Problems with 2000 Ford Explorer VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Vehicle is stuck in 4-wheel low animal going to 4 wheel high or auto i

The vehicle is subject to sudden unexplained acceleration while both in motion and stationary.

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. while driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle failed to shift into gear and accelerated independently without warning. the failure recurred several times. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 176,000.

When the cruise control commanded considerably more throttle on an interstate at 60mph, the vehicle suddenly and unexpectedly took off at very high speed (85+mph and accelerating when i finally shut the ignition off). i attempted to disconnect the cruise control via off switch and using the brakes to no avail. i shut the ignition switch off and coasted to the shoulder safely. attempted a re-start, and the engine appeared to start at full throttle. i raised the hood and found the throttle cable retaining had broken, and the cable assembly had been pushed out of its bracket by the cruise control servo's force. once out of its bracket and pushed to nearly full throttle, the throttle return spring had hooked on the bracket (see attached image), preventing a return to idle from nearly full throttle. the plastic retaining tabs on the throttle cable had evidently been broken by the long-time force of the cruise control, possibly aggrivated by years heat from the engine. this is a dangerous design, depending on tiny plastic tabs as the only block to such sudden, uncommanded vehicle acceleration. the cruise control was not defective, but had instigated the condition my breaking the throttle cable retaining tabs over time. the attached photo shows the displaced throttle cable, with the spring hooked on the bracket, holding the throttle nearly full throttle. this could easily have resulted in a high speed crash. as a retired air force fighter pilot and airline captain, i remained calm and worked the problem step by step to a safe conclusion, but a less disciplined driver in different traffic could have led to a different and tragic conclusion. a second photo shows the cable end missing the retaining tabs. a third shows the tiny plastic tabs on a new cable.

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. the contact stated that the rpms and the tachometer increased, but the vehicle hesitated to accelerate. while attempting to park, the vehicle surged forward and crashed into a pole. on another occasion, while reversing from being parked, the vehicle surged from a low speed to over 40 mph causing the contact to crash into the rear of another vehicle. a police report was filed. the contact sustained whiplash that did not require medical attention. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the vehicle was not included in nhtsa campaign numbers: 09v399000 (vehicle speed control), 07v336000 (vehicle speed control), and 03v280000 (vehicle speed control). the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 204,000tl* the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. the contact stated that the rpms and the tachometer increased, but the vehicle hesitated to accelerate. while attempting to park, the vehicle surged forward and crashed into a pole. on another occasion, while reversing from being parked, the vehicle surged from a low speed to over 40 mph causing the contact to crash into the rear of another vehicle. a police report was filed. the contact sustained whiplash that did not require medical attention. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the vehicle was not included in nhtsa campaign numbers: 09v399000 (vehicle speed control), 07v336000 (vehicle speed control), and 03v280000 (vehicle speed control). the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 204,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. the contact stated that the rpms and the tachometer increased, but the vehicle hesitated to accelerate. while attempting to park, the vehicle surged forward and crashed into a pole. on another occasion, while reversing from being parked, the vehicle surged from a low speed to over 40 mph causing the contact to crash into the rear of another vehicle. a police report was filed. the contact sustained whiplash that did not require medical attention. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the vehicle was not included in nhtsa campaign numbers: 09v399000 (vehicle speed control), 07v336000 (vehicle speed control), and 03v280000 (vehicle speed control). the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 204,000. ma 10/15/2015 updated 11/30/2017*cn

200 ford explorer. consumer states vehicle had a speed control modification, due to a recall. *ss. the consumer stated a week later, her daughter was driving, and lost control of the vehicle and flipped over. *jb

I came home from dropping my son off at his school social. i heard some sparking noise. unplugged my cell phone charger. i didn't know what it was at first. 1 minute later i saw smoke and flames coming from my hood. i jumped out the car and called fire department. guys from the neighborhood put fire out. it started around the brake master cylinder. the cord that attaches to it. later found out it is control deactivation switch. i'm trying to see who's responsible for repairing the vehicle. wasn't informed about recall. *tr

2000 ford explorer went up in flames. reported it right away to ford and was given a case number. they told us to take it to a ford dealer in the area. after months and months and months of getting no response we kept getting the run around then told that it had nothing to do with any defect. we recently got a recall letter from ford for the exact thing that happened to this car causing it to go on fire and ford will not respond. they say that the claim has been closed and that the original decision (which we never received) stands and they will not respond to us any longer. how can this be acceptable. see ford safety recall #05s28 it is exactly what happened to the explorer. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. the contact was driving 60 mph when the vehicle accelerated to 90 mph erroneously. the contact applied the brakes and the engine rpms increased excessively. the vehicle would not decelerate and the contact shifted into neutral in order to regain control of the vehicle. the engine was turned off as the failure occurred, causing the steering wheel to seize. the vehicle was driven to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. the contact stated that the failure was intermittent. as the contact started the vehicle to exit the dealer, the vehicle abnormally accelerated and crashed into a tree. there were no injuries and the vehicle was destroyed. the contact's insurance company was notified of the failure. the manufacturer was not contacted. the vin was unavailable. the failure mileage was 105,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer sport. the contact stated the vehicle had a moment of sudden acceleration. when the contact engaged the accelerator pedal and at 20 mph the vehicle started to accelerate on its own up to 60 mph. smoke was also coming from the brakes because the vehicle would not slow down. the vehicle had to be placed in neutral in order to slow it down and turn it off. the vehicle was not inspected by a dealer to determine the cause of failure. the current mileage was 115,000. updated 01/24/12*lj the consumer stated he has since removed the cruise control servo unit that attached to the throttle body unit. updated 01/25/12

On monday my future son-in-law was driving my ford explorer and experienced the cruise control refusing to disengage while traveling at 70 mph. he tried to disengage the cruise control by braking and by turning it off. neither worked. he tried to shift it into neutral only to have the engine rev to high rpm, so he put it back in gear and forced to car to stop using the brakes fighting the engine. probably ruining the brakes in the process. i recently had my vehicle serviced as relating to a recall concerning the speed control deactivation switch. the switch was not replaced after a visual inspection. *tr

2000 ford explorer has a delay in shifting on transmission, o/d off light flashing and car winds out in between gears... very costly so far and extremely dangerous!!!!!!!!! *cn

My 2000 ford explorer xlt caught on fire for no apparent reason. my daughter and i were at a friend's house, we were in the process of backing out of the drive when smoke started coming from under the hood. i pulled the car off to the side of the road and put it in park and turned off the engine, the smoke got much worse. my daughter and i got out of the explorer just as it was catching fire. we called 911, the car was a total loss. the whole incident is unbelievable, we are shocked. my insurance adjuster informed me that it wasn't uncommon and mentioned something about a recall on the cruise control. i bought my explorer in indiana, but have moved to tennessee. i never received a recall, i'm still waiting on my insurance company to get back with me. *tr

2000 ford explorer self ignited after being parked for 4 hours. also caught car on fire that was in driveway ahead of it, landscaping, tv cable and outside corner of house. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. after being parked for 20 minutes with the engine shut off, the front end of the vehicle burst into flames in the engine compartment. the fire department arrived and assisted in extinguishing the fire. a police report was filed. the vehicle is still parked in the contact's driveway. he sent the manufacturer some requested documents. ford explained that there was a recall on that vehicle for the cruise control, which was the cause of the fire. the contact stated that the recall repair had previously been performed; however, the failure still occurs. the vehicle was destroyed. the nhtsa campaign id number was unknown. the current and failure mileages were 79,000. updated 11/26/08. *lj updated 12/01/08. *jb

Recall notice from ford on my cruise control 8 months ago. i got a notice in september of 2007 telling me to get it back to the dealer for a repair. it is now april of 2008 and i just got off the phone with both the local dealer halderman ford of allentown,pa and the toll free number of ford for recalls. both locations tell me that they have no idea of the availability of repair parts. almost 8 months later???? and still no parts to repair this. and to think that i should need another vehicle, i will be hard pressed to consider ford after being treated this way. *tr

In january 2008 i took my 2000 ford explorer to courtesy ford, in altoona, pa to have the recall service performed. they did not have the necessary parts, so they ordered them and disconnected my cruise control to make the car safe to drive. on february 26, i called and was told my part had arrived. when i took it in, they discovered that only one of two required parts had arrived, and they could not repair my cruise control. i left on a business trip the following day. i was to return on march 7, 2008 and my girlfriend and three daughters were driving to the airport to pick me up. about 40 or 50 miles into the trip she noticed the car was losing power because it was not pulling up a hill well and the engine began running roughly. she pulled over to the side of the road. at this point, the explorer had a little bit of smoke coming from under the hood. she turned the car off and waited a moment, then saw the smoke getting worse. she and my daughters got out of the car and she called 911 for help. other drivers stopped to assist, but while she was on the phone the explorer broke into flames, starting from under the driver's side. the explorer and my belongings were destroyed, but luckily everyone got out safely. my daughters said that they could see flaming liquid (melted plastic or brake fluid) dripping onto the ground under the car while it was burning. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. for the past two months, the contact has experienced electrical failure with his vehicle. the instrument panel and headlights do not illuminate, the windshield wipers work intermittently, and the battery is always low. the vehicle was taken to the auto garage, but they were unable to diagnose the failure. the vehicle was taken to the dealer on april 8, 2008 and they stated that the headlight and globe wiring were the cause of the failures. the cost of the repair is $800. according to the manufacturer, the dealer informed them that the failure was not under the hood; therefore, they were not responsible. the contact believes that his vehicle is included in nhtsa campaign id number 00v072000 (electrical system:fuses and circuit breakers) and he did not receive a recall notice. the vin, engine size, and number of cylinders were unknown. the current and failure mileages were 100,000. updated 05/19/08 *bf updated 05/19/08. *jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. the contact received a safety recall notice for the vehicle speed control in august of 2007. she notified ford and they disconnected the switch. she notified ford again in december of 2007 and was informed that the parts would not be available until april of 2008. there had been no failure to date. the recall number was unknown. the current mileage was 74,889.

I received notification from ford on a recall for the speed control deactivation switch (scds) in august of 2007. i brought the vehicle to arrington and blount (place of purchase) to address the recall in early november. the switch was removed from the vehicle, the wire to the switch was tied to fixture and i was told to call the dealer to find out when the part will be available for the recall... it has been almost 5 months and several calls to 770-963-1831, always speaking to the service dept and still no part... the reason for this note is last week i called on monday 3/17/08 and i was told some parts have arrived and i should get there on tuesday morning 3/18/08 - which i did...only to find out still no available part... karim abdullah. *tr

I received the original recall notice in august 2007. i contacted the local ford dealer and was told that the part required was on order with an anticipated arrival date of late october 2007. i then received a postcard telling me i could have a "temporary" fix of having my cruise control completely disabled. as of this date, i am now being told that the part may not be available until january 2008. i have a lengthy commute, i paid for and do use my cruise control feature. i don't think 6 months is "temporary" and would like my vehicle properly fixed in a reasonable time. six months is not reasonable for a safety recall. *tr

2000 ford explorer eddie bauer edition, under the hood fire, after being park in the driveway not running for approximately 30-45 minutes. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. the contact received a safety recall notice for nhtsa campaign id number 07v336000 (vehicle speed control). the dealer stated that the parts for the repair would be unavailable until december of 2007. the contact had the vehicle control switch deactivated. he is handicapped and was concerned about the vehicle catching fire and would like the repair to be made immediately. there had been no failure to date. the vin, purchase date, engine size, current mileage, and dealer information were unavailable.

This is in regard to a recall # 05s28 by ford motor co. - speed control deactivation switch, risk of underhood fire (2000 ford explorer xlt ). on sep.19,2007 the dealer disconnected the switch and informed me that the new harness will be installed soon, when parts arrive. it's been over four months, the repair has not been completed and now the dealer is telling me that maybe in june 2008. my complaint is that more than reasonable period of time has passed for a simple repair like this. ford is not following through with the completion with the recall. the lack of speed control is very inconvenient for me during my frequent freeway trips. the dealer offered me reconnecting the switch if i signed the waiver of liability. i?m not going to sign such a waiver but i will reconnect the faulty switch and in case of fire i will take a legal action against ford for damages. i'm also sending a similar letter to the dealership and ford customer service. *tr

Just about a year ago, ford corp ordered a recall #05s28 -speed control system modification for my 2000 ford explorer. after repeated inquires to my local ford dealer, the "part" has still not arrived. i called ford headquarters today, and they said perhaps in june. what can you do to help? *tr

Ford explorer recall 05s28 has not been completed on my vehicle in a timely manner. i called the dealership on 9/6/2007 and they said they would call back when the service parts were available to perform service. i still have not received a call. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. he received a recall notice for the vehicle speed control. in an attempt to schedule an appointment he was unable to find a dealer within a 50 mile radius that has the parts available. the contact denied to have the switch deactivate due to his disability. he is aware of the safety risk involved and would need to have the complete repair performed vs the interim repair. the nerves in his legs have failed and he cannot operate the vehicle without the vehicle speed control and has confirmed this with the dealer. the dealer stated that they received ten parts and don't know how soon they will receive additional parts. the current mileage was 97,000. the notice indicated that the owner is responsible for having the repair performed in a timely manner. there are no vehicle failures at this time.

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. the contact received a ford recall notice in august of 2007 and scheduled an appointment to have the vehicle repaired. he was informed that the parts would be available in january of 2008 and would be notified when the parts would arrive. he called the dealer in march and had the cruise control switch disconnected. the contact was informed that the parts would be unavailable until june of 2008. he filed a formal complaint with the manufacturer. there had been no failure to date. the recall number was unknown. the current mileage was 78,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. the contact received a ford recall notice for the vehicle speed control: cruise control switch and scheduled an appointment to have the vehicle repaired. the dealer deactivated the cruise control switch and informed him that the parts would be available in december of 2007. he called the dealer again in december and they did not know when the parts would be available. the contact has filed a formal complaint with the manufacturer. there had been no failure to date. the current mileage was 73,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. the contact received a ford recall notice for the vehicle speed control: cruise control in august of 2007. he immediately called the dealer and was informed that the parts would be unavailable until december of 2007. the dealer also stated that he did not have to have his cruise control switch deactivated. since that time, the contact has called the dealer on several occasions and they continue to state that the parts were unavailable. the manufacturer would not provide any information regarding the recall. the vehicle has not been repaired. there had been no failure to date. the recall number was unknown.

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. the contact received a safety recall notice for the vehicle speed control: cruise control in august of 2007 and the speed control switch was disconnected at that time. she has called ford almost every week since and they continue to state that the part is unavailable and they do not know when it will arrive. there had been no failure to date. the purchase date and recall number were unknown. the current mileage was 100,000. updated 4/11/08 *cn updated 04/11/08 *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer . the contact received a recall notice in august of 2007 for the vehicle speed control. he does not want ford to disconnect the speed control switch. the dealer advised him on three occasions that the parts would be unavailable until after christmas. there had been no failure to date. the current mileage was 137,000. updated 12-12-07. *kb updated*jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. the contact received a safety recall notice for the vehicle speed control in august of 2007. since then, he was informed three times that the part for the recall repair would be available the following month. there had been no failure to date. the current mileage was 110,000. updated 03-18-08 *bf

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. he received a recall notice for the vehicle speed control (nhtsa campaign id #07v336000) in august of 2007. the dealer disconnected the vehicle speed control because the parts were unavailable however they did not know the parts would be available. as of january 3, 2008, the dealer had not repaired the vehicle. the current mileage was 140,000 and there had been no failure to date. updated 03-04-08 *bf

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. the contact received recall letter number 05s28 in august of 2007. the dealer stated that they did not know when the part would be available, but informed the contact that they would send a post card once it arrived. she stated that she purchased her vehicle to use the cruise control feature and the wait for the repair has exceeded a reasonable length of time. there had been no failure to date. the nhtsa campaign id number was unavailable. the current mileage was 112,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. the contact received a recall notice regarding the vehicle speed control. there are no parts available and he must make two trips to the dealer; one trip to have the speed control switch disconnected and the second trip to have it repaired. there had been no failure to date. updated 12/12/07

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. the contact stated that ford does not have the parts to repair his vehicle for nhtsa campaign id number 07v336000 (vehicle speed control). there had been no failure to date. the purchase date was unknown. the current and failure mileages were 84,635.

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. in august of 2007, the contact received a recall notice for nhtsa campaign id number 07v336000 (vehicle speed control). he called the dealer every month since receiving the notice and the parts are still unavailable. the dealer informed him in september that the parts would be available; however, they still had not arrived. the ford recall number was 05s28. there had been no failure to date. the current mileage was 103,000. updated 03-05-08 *bf

It is completely unacceptable that ford issued a recall in august 2007 and the replacement part is still not available as of today 2/18/08. i was told by the dealership that ford is telling them to tell owners to check back at the end of april 2008 for the speed control deactivation switch. i've been checking since sept. 2007 when they told me to check back at the end of jan. 2008. this is ridiculous! *tr

A recall was issued in august 2007 for the speed (cruise) control deactivation switch (recall 05s28). it is now april 2008 and i have not been contacted for the replacement part. ford stated in their letter that their "commitment, together with ford and lincoln mercury dealers, is to provide you with the highest level of service and support." i think that after 8 months, a "reasonable time" has been exceeded. it has become frustrating and expensive having to wait this long for a simple fix. ford motor company has displayed a failure to "provide me with the highest level of service and support." what has happened is, that ford motor co. has failed to produce enough parts to support this recall. they know how many vehicles were potentially covered with this recall and should have prepared to replace/service this part in a "reasonable amount of time". meanwhile, i have been forced to be inconvenienced and absorb additional expense due to ford motor co.'s incompetence and short sighted. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. the contact received a recall notice for nhtsa campaign id number 07v336000 (vehicle speed control) in august of 2007. the dealer and manufacturer were unable to determine when the parts would be available. as of december 28, 2007, the dealer had not repaired the vehicle. the contact felt that the wait time was excessive. there had been no failure to date. the current mileage was 161,000. updated 01/17/08 *bf updated 01/17/08 *tr

In august 2007 i received a safety recall notice (05s28) for my 2000 ford explorer and have periodically been contacting the local ford dealership but the necessary repair parts are still not available, 8 months later. the latest call earlier this week generated the usual response of "call back in 30 days." i'm reluctant to exercise the alternative of disconnecting the speed control system for fear of never getting the necessary repairs. the risk of a fire is a serious concern. *tr

Rec'd recall #05s28 from ford motor company. recall was for possible fire due to a leak in the cruise control. we rec'd this recall in august of 2007. we called dealer in klamath falls, or and put on a waiting list since the part to fix the recall was not available. we keep calling but the part is still not available. i use my cruise control all the time and am very concerned that my car may start on fire. i have grandchildren in car seats that i am afraid i might not be able to get out quickly enough. this is a totally unacceptable length of time to wait for it to be fixed when this is a safety issue. we tried calling the ford motor co.customer service center and got a recording telling us to call our local dealer. we would appreciate your help with this matter. *tr

Speed control dis-engaged by pacific ford, long beach ca, on 09/26/07, due to ford recall letter aug 2007. to date (03/03/08), the 05s28 recall has not been replaced. according to the dealership ford has not filled the replace parts. i have waited an excess of 7 months to have this part replaced. this is unacceptable. ford needs be better prepared and timely action must occur. *tr

August 2007 i received a letter from ford motor co. notifying me of a defect in the speed control deactivation switch in my 2000 ford explorer. september 2007 i had the nearby dealer disconnect the switch per notice. as of today, april 16, 2008, the speed control has not been repaired in a "reasonable time". each time we call the dealer, we get the same answer "the part has not been received yet". i've driven 7 months without use of the speed control in my vehicle. i would really like to know when ford intends to get this part out to their dealers so that this problem can be fixed properly. this is ridiculous having to wait this long for a part that ford has known about for a while. *tr

Had wreck. did have cruise control on at the time. car would not slow down through intersection. proceeding to hit new honda which had only been purchased 2 weeks. the honda had 7,000.00 dollars in damage .luckily i had insurance to cover it. my ford explorer was totaled!!!! about two days later we received a letter in the mail,stating there was a problem with the cruise control. the explorer had a 1000.00 deductible. and safeway insurance came and got the suv. oh i did included the recall letter in truck! and the insurance company has a copy also. plus i had to purchase another vehicle which i could not afford! since i am on disability and everything it is hard to make payments. i was letting everyone know they really need to get the speed control fixed asap! i am not sure of the exact date of the accident it might have been the first part of july. *jb

Unintended acceleration several instances when stopped at an intersection. once i had to drive over the curb to stop ford explorer (2000) from moving out into intersection

My iac valve suddenly failed this morning. i understand other ford owners have reported the same problem. mine is a 2000 explorer. pacific ford is charging me over $300 to replace it, and what i have been reading from other ford owners, they thought $200 was robbery... could this failure be part of a current shared concern? fortunately, i had no passengers and nothing in tow. i often tow a boat with this vehicle . mileage approximately 70,000. *ak

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford explorer. while driving at an unknown speed, smoke appeared from the steering wheel. the vehicle was taken to a dealer and they disconnected the vehicle speed control. the dealer never mentioned if the smoke was due to the recall notice the contact received in august of 2007 for the vehicle speed control. he called several dealers during that nine month period, but there are still no parts available. the recall number was unknown. the current mileage was 111,000 and failure mileage was 96,000.