not deploy. The contact had sustained severe back injuries that had become permanent. The contact had received medical assistance. A police report was filed. The vehicle was able to be driven from the scene on each occasion. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at 5 MPH, the vehicle experienced sudden and unintended acceleration. The contact depressed the brake pedal, and the vehicle responded as intended. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 142,000.”
“THIS HAS HAPPENED ABOUT 3 TIMES IN THE LAST 2 YRS BUT WHILE SITTING AT A LIGHT MY CAR SUDDENLY WENT FORWARD. IT DIDN'T GO.TO FAR. MAYBE A FT OR 2 BUT WAS ENOUGH TO SCARE ME. MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE. IT WILL ALSO GET STUCK IN GEARS AND LOSE POWER ON THE ROAD. NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON AS OF NOW. ONE LIGHT DID COME ON TODAY WHILE SITTING AT A LIGHT AND WITHOUT NOTICE MY CAR WOULD NOT GO. IT WAS THE POWER THROTTLE/TRANSMISSION LIGHT. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND THEN BACK ON AND IT DROVE FINE ALL THE WAY HOME. IT DID JERK ONCE. THE GEAR SHIFTING AND LOSS OF POWER HAPPENS WHEN I AM DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY.”
“WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY MY CAR STARTED TO IDLE HIGH AND SPEED GAINED WITHOUT ME DOING IT. I TRIED TO PUSH ON THE BRAKE TO SLOW CAR DOWN BUT BRAKE WOULD NOT WORK, I GOT OFF FREEWAY AND PUSHING AS HARD AS I COULD ON THE BRAKE THE CAR SLOWED SOMEWHAT., THERE WAS A HILL WHICH CAUSED ME TO AGAIN GAIN SPEED AND I PUT CAR IN PARK AND TO STOPPED. I TOWED TO AUTO REPAIR AND WHEN COMPUTER TEST WAS RAN NO CODES CAME UP.”
“CAR WOULD SUDDENLY JOLT FORWARD EVEN THOUGH I WAS SECURELY STOPPED AT A LIGHT OR STOP SIGN. SOMETIMES, IT FELT LIKE IT JOLTED FORWARD AS MUCH AS 4 FEET - EVEN THOUGH MY FOOT WAS FIRMLY ON THE BRAKE AT ALL TIMES. (I TRIED TURNING OFF THE A/C TO SEE IF THERE WAS A POWER SURGE CAUSING THE PROBLEM. A/C ON OR OFF MADE NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL.) THIS WOULD HAPPEN SO OFTEN, THAT I WOULD HAVE TO STOP MORE THAN A CAR LENGTH AWAY FROM ALL INTERSECTIONS OR OTHER VEHICLES ALREADY STOPPED SO I WOULD NOT HIT THEM WHEN THE CAR JOLTED. IT BECAME AN EXPECTED EVENT . BRAKES WERE NOT SUFFICIENT TO HOLD THE CAR BACK FROM THESE SUDDEN JOLTS - UNFORTUNATELY. COMING HOME ONE NIGHT, CAR STARTED ACCELERATING BEYOND THE AMOUNT I WAS PUSHING THE GAS PEDAL AND THEN IT SUDDENLY LOST POWER EVEN THOUGH I WAS NOW TRYING TO ACCELERATE. NEW DASH LIGHTS - WRENCH, AIRBAG, AND GAS ALL CAME ON. MILEAGE DISPLAY DISAPPEARED AND, INSTEAD, CAR SHOWED THAT CAR WAS EMPTY OF GAS (I HAD FILLED THE TANK NIGHT BEFORE AND WAS SHOWING "FULL" PRIOR TO THIS SUDDEN CHANGE WITH VEHICLE.) BARELY MADE IT HOME AND CAR DID NOT ACCELERATE ENOUGH TO GO UP THE SLIGHTEST INCLINE OF DRIVEWAY APRON. REPAIR WAS MADE TO…”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD TAURUS. WHILE DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE PROPERLY. WHILE ACCELERATING FROM A STOP, THE VEHICLE HESITATED TO ACCELERATE AND DROVE VERY SLOWLY WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED TO THE FLOORBOARD. THE VEHICLE WOULD THEN RAPIDLY ACCELERATE AND ALMOST CAUSE THE DRIVER TO LOSE CONTROL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO MOUW FORD (1245 NORTH MAIN AVE, SIOUX CENTER, IA) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE THROTTLE BODY WAS FAULTY. THE THROTTLE BODY WAS REPLACED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 81,000. *TT”
“ON 1/23/2018, MY 2008 FORD TAURUS EXPERIENCED, FOR THE FIRST (AND SO FAR, ONLY) TIME, THE SAME POWERTRAIN SYMPTOMS DESCRIBED AT FORD TSB NUMBERS 07-21-11 AND 08-26-13 (FOUND AT HTTP://WWW.REVBASE.COM/BBBMOTOR/TSB/DOWNLOADPDF?ID=139970 AND HTTP://WWW.REVBASE.COM/BBBMOTOR/TSB/DOWNLOADPDF?ID=147402, RESPECTIVELY). SPECIFICALLY, WHILE IDLING AT A STOP LIGHT IN PREPARATION FOR A TURN, MY VEHICLE SHIFTED OUT OF GEAR WITH NO INPUT FROM ME. I NOTICED THIS WHEN, AS I ATTEMPTED TO SLOWLY ACCELERATE INTO THE MERGE LANE, THE VEHICLE DID NOT MOVE. THERE WAS NO SOUND OR OTHER SIGN THAT THE VEHICLE HAD SHIFTED OUT OF GEAR SPONTANEOUSLY. I SHIFTED THE VEHICLE INTO REVERSE, AND THE VEHICLE ROLLED BACK AS IT SHOULD. WHEN I SHIFTED BACK INTO DRIVE, THERE WAS A SMALL CLUNK. THE VEHICLE DID NOT RESPOND TO THE ACCELERATOR, UP TO AROUND 1,500 RPMS. I PUT THE CAR IN PARK, AND HEARD/FELT A LARGER CLUNK, AND NOTICED THAT THE YELLOW WRENCH ICON ON THE DASH ILLUMINATED. I TURNED OFF THE ENGINE, WAITED 30 SECONDS, AND RESTARTED THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE THEN OPERATED NORMALLY FROM THAT POINT FORWARD WITH NO SIGNS OF TRANSMISSION OR SHIFTING ISSUES. THE YELLOW WRENCH LIGHT DID NOT REAPPEAR,…”
Showing 6 of 32 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 8, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.