NHTSA Complaint #10470288 — 2005 FORD TAURUS

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. LUCKILY THE TRAFFIC DIDN'T STOP FOR TOO LONG, OTHERWISE I MIGHT HAVE GIVEN UP AND JUST HIT THE CAR 1 METER IN FRONT OF ME. I REALIZED ONLY LATER THAT I COULD HAVE ALSO SHIFTED THE GEAR TO NEUTRAL OR TURNED OFF THE CAR. I TOOK THE CAR TO A MECHANIC THIS SATURDAY BUT HE WASN'T SURE WHAT'S HAPPENING BECAUSE THE PROBLEM IS NOT REGULARLY DUPLICATE. THEN I LOOKED UP THIS ONLINE AND FOUND THAT THIS IS PROBABLY A COMMON PROBLEM WITH TAURUS 2005 AND 2006, I AM JUST ANOTHER VICTIM. ALTHOUGH ACCIDENT DIDN'T HAPPEN, IT WAS VERY SCARY. CERTAINLY SUCH ACCIDENT COULDN'T HAVE BEEN PREVENTED IF IT WAS MY WIFE DRIVING THE CAR. *TR