Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (fuel pump, injectors, fuel tank, hybrid and EV propulsion).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Ford Taurus owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I saw a recall notice in the news: 06n07 7807 for my vehicle powertrain control module PCM recalibrating for the flex fuel. I never received any notices by usps and have lived at the same address since 1984. I had the Taurus into two different Ford dealerships for service and no one mentioned the recall. As I am retired military my vehicles are always kept in top condition for travel at anytime. I was refused service on the Taurus ( tow different Ford dealership had completed work on the Taurus, without taking care of the recall) the service rep stated that the time for repair had passed. No wonder Ford motor company stock is down in the time passed, (I have service bills that show that two different Ford dealerships and I do have starting problems with the e85 fuel. I am wondering if other consumers have the same problem with the lack of notices for recall. …
My car began to try to rev up and try to go really fast . I had to slam on brakes and turn the motor off. After doing this I took it to a mechanics and was told my switch for the cruise control had popes off and stuck in my ignition and caused my car to accelerate. I almost killed myself several times. This also damaged my transmission. I have not been able to drive my car for years. I know nothing will be done but you should know. [redacted] . I will never buy another Ford. I called in a complaint to your president year's ago and never got a response. If anyone cares my number is [redacted].
My car will accelerate on its own without me pressing the gas. This happens at least 4 times a week while I am driving and happens when I am driving between 20 and 50 MPH. I can make the engine rev/acceleration stop by quickly tapping on the gas pedal. I have had the cruise control disconnected because my mechanic thought this was part of the problem but the random sef-acceleration has continued and seems to be getting more frequent. This has been going on off and on for a few years but has increased in frequency over the past few months.
This happened on 3 separate occasions when slowing to stop for a light or because of traffic. The engine would rev and feel like it was putting out more power than it should. If I had bad brakes, I would definitely have hit someone. I would either shift the car into neutral or park and the rpms would shoot up to 4. I had to pump the gas a few times to get it to return to normal. I took it to a repair shop and they diagnosed it as a faulty idle speed motor that was sticking and causing the throttle to be stuck wide open.
As the car gets to about 35-40mph it begins to accelerate causing me to have to tap several times the brake to disengage. The cars accelerator will also many times, stick as if its in cruise control, but the cruise control is off. This week I googled how to fix and saw many complaints, recall on almost 500,000 Ford Taurus as well as your pursuit to resolve. I would need it fixed before something serious occurs. Thank you gor uour consideration.
While traveling at 35 mile per hour the I removed my foot from the accelerator and the car continued in a manner as if it was on cruise control. I tapped the pedal a few times and put my foot behind and pulled and it released. Earlier my daughter was driving the car and reported that it accelerated and would not stop so she pulled into a parking lot nearly missing another vehicle and she turned the vehicle off.
While wife was driving, throttle became stuck open causing car to race forward. She applied brakes but had difficulty. She managed to get car to stop but engine was racing. She put into park and turned off. Minor damage to front valance due to pulling onto shoulder and embankment suddenly. Very dangerous situation. Updated 9/15/15 updated 2/2/2016
I have a 05 Ford Taurus with the same exact symptoms as the previous year Taurus had wich lead to a recall. My cruise control cable will come off the throttle body holding the throttle open and revving at 4 grand when pit in neutral to resolve the issue. After a week of disputing with the car dealership, they finally fixed it at no charge.
I bought my Taurus 2005 se at the end of February 2012 at mileage of approximately 81,600. It has occurred twice already that the car kept accelerating after I fully released the gas pedal. Both of them occurred on us hw1. The first time was in May and I wasn't sure what was happening at that time because the traffic wasn't stopped completely, before I could fully identify the problem, the traffic started moving fast again. The second time was last Saturday when I was driving from princeton to new york, my wife and 2 year old daughter were both in the car. The traffic was jamming and stopped completely at some point, then I had a really hard time in stopping my car. This time I had a clear feeling that the car was accelerating, although not at high power, but I had to use my full body strength to stop the car and kept pressing the brake for the whole time. …
On the morning of January 30, 2013; I was driving to work approximately at 8 am and noticed my car became difficult to stop. It appeared to be accelerating when I was not touching the gas and had to apply excessive force on the brake to allow the car to stop. Immediately upon releasing the brake pedal the car would quickly accelerate to 15-20 MPH. This continued on and off for my entire 15 mile commute to the office. Stepping heavily on the gas pedal seemed to stop the problem (seemed as if the pedal was stuck down). Placing the car into neutral was the only sure way to stop the acceleration. On January 31, 2013; the same problem occurred again. However, this time it happened at higher speeds. I was driving at 65 MPH without having to touch the gas as if the cruise control was set to 65. However, the cruise was off. Again...heavily pressing the gas pedal stopped the acceleration. …
NHTSA investigations
Engine stalling ffv
On October 11, 2006, public citizen petitioned odi to investigate reports of engine stalls caused by e85 fuel in certain model year (my) 2003 - 2005 Ford taurus flex-fuel vehicles (ffv). Odi's review of the petition and other available data found a low stall rate attributable to e-85 fueling and that the main concerns,prolonged engine start and rough idle during cold engine startup at winter temperatures, were…
Fuel System complaints in other Taurus years
Frequently asked questions
How common are fuel system problems on the 2005 Ford Taurus?
NHTSA has 41 complaints about the fuel & propulsion system of the 2005 Ford Taurus, 5% of the model year's 774 complaints. The component named most often is storage › tank assembly (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2005 Ford Taurus fuel system problems?
No. NHTSA lists no fuel & propulsion system recall for the 2005 Ford Taurus. 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 2005 Ford Taurus fuel system problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 100,000 miles, and 3% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 0 injuries to fuel & propulsion system 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.