What breaks most · 2004 to 2007 model years
Ford Five Hundred problems by year
Owners have filed 1,074 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Ford Five Hundred across model years 2004 to 2007. Three years stand out: 2005 for powertrain and transmission complaints, 2006 for speed control and throttle complaints and 2007 for speed control and throttle complaints.
- Years to check closely: 2005, 2006, 2007
- Complaints on file
- 10742004 to 2007, all trims
- Worst year
- 2005510 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 5715 fires · 25 injuries · 0 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 71kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 6Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Brakes (hydraulic) (1) | |
| 510 | 20 | 3 | Powertrain and transmission (136) | |
| 364 | 20 | 1 | Speed control and throttle (118) | |
| 199 | 17 | 2 | Speed control and throttle (70) |
What fails on the 2005 Ford Five Hundred
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 27% |
136 | 3 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Speed control and throttleThrottle and pedal sensors | 20% |
104 | 3 | Shop speed control and throttle parts for the 2005 Ford Five Hundred |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 19% |
95 | 1 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2005 Ford Five Hundred |
| EngineEngine gaskets and seals | 11% |
58 | 2 | Shop engine parts for the 2005 Ford Five Hundred |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 10% |
49 | 1 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 2005 Ford Five Hundred |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 8% |
41 | 0 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 2005 Ford Five Hundred |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 6% |
33 | 2 | Shop body and structure parts for the 2005 Ford Five Hundred |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 5% |
24 | 0 | Shop fuel system parts for the 2005 Ford Five Hundred |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
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While waiting at the light in traffic, my car all of a sudden Accelerated, and decelerates, I have to push hard on the breaks in order for it to not slam into the cars infront of me.. this is really dangerous, from what I have been reading this is a wide spread issue that ford has ignored for years..
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The wrench light came on and i lost all power, now it doesn't accelerate and the more also is a loud noise coming from the engine, it sounds like it's goung to blow up
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Car in the mornings is accelerated and when placed in reverse it moves by itself very accelerated and its parked on a flat surface with no slopes. Transmission feels as if running forcefully but changes gears i guess fine just got the car and has low miles at 27000 miles. And does it everyday.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Ford Five Hundred years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2005, 2006, 2007 carry the most filings on the Ford Five Hundred. The 2005 alone has 510 complaints, led by powertrain and transmission.
What is the most common Ford Five Hundred problem?
On the 2005 model year, the most-reported component is powertrain and transmission with 136 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Ford Five Hundred problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Ford Five Hundred complaints that include mileage is about 71,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.