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2005 Ford Five Hundred Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 510 complaints with NHTSA about the 2005 Ford Five Hundred, most often about the transmission (27% of complaints, typically around 73,000 miles). It is the most complained-about Five Hundred model year since 2000 and has 2 recalls.
Most common 2005 Ford Five Hundred problems
Transmission
136 complaints · 27%Half of these problems showed up before 73,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, driveline, axle assembly, manual transmission.
Transmission bucked when trying to pass at highway speeds. Vehicle has 73,000 miles and now transmission has to be replaced. Entire transmission replaced due to seal failure inside transmission.
2005 Ford 500 - limited received a AWD malfunction with in the dashboard warning system. The malfunction has been off and on for the last two weeks. No apparent drivabilty when the malfunction comes on. Would reset it self after the ignition is turned off and the warning would come on back on after approximately 25…
Engine
107 complaints · 21%Half of these problems showed up before 85,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine, cooling system.
2005 Ford 500 with approx. 85,000 miles lurches forward or in reverse without pressing the accelerator after period of idle such as at a red light or in line at a drive through restaurant. The lurch is significant, violent enough to make passenger think they were hit from behind. I narrowly avoided collisions with…
The car would go into "fail safe engine mode." I could not accelerate. This happened several times on the highway putting my life and the life of my family in jeopardy. I suddenly had no power at 65 MPH. I brought it to a Ford dealer and mechanic who ran the system on the computer speculating it was the throttle body…
Speed control
104 complaints · 20%Half of these problems showed up before 94,500 miles. Parts named most often: accelerator pedal.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Five Hundred. While attempting to park, the contact stated that the vehicle surged forward. The failure recurred when the air conditioner was activated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostics where the technician advised that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The…
I unfortunately own a 05 Ford Five Hundred with 95,784 miles on it. The problem started happening about a year ago and at first I thought that it was my foot hitting the gas when I put my foot on the brake. Then I noticed when I would but it in gear it would try to take off on it's own. I finally had enough just last…
Electrical
95 complaints · 19%Half of these problems showed up before 75,000 miles. Parts named most often: instrument cluster/panel, wiring, ignition, 12v/24v/48v battery.
Started driving my 2005 Ford Five Hundred sel front wheel drive as I normally do, except the instrument cluster and lights started flickering, my A/C turned off and check engine light came on. After stopping on the side of the road everything returned to normal. About 40 minutes later a similar situation occurred…
Tl contact owns a 2005 Ford Five Hundred. While the contact was parking the vehicle, all of the gauges on the instrument panel failed to function. The failure also recurred intermittently while driving at various speeds. The contact also stated that when the failure occurred she was not able to use the turn signals.…
Brakes
44 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 33,000 miles. Parts named most often: foundation components, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip.
- the contact has a 2005 Ford 500 with an odometer reading of 34900 miles and his rear break pads have worn out. The contact heard a grinding noise coming from the rear of the vehicle and found that his rear break pads are grinding into the rotors, but his front break pads are less than half way warn. The contact…
Brand new 2005 Ford 500 purchased on september 24 2005 began at 15000 miles with brake problems. Same problem occurred at 30,000 miles. My job is 100% sales and my car is my only revenue provider. At 35,000 car showing problems when hitting the gas, it would not run. At 39,000 miles an electric short circuit. At…
Fuel system
44 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 101,000 miles. Parts named most often: delivery, storage.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Five Hundred. While reversing out of the driveway, the contact noticed a puddle of fuel on the garage floor, the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the fuel line was detached and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The vehicle was not…
My Ford Five Hundred has been unexpectedly surging when releasing the brake pedal when going forward and reverse. It has almost caused me to hit other vehicles in a parking lot on several occasions and makes it extremely difficult to control the speed of the vehicle when starting to accelerate. Something needs to be…
Body and structure
33 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 60,500 miles. Parts named most often: body, frame and members.
Right roof molding was found missing after something fell of car on local trip. There is no way this item should come off under normal driving conditions. Dealer wants over $116.00 to replace. This should be a warranty/recall item since it poses a risk to following traffic. The front windshield trim failed after just…
I have been trying to work with Ford ref # 366023289, and korum Ford in puyallup for a "water intrusion" problem on our Ford Five Hundred. After investigating this problem I see thousands of people with the same problem. I have kept good records of these emails and have a bill from korum. If you search for the problem…
Doors and locks
22 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 71,000 miles. Parts named most often: doors.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Five Hundred. The contact stated that the front driver side door would not latch properly after inclement weather such as ice, snow or rain. The contact would hold open the door handle and shove it a few times in order to enter on the passenger side to ensure that the door would remain…
I purchased a 2005 Ford 500 ltd. The first incident occurred while driving home from atlantic city. The dashboard lit up like I was starting the car and went into failsafe engine mode. After pulling over, the car ran normal. The next occurrence was when the car started shutting off while driving. It has done this on…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2005 Ford Five Hundred recalls
Doors and locks: latch
Risk: As a result, the door latch pawl may not return to the latch position when the door is closed, and the door could open while the vehicle is moving.
Fix: Dealers will install a shield over the front latches; seal a drain hole in the rear window trim molding on the freestyle rear side doors; and apply grease to all front and rear side-door latch mechanisms free of charge. The recall began on november 8, 2006. Owners may contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Full defect summary
On certain passenger vehicles currently registered in the following states: alaska, colorado, connecticut, delaware, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, kansas, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, montana, nebraska, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, north dakota, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, south dakota, utah, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, and wyoming. The side door latch mechanisms may experience water intrusion allowing the latch mechanism to freeze in cold weather.
Fuel system: mounting
Risk: If this happens, drivers may notice a noise or a fuel leak. A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source could result in a fire.
Fix: Dealers will replace both fuel tank straps. The recall began on december 1, 2005. Owners may contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Full defect summary
On certain passenger vehicles, the straps that secure the fuel tank to the vehicle body may break, causing the fuel tank and fuel tank heat shield to drop on the driveshaft (all wheel drive vehicles) or exhaust system (front wheel drive vehicles).
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Idle instability
Summary
On november 29, 2012, ford motor company (ford) initiated customer satisfaction program 12n03 to extend warranty coverage terms for repair of engine idle RPM surge caused by throttle body deposits in all model year (my) 2005 through 2007 ford freestyle, five hundred and mercury montego vehicles.the program extends the coverage for up to 10 years of service or 150,000 miles from the warranty start date of the vehicle (all vehicles are eligible for the program through may 31, 2013, regardless of mileage).dealers will repair vehicles exhibiting the condition by removing and cleaning the throttle body and reprogramming the PCM with software containing an updated idle speed control strategy.accor
Instrument cluster failure
Summary
The subject vehicles experience a loss of proper instrument cluster operation.typically, the problem appears as the needle on the gauge (speedometer, tachometer, fuel, and/or temperature) sweeps and resets intermittently.ford reports the problem as momentary power interruption causes the gauges to sweep and then recover to normal function.in august 2006, ford issued a technical service bulletin (tsb 06-17-9) to provide guidelines to service technicians for diagnosis and repair of this condition.odi's review of ford's response to the agency's informationrequest letter reveals that the majority of the reports to ford (63%) indicate that the instrument cluster would experience intermittent loss
Questions about the 2005 Ford Five Hundred
- What are the most common problems with the 2005 Ford Five Hundred?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: transmission (136 complaints, typically around 73,000 miles); engine (107 complaints, typically around 85,000 miles); speed control (104 complaints, typically around 94,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2005 Ford Five Hundred have?
- 2 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from October 5, 2006 (doors and locks). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2005 a bad year for the Ford Five Hundred?
- It is the most complained-about Five Hundred model year since 2000, with 510 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.