2006 Ford Five Hundred Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 2006 Ford Five Hundred most often describe unwanted surging or lurching — the car speeding up or stalling at low speed, when shifting into drive or reverse, or with the brake applied — which many complaints link to the throttle body. Transmission complaints (harsh shifting, slipping, stalling at speed) are the second most common theme, followed by instrument cluster and electrical dropouts and premature rear brake wear. Reports are spread across a wide mileage range, with many appearing well past 60,000 miles.

1. 1
   Vehicle speed control

   Surging/lurching at low speed and stalling (throttle body)

   • 216 complaints (59%)
   • median 75,000 mi at 5.8 yrs old (200 state mileage)
   • 11 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • owner-quoted repair $850 (median of 24 quotes)
   • filed 2006–2021

   Complaints describe the car accelerating on its own while parking, pulling out of a space, or waiting at a light with the brake applied, sometimes accompanied by elevated engine speed. Several owners report the engine stalling or losing power at speed and restarting after a few attempts; dealers or independent shops commonly identified the throttle body or throttle control assembly for replacement, and some owners note the part was on back order. A few complaints mention a Ford customer program that cleaned and reprogrammed the throttle body, with the symptom returning later. Reported from as little as about 17,000 miles up to 150,000 miles, with many descriptions in the 40,000-100,000 mile range and some owners noting it is worse in hot weather with the air conditioning on.

   What to check: Drive the car at parking-lot speed and shift between drive and reverse with the brake held, watching for an unexplained rise in engine speed. Ask whether the throttle body has been replaced or reprogrammed and whether any reimbursement program was claimed.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “The engine surges when you put in drive or reverse. This is very dangerous. This is my wife's car and this problem has me concerned about her safety every time she gets in this car. I thought about getting rid of it but I couldn't let someone else have a car with this dangerous problem. I hope someone can find out what the remedy is for this problem. Please help.”

   NHTSA complaint #10413237, filed 2011-07, 110,000 miles

   “After starting car in garage and idling for about 30 seconds, I put car in reverse to back out of garage. The engine RPM's increased significantly, and the car shot backwards until I applied the brake. The car stopped and engine RPM returned to normal. This has happened several times. I am the second owner of the car, and I purchased the car from a private party with about 104,000 miles on it. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10451595, filed 2012-03, 105,000 miles
2. 2
   Transmission and drivetrain

   Transmission lurching, harsh shifting and stalling

   • 138 complaints (38%)
   • median 78,222 mi at 5.8 yrs old (130 state mileage)
   • 6 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • owner-quoted repair $800 (median of 13 quotes)
   • filed 2006–2021

   Owners describe the car lurching forward or backward when a gear is selected, harsh or delayed shifting, slipping, and occasionally losing drive or stalling while moving. Complaints mention dealers recommending valve body, mechatronic valve body or complete transmission replacement, and some say a PCM reprogram did not resolve the behavior. Others describe a wrench or engine warning light appearing along with the symptoms. Mostly reported between about 30,000 and 140,000 miles, sometimes within the first few thousand miles of ownership and often described as gradually worsening.

   5 related service bulletins

   What to check: Test the car from a cold start, selecting drive and reverse and driving at low speed, and note any clunk, lurch or delayed engagement. Ask for transmission service records and which fluid was used, since the original CVT fluid is no longer produced.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Starting aroung 37,500 I've had 8 failures while driving car cuts off and I had to turn ignition off and on for car to worked right at the time I did not realized it was a transmission problem. Today 9/10/2007 had car checked out and sevice technician advised to replace mechtronic valve body replace for a cost of $1,900.00 I declined. I advised service rep to reprogrammed PCM to latest calibration. Updated 01-14-08. Updated 12/12/07.”

   NHTSA complaint #10202433, filed 2007-09, 42,121 miles

   “I own a 2006 Ford Five Hundred, limited edition. When the car is put in gear, either drive or reverse, with my foot on the brake, it lurches forward or backwards 75% of the time. I bought my car used almost two years ago with 71,000 miles, and thought the lurching was normal. I took my car to a repair shop, and they said it was the type of transmission. Upon further research, I found out their theory was false, and it turns out the throttle body goes bad after about 30,000 miles. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10349112, filed 2010-08, 71,000 miles
3. 3
   Electrical system

   Instrument cluster and gauges cutting out

   • 30 complaints (8%)
   • median 75,000 mi at 6.4 yrs old (27 state mileage)
   • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2008–2022

   Complaints describe the gauges dropping to zero, warning lights flashing on, and the cluster going dark or resetting while driving, sometimes with the reverse lights staying on or accessories losing power. Some owners report a fuel gauge reading erratically or a battery light appearing; in some cases the cluster recovers after a few minutes, and in others the car will not shift out of first. Dealers were often unable to duplicate the fault. Reported from about 48,000 to over 200,000 miles, occurring intermittently at highway speed or while parked, with several vehicles noted as built before February 2006.

   6 related service bulletins

   What to check: Ask whether the instrument cluster has been repaired or replaced and whether the car was built before February 2006. During the test drive, watch the gauges over bumps and at speed for any sweep or dropout.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I was driving my 2006 Ford 500, going about 58 MPH on the highway when everything on the dash went out -- speedometer went to zero; gas to empty, etc., and the brake light came on. I was frightened that I would not have control of the car. Now, by researching on the internet, I find this is fairly common. My dealer quoted me about $700 for parts & labor to fix it, yet many of the anecdotal accounts on the internet say it never occurred again. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10402192, filed 2011-05, 48,800 miles

   “Two problems: 1. Car surges sporadically (I.e. When pulling into parking space with foot on brake, car surges as if pressing the accelerator). 2. While driving all lights on dash go out, speedometer and tachometer go to zero. I had the throttle body replaced once (several months later, Ford reimbursed me for the cost under customer satisfaction program 12n03. This solved the problem for several months. The problem is now re-occurring. Ford has indicated that they will not repair the car again. This seems to be a safety issue.”

   NHTSA complaint #10532270, filed 2013-07, 65,000 miles
4. 4
   Brakes

   Premature rear brake wear and grinding

   • 27 complaints (7%)
   • median 29,816 mi at 3.2 yrs old (26 state mileage)
   • 3 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2006–2020

   Owners report rear brake pads wearing out early, grinding noises, heavy brake dust and rotors that could not be resurfaced, sometimes with the calipers described as dragging. Complaints mention repair bills for pads and rotors at relatively low mileage, and some note the dealer declined coverage as the vehicle was out of warranty. A separate complaint describes a spongy pedal that sank toward the floor even after professional bleeding. Frequently reported between roughly 17,000 and 40,000 miles, though some complaints appear at higher mileage.

   3 related service bulletins

   What to check: Inspect rear pad thickness and rotor condition and ask for brake service receipts. A service campaign document covers rear brake wear on 2005-2007 models, so ask whether the rear brakes were addressed under it.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “At 37,000 miles (mostly freeway miles) I was getting a loud grinding sound from my rear brakes. Discovered that the rear pads were totally worn away and the rotors were ruined. The mechanic said it looked as if the calipers were not opening properly, causing a continual drag of the pads against the rotors. The front pads and rotors also needed replacing as they were worn beyond the point of being resurfaced. Total bill = $1,200! I later found out Ford had known about a problem with the brake pads, but I did not receive any notice from them. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10245527, filed 2008-10, 37,000 miles

   “The brakes are spongy. Very seldom they will be normal. Most of the time they will be soft and have to be pumped. Sometimes the brakes will be firm for a couple of seconds and then the pedal will sink to the floorboards. This occurs during during normal driving and stopping and also occurs when vehicle is in parked. Brakes have been professionally serviced including hooked to a computer for proper bleeding. Problem has not been resolved.”

   NHTSA complaint #11307809, filed 2020-02, 95,000 miles

Buying note. Check the throttle body and transmission behavior carefully on a test drive at low speed and from a cold start, since those are the most frequently described complaints for this model year. Ask for service records covering the throttle body, transmission fluid, instrument cluster and rear brakes before deciding.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.