2003 Ford Expedition: adaptive cruise control problems

Filed Jul 11, 2013 · Acceleration · 170,000 miles · MI

The cruise control won't work at times. The few times it does work the cruise control will accelerate or turn off on it's own. I've taken it to different ford dealerships as well as two firestone businesses and they haven't detected anything wrong.

Filed Jun 14, 2011 · Electrical · 150,000 miles · NE · fire

At 4:40am, was woke up by the police and fire department who responded to a call in of our vehicle, a 2003 ford expedition being on fire. Based on the information received from the fire crew chief, the fire had started in the engine compartment, on the driver's side, and appeared to be electrical in nature. The car had last been used the prior night at 8pm, when we returned from eating dinner, and had remained idle since that time. Upon hearing our story, several friends mentioned that they had read stories about ford vehicles that had an issue with the cruise control switch causing fires, even in vehicles that had remained idle for several hours. I checked and it does not appear there were any recalls for my vehicle's year, but had been for the prior year's (2002). Here is a link to one article (although there are many): http://articles.cnn.com/2005-06-16/us/ford.vehicles_1_ford-vehicles-brake-fluid-cruise-control?_s=pm:us the car is a complete loss, the engine mostly gone and the tire and part of the body melted to my driveway. The damage inspector for our insurance company stated it was likely that they would not be able to cover our full lien amount and I believe at the very least ford should make whole for us. The insurance company is working with ford about possible subrogation, but it is unclear at this point in time if the insurance company will ask for dollars beyond what they would pay out in the loss. We were fortunate it did not spread to our home, my husband's ford parked next to it or to our boat which was directly in front of it. It was very, very close and could have easily happened. We feel very fortunate that we did not park the vehicle in our garage or any closer to the boat, whose cover had melted and could have easily set on fire given the heat and severity of the fire.

Filed Nov 10, 2008 · Acceleration, Electrical · 83,000 miles · OH · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford expedition. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer because all of the instrument panel indicators illuminated, except for the brake light. The interior of the vehicle was torn apart and there was an electrical fire. The dealer is ordering a new wiring harness. The vehicle was initially taken to the dealer for the illuminated indicators; however, another failure was found without the contact's knowledge. The failure and current mileages were 83,000. Updated 12-02-08 *bf the consumer also had a problem with the brake lights and the cruise control had to be repaired as well. The consumer stated he never reeived a recall letter for the cruise control. Updated 12/02/08

Filed Jul 3, 2008 · Acceleration · 78,000 miles · TX · fire

My 2003 ford expedition burst into flames on sunday, june 22 at 5am. The truck hadn't been driven since 7pm the previous evening. While the travis county fire marshall is still finishing up the investigation, all signs point to the faulty cruise control module. My car was gutted, it also totaled the car next to it and most of my garage went up in flames! Ford should be required to send out serious recall notices to all owners asap! People are dying... Just check out www.flamingfords.info.

Filed Jun 15, 2007 · Engine · 64,000 miles · MN

64000 on 2003 ford expedition blew the #2 plug while traveling at highway speed and cruise control on. Had a hela coil put in. Contacted the dealer, no response, 2 weeks later 68000 blew the #3 plug sitting at a traffic light again had a hela coil repair. Again no help from the dealer, and told there was no open recall on that motor . I am filing a complaint with the attorney generals office in minnesota. Both repairs were done at a different ford dealership, they stated replacing the head wa s the correct fix, but ford allowed them to do hela coils, but imagine that, they won't warranty it !!

Filed Jan 25, 2007 · Acceleration · 59,000 miles · PR

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford expedition. While driving at 50 MPH the cruise control began making a grinding noise and the vehicle lost power. The vehicle was towed. The contact was concerned about the safety risk after viewing a news report related to the cruise control.

Filed Jun 21, 2005 · Acceleration · NY

Dt: contact states: has a 2003 ford expedition, which is one of the ones cited in the report from cnn on thursday june 16, 2005 about the cruise control switch. She is going to call ford to see about getting it replaced. She has 4 small children, and she car pools with small children all of the time.. She wants to file a complaint with the federal safety agency.

Filed Oct 26, 2004 · Acceleration, Body · 500 miles · TN

My expedition is a 1yr and 5 months. With less than 500 miles paid for a front end alignment and tire rotation, because of bad vibration at speeds of 60-70 miles an hour. Still had vibration, took it back to dealer, they said the truck came with tires out of balance. Still had vibration, took it back to dealership, a box dealing with the steering wheel had to be replaced. Since then I have paid for another front end alignment and tire balance, now tires have worn so bad dealership will probably blame worn tires for the vibration. There is more!!! The seal on the front windshield came loose and started leaking, and had to be replaced. In the front defrost vent some foam stuff had come loose and would flap around when the vent was on, the dealership called it ( packing) it was replaced or glued back down. The side trim on both sides from the two front doors, to the two rear doors faded badly, and had to be replaced. The dome light had a pinched wire and would flicker when turned on or hit a bump, it was repaired. The power window swith light, driver side went out, and the unit had to be replaced, and now the cruise control will not stay engaged when I hit a bump most of this happened in under a year.