NHTSA Complaint #11109868 — 2008 FORD TAURUS

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 TRANSMISSION SPEED SENSOR. LESS THAN A WEEK LATER, I AM NOTICING THE SAME SUDDEN POWER SURGE/SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER. I TRY TO CONVINCE MYSELF THAT IT'S JUST BECAUSE I WAS SO SCARED DRIVING HOME THAT NIGHT. LESS THAN A MONTH, THE CAR IS DOING THE SAME THING AND I AM HAVING IT TOWED BACK TO DEALERSHIP. FROM COMPLAINTS I'VE SEEN ON INTERNET, THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM AND THIS SHOULD BE SUBJECT TO A RECALL. I BELIEVE THE REPLACEMENT PARTS ARE ALSO DEFECTIVE. THE OLDER WOMAN I BOUGHT THE CAR FROM WAS TOLD SHE WAS AT FAULT FOR AN ACCIDENT THAT I NOW BELIEVE WAS COMPLETELY THIS PROBLEM! SHE WAS BEEN TOLD SHE IS NOT ALLOWED TO DRIVE (WHICH IS WHY SHE SOLD ME HER CAR) AND IT IS THE FAULT OF THE CAR!!!!!