Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Ford Taurus owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
At times the vehicle accelerates by itself albeit I am not touching the gas pedal. While driving the vehicle at 45 mph, I take my foot off of the accelerator and the vehicle maintains the 45 mph speed or increases speed if I am driving down a hill or any downward gradient regardless of the angle of decent. When I try to stop the vehicle using the foot brake it continues to maintain speed and if I put the shift lever in neutral, while trying to stop, the RPM's increase from approximately 1500 rpm's to 3200 rpm's until the vehicle comes to a complete stop, and then, only after approximately five seconds do the RPM's begin to drop to 1000 rpm's. If I am driving the vehicle with cruise control and cancel the cruise control, the vehicle maintains the cruise control speed indefinitely, literally for miles thereafter. …
Vehicle was traveling southbound in the outside lane of a 4 lane hwy. Vehicle changed lanes abruptly and went left of the center of roadway entering into the nourthbound lanes of traffic, continuing in a southbound direction, the vehicle departed the east side and collided with the end portion of a guardrail. The inside portion of the right front tire caught the outside of gaurdrail causing the car to straddle the top of the rail until the undercarriage of the car caught on a post of the rail causing the car to slide sideways until the left side tires dug into the ground and flipped the car completely over where it continued to travel south, rolling over again, colliding with a wood post then finally coming to rest on it's tires facing northwest. No airbags deployed at any point of the collision. Gearshift was between neutral and overdrive.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. While driving approximately 65 MPH with the cruise control engaged, the contact depressed the brake pedal and the vehicle's speed rapidly increased without warning. The contact lost control of the vehicle, drove into a grass field over a dip in the field which caused the vehicle to roll over and Land upside down. While flipped upside down, the engine continued to rev until the vehicle was powered off. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The contact and two passengers sustained unknown injuries that required medical attention. The approximate failure mileage was 177,000.
Driving in intermittent rain showers at 60-70mph I had the engine cut out and dropped out of cruise control. Speedometer and tachometer bouncing up and down. Theft and engine light were flashing on and off at the same time as engine was stalling. Then the engine reengaged at 50-55 MPH and continued on now responsive to gas pedal and acceleration. This repeated 5 - 8x in the span of 15 miles and several times pulling over. Weather cleared and drove another 100 miles with no events. Next morning driving kids to school after 10 minutes of running 25-40mph the same problem recurred but engine did not recover and completely stalled 3x in 1 mile. Restarted immediately each time. Reading through potential causes there were no less than 30 other individuals describing the exact same issue. Theft light on and engine stalling while driving. …
On February 5, 2010 my 2003 Ford Taurus caught fire at 1:00 p.m. Parked under our car porch and there was no one in the car and no one had driven the car for 5 hours on Saturday morning. The shreveport fire department was call to keep the house from burning down with the car. The city fire marshall said the fire was caused by the cruise control switch. I told him no one uses the cruise control in that car because we just go in town and there is a red light at every corner. He stated that he had been to many other fires just like this one and it was always the cruise control switch. My husband is emotionally disabled and I nearly had a nervous breakdown just the sight that our investment was burning up and there was nothing we could do. I have call the fire marshall for a written copy of his report. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. While driving approximately 70 MPH, the throttle control cable became stuck. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The driver placed excessive pressure on the brake pedal, pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road, and shut off the engine. The contact assisted the driver with releasing the stuck cable. The vehicle was restarted. The contact called avis Ford inc at [phone] (29200 telegraph rd, southfield, michigan 48034) and was informed that an unknown recall repair was previously performed on the vehicle and would not be done again. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. While driving at an unknown speed, the accelerator pedal became stuck without warning and there was a sudden increase of engine rpms. The vehicle was merged to the side of the road, where it was turned off and towed to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the throttle cable was defective and needed to be replaced. The contact mentioned that there was a manufacturer service campaign directly related to the failure; however, the vehicle was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 160,000.
I was pulling into a gas station, going to a gas pump, when all of a sudden the rpms revved up and the car accelerated on its own. I was able to avoid the gas pump and instead went over a ramp which caused the car to go airborne. I went through a fence and hit a pole. The impact caused enough damage on the car for the car to come to an abrupt and complete stop. The car has been totaled. I have seen other reports on 2003 Ford Taurus regarding acceleration problems/issues. I would like for my incident to be part of the investigation.
While driving my car began to accelerate and the more I tried to put on my brakes it continues on a busy 4 lane street. I was able to turn at a turn in slamming in on my brakes and throwing my shaft into park. It was still shaking like it wanted to go. I got it towed to my mechanic. The cruise control throttle cable insert split and got caught on the throttle bracket. It could have killed me and hurt a lot of people. I can't sell this car like this. I want Ford to recall and reimburse me for this terrible traumatic incident.
Put vehicle in shop vehicle had rough idle, misfiring on #2 cylinder. Shop removed and replaced spark plug, air filter, fuel filter, and ignition coil. Got vehicle from shop. Vehicle idle too high-speeds up on its own. Took back to shop shop removed and replaced idle air control valve got vehicle out of shop. Vehicle still idle too high and still speeds up on its own. When stopped at stop light, when the breaks are released, car jumps forward. When backing up out of garage, car back-up too fast; must hold breaks at all times.
NHTSA investigations
Speed control cable damage
On June 21, 2013, Ford initiated Customer Satisfaction Program 13B04 to address a concern with Speed Control Cable damage in certain model year (MY) 2000 through 2003 Taurus and Sable vehicles equipped with 3.0L 4V Duratec engines and built at the Chicago assembly plant.In the dealer letter for the program, Ford indicates that the Speed Control Cables on affected vehicles may be susceptible to damage or becoming…
Acceleration complaints in other Taurus years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2003 Ford Taurus?
NHTSA has 88 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2003 Ford Taurus, 7% of the model year's 1,223 complaints. The component named most often is cruise control (3 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Ford Taurus acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2003 Ford Taurus, though it has 3 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2003 Ford Taurus acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 104,000 miles, and 12% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 6 crashes, 1 fire and 9 injuries and 1 death to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.