Automatic Transmission Torque Converter problems of the 2004 Ford Taurus

I was driving on the highway doing around 70 and, all of a sudden, the rpm's revved up really high (into the 7000's) and the car indicator said check transmission. I quickly changed lanes and got onto the shoulder and shut off my car. I let it sit for ten minutes while I checked for visible problems. Finding none, I then turned the car back on and put it in gear and it would not move. I tried it in every gear but the car still refused to move. I then had it towed to a mechanic that said that my transmission was bad. My regular mechanic and I had done some research over the phone while we were waiting to hear back from the mechanic and found that other people had the same problem. They said that it was the fault of a bad torque converter. Ford actually has a lot of complaints about bad torque converters and did a recall for their 2004 freestar which I had heard uses the same torque converter as the Taurus. After researching, I decided to take my car to a transmission shop instead and they confirmed that the torque converter was indeed bad. The splines had stripped out and/or broke. It cost $1400. 00 to replace it for a car that had a little over 57000 miles. During my research I came across others who had even less mileage on their Taurus's when their torque converters died.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, the engine stalled without warning. The engine failed to restart after several attempts. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the torque converter was replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 66,700.

I was accelerating from a stop light, when all of a sudden the engine speed increased and the car slowed down. As the car was slowing down in heavy traffic I attempted to accelerate but all that happened is the engine revved higher. I was in heavy 2 way traffic and was lucky enough to notice a turn off into a parking lot before the car came to a complete stop. I proceeded to try the car in all gears but no movement occurred. It is like it is like the car is stuck in neutral. I had to have it towed to a local garage where it was diagnosed with a known problem with these transmissions. I was told the splines inside the torque converter strip out and fails to spin the shaft that spins the fluid pump. This is a know problem and a recall was issued (11s25) for Ford freestar using the same transmission. I called Ford and was told this car does not fall under the recall even though it is the same transmission.

Torque converter failed in driveway October 2012. Almost $1000 in repair costs. 2004 Taurus with only 35,000 miles. The only owner/driver is my retired mother. Car was always well maintained. Very fortunate the failure did not occur on the highway.

I spent 4 hours at night waiting for a tow truck to arrive. All most got hit by a semi trying to get this pos off the road. That was $150 for the tow and now I need to spend more to get this 2004 Taurus running. I am a Ford fan as you can tell by my email address. I even drag race mustangs. I am thinking about going Honda for my daily driver. Problem was a improperly heat treated torque converter spline. Has left 100's if not 1000's of us stranded. Gives out with no warning. Car just stops moving. Car was down for 1 week and cost ended up being just over $1000.

2004 Ford Taurus with approx 101k miles. Turning left at a traffic light, the transmission disengaged without warning. The engine runs fine, but the transmission will not engage in any gear. The dealer says there is zero line pressure and the pump shaft and torque converter needs to be replaced. $1700. 00 or basically a total rebuild. This is dangerous!!!.

I bought my 2004 Ford Taurus new and have had no major repair problems. It currently has just over 140,000 miles on it. Yesterday my wife was traveling on the interstate, when the vehicle suddenly lost power at 70 miles per hour and began making a loud "whining" noise in the engine compartment. She was fortunately able to coast to the shoulder, where she put the gear selector in "park" and turned the ignition off. After letting the vehicle sit for a few minutes she restarted the car and put the gear selector in "drive". The loud "whining" noise continued, and each time that she depressed the accelerator the rpm's increased as the engine revved, but the car would not move. I had it towed to a transmission repair facility where the electronic components of the transmission were tested. There were no malfunctions detected in the electronic components. I was informed that the transmission would have to be removed, as the malfunction was due to a failure of either the torque converter, the transmission, or possibly both. The repair estimates were quoted to be about $850. 00 if the failure was due to a faulty torque converter, which the technician informed me was a quite common problem with that model, as the splines often stripped out. The second quote was for about $1500. 00 if metal shavings are found in the transmission pan, which would indicate that the failure was a result of a faulty component in the transmission, which would require a transmission overhaul. I searched yahoo for "2004 Ford Taurus transmission problems" and discovered an overwhelming amount of consumer complaints involving the same manufacturer defect. Many of the consumers filed complaints with Ford motor company, but Ford refuses to admit that there is a defect in the parts, materials, or design. Ironically I found that the defective transmission components were used in the 2002 to 2006 models. Prior to my 2004 model, I owned a 2000 model Taurus with over 100,000 miles and never had any problems.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while reversing and attempting to shift the gear into drive, the gear would not release from the neutral position. The vehicle was towed to a local transmission specialist, where the contact was informed that the torque converter failed. The manufacturer denied assistance with the repair. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 64,105 and the current mileage was 65,000.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Taurus. The contact was attempting to enter a highway with the overdrive activated. As he attempted to accelerate, the vehicle would not respond despite several attempts. The contact disengaged the overdrive as the vehicle resumed normal operation until the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was advised that the torque converter would need replacing. The vehicle was repaired yet the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the technician was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not further repaired. The failure mileage was 82,439 and the current mileage was 86,978. Updated 04/12/lj.

I have been a Ford employee for 17 years and have followed all maintenance on my 2004 Ford Taurus se 3. 0 liter vulcan 2-valve better than the dealer would. It has 138,000 very easy driven miles on it. I live about 35 mile from the plant one way. The transmission has been serviced by me with all Ford parts, fluids, etc. No warning, no codes from snap-on scanner, no check engine light and to top it all off my wife was pulling across three lanes of oncoming traffic when the transaxle just let go. No forward or reverse gears at all. Car only had a slight vibration at 45-60mph on acceleration for about two weeks before this happened. It was very slight and you could only feel it in the seat of your pants. She was almost t-boned by a super-duty truck with my children in the car with her. I have seen all of the other complaints about these transmissions. I wonder how many people were not as lucky not to be hit because of the same problem. I have not drop the powertrain pod as Ford calls them to check what broke. I would bet a months pay it was the torque converter because of all of the same issues I have read and been about this safety issue with them. I have talked with the quality rep here at our plant and he did contact Ford but they tell me they haven't had enough of these go out to place a recall on them or enough people hurt or killed. That is the most unsafe failure I have ever seen in a car of any type. I am a product evaluator for Ford and test drive new super-dutys everyday. I know this is a major design flaw in these transmissions and Ford knows !!!! that is why Ford only covers them under a 36,000 mile warranty unless you pay an extra 2500 for the extended warranty. I don't want people to have to get hurt or worse before this issue get resolved or recalled. They have known for awhile. I have talked with other workers at my plant from atlanta, GA where they did build them until the junk start pouring down the assembly line. 3500 for a new trans.

Was driving along missouri hwy 92 at about 35 mph in my 2004 Ford Taurus when I turned off and the car seemed to slip out of gear. Depressed accelerator and the tachometer revved but car decelerated and began rolling backwards back into the highway (I was on an incline). No dashboard warning lights came on nor was there any unusual auto noises. Was able to stop the vehicle before it rolled completely into the highway. Shifted through all gears and it would not engage in any gear. The dealership gave me an estimate of $172. 00 in which to run a 27 point inspection or I would have to remove the transmission for further evaluation at a cost of approximately $1500. 00 saying it was likely the torque converter. In light of the recent Toyota acceleration problems I find it amazing that another car dealership has no regard for their product! I purchased this car from a fleet dealer with less than 6,000 miles on it. I have had regular maintenance done on it for upkeep and never had any problems. Had my 16 year old daughter been driving this, I am certain it would have resulted in an accident with dire consequences. I have found a website with at least 80 complaints of the same nature, and several service stations which I have contacted which have informed me this happens frequently with the Taurus's.

Torque converter failed,driving on interstate highway torque converter went out,trouble getting it to side of road in traffic.