96 Taurus automatic takes off on it's own?

We bought our daughter a 1996 Ford Taurus last year, which is in fairly
decent shape, but one thing has bugged me since we bought it. Just
releasing the brake pedal will cause the car to accelerate and cruise about
10-20mph (possibly higher). So you constantly have to ride the brakes to
keep it under control.

I've never owned a Ford before, or even an automatic for that matter, so I
don't know if this is normal or not? But, we live on a hill and having the
car trying to speed up while we're trying to slow down is a little
unnerving. It's also kind of dangerous at stop lights, or when trying to
park.

The idle speed on the car doesn't seem high to me, so I suspect it's
something with the transmission. But is this something that can be
adjusted?

Thanks,

Anthony

You need to have the idle speed checked. If it is not high, then you may
have a malfunctioning converter clutch. This sounds like a job for a
professional mechanics - particularly since you have indicated it is a
safety concern.

Ed

"HerHusband" <unknown.DeleteThis@unknown.com> wrote in message
news:Xns99E08856379D9herhusband@216.196.97.136...
> We bought our daughter a 1996 Ford Taurus last year, which is in fairly
> decent shape, but one thing has bugged me since we bought it. Just
> releasing the brake pedal will cause the car to accelerate and cruise
> about
> 10-20mph (possibly higher). So you constantly have to ride the brakes to
> keep it under control.
>
> I've never owned a Ford before, or even an automatic for that matter, so I
> don't know if this is normal or not? But, we live on a hill and having the
> car trying to speed up while we're trying to slow down is a little
> unnerving. It's also kind of dangerous at stop lights, or when trying to
> park.
>
> The idle speed on the car doesn't seem high to me, so I suspect it's
> something with the transmission. But is this something that can be
> adjusted?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Anthony