2000 Ford Explorer: adaptive cruise control problems

Filed Dec 24, 2023 · Acceleration · MI

No incidents. However, cruise control and rear window wiper are both inoperable.

Filed Mar 11, 2016 · Acceleration · 168,000 miles · AZ

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.

Filed Jul 18, 2012 · Acceleration, Electrical · CA

The problem started with the drivers door it would not open , with the remote control , the actuator works but the door latch would not open after several weeks of having to open it with the keys I took the door panel open and spay some wd-40 and it started to open but as time when on the rear passenger doors have started to do the same , the child safety locks have got jam and now both doors are failing at one point the rear driver side door didn't open and I had to take it to a mechanic to get it to work but the problem still persists and now the front passenger door does not open it got stock and the handle to open the door has fallen off it has been such a frustrating problem and I went to find out how much it would cost for the parts and its going to cost about $87.00 per door not including the labor and it very frustrating I wish they do something about it also their was a recall for the cruise control I went to the dealer to get it fix , and they disconnected the cruise control I have call several times they say their is no openings and it has now been four years I have given up.

Filed Dec 13, 2011 · Engine · PA · fire

This is to report a fire in a 2000 ford explorer: on friday, 25 nov 11, 5 adults (my husband, 2 sons, daughter-in law, and myself) and 2 dogs, left bethlehem pa for our family christmas trip in our 2000 ford explorer, pulling a utility trailer. The intent of the trip was to start at a christmas tree farm, cut down 3 christmas trees, haul them in the trailer and continue with several other christmas related traditional stops. My husband, drove approximately 45 minutes north to bissels christmas tree hill in lehighton, pa. He did not use cruise control because we were pulling the trailer. The trip was fine with absolutely no indications that anything was wrong with the vehicle. It also had not had any service done to it recently (a question frequently asked to us). He parked the vehicle along an embankment at the tree farm and we all were in various stages of getting out of the car with the dogs when someone nearby yelled to us that our car was on fire. She repeated it as we looked to see who she was addressing. We looked at our car and saw that under it, fire balls were hitting the ground from what appeared to be the center of the engine. My husband attempted to open the hood and smoke was immediately pouring out of the engine. We all quickly got away from the vehicle. My one son immediately called 911 and my other son ran nearby to try and find a fire extinguisher. The smoke quickly turned into a full blown fire. The complete front of the vehicle, along with the embankment nearby, was ablaze. The mahoning valley police came, then the fire captains, then 2 full fire trucks from lehighton and mahoning valley fire departments. They quickly extinguished everything, along with the vehicle we lost my purse, jackets, and other miscellaneous valuables that were on the floor of the front seat and in the glove compartment.

Filed Sep 8, 2011 · Acceleration · 115,000 miles · FL

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

Filed Apr 27, 2011 · Acceleration · 145,000 miles · LA

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.

Filed Sep 4, 2009 · Transmission · 90,400 miles · MA

On august 28, 2009 I was driving with my husband and two children under age 2 on the massachusetts turnpike when our 2000 ford explorer suddenly accelerated. I could not stop the car with the brakes and was forced to put the car in neutral to finally get the car to stop. I was using the cruise control at the time and had it set just under 70 MPH. My car at one point was going almost 90 as we tried to figure out what to do while my foot was all the way on the brake. We were lucky to have survived this incident. A local garage said that the cruise control must have stuck and they have disconnected the wires but now leave us with damage to the car we are still trying to diagnose.

Filed Jun 30, 2009 · Acceleration · 82,000 miles · TN · fire

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.

Filed Oct 28, 2008 · Acceleration · 79,000 miles · MT · fire

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 federal safety agency campaign id number was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 79,000. Updated 11/26/08. *lj updated 12/01/08.

Filed May 15, 2008 · Acceleration · FL

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.

Filed Mar 31, 2008 · Acceleration · 62,000 miles · PA

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.

Filed Mar 26, 2008 · Acceleration · IN

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