2003 Ford Explorer acceleration problems

Filed Feb 27, 2019 · Acceleration, Transmission · CA

2003 ford explorer. Consumer writes in regard to defective throttle in model vehicle. *as

Filed Sep 23, 2014 · Acceleration · 98,000 miles · OK

Bought SUV in december of 2012 and everything seemed to work fine. Within the next few months there were several times that the cruise would not engage without pushing it on & off several times. After june of 2013 it rarely engaged at all at any speed. Now, september 2014 it will not engage at all. Afraid it might cause short &/or a fire under the hood. Noticed recall identified this problem on 2002 models. This vehicle was actually built in 2002, so am wondering if this might be one that got missed in the recall? Own a 1994 f-250 that has both 1993 and 1994 parts on it.

Filed Jan 26, 2014 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 83,547 miles · OH · crash

This event has happened twice now my 2003 ford explorer has excelerated without warning ! And while trying to stop the vehicle. The second time ending in an accident. I have only had this vehicle just under 2 months ! The floor mats are not the problem here. Once I was in reverse and a power surge came over the vehicle the brakes would not work didn't result in an accident but was somewhat afraid of it. I was coming home last nite turned into my drive and the vehicle excelerated without warning brakes did not work at all ended up smashing into my ford escape that could have bin my little girl or someone's child! Will not drive this vehicle again. Have had fords most all of my life never seen this before! There's a lot of exceleration problems listed on this site I think it's time for a recall before someone is killed thanks for your concern!

Filed Sep 10, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 116,800 miles · NC

I have been having issues with the cruise control on my explorer. It works fine for several months and then occasionally it will not engage. Most times if it will not engage, the dashboard light does not show up, but since last week the light has come on, but the cruise control has not engaged. Since this has been an ongoing issue and seems to resolve on its own, I continue to try it occasionally. I tried to set it last friday while I was going approximately 40 MPH. It did engage, but then began to slowly accelerate. I tried pushing the button that should reduce the speed, but it continued accelerating, so I kicked the brake pedal to disengage. I have tried it 3 additional times and each time it accelerates. The last time I tried it, yesterday afternoon, the speed was picking up incredibly quickly. It felt like I had just floored the accelerator. I was able to kick the cruise control off with the brake pedal though but am now concerned that this may happen when the cruise is not engaged.

Filed Jul 17, 2013 · Acceleration, Transmission · 117,000 miles · MO

While driving the o/d light began flashing on my dashboard, the vehicle slowed down to about 15 miles as if the transmission was pulling/slipping, the car made a hard jerk and began to pick-up speed. This cycle repeated until I reached my destination. The light came on again the next day and the same events occurred.

Filed Jul 26, 2012 · Acceleration · 106,000 miles · NC

Driving on I-26 at 65 MPH. Took foot off gas, car continued at 65, did not have the cruise control on. I pressed brake, car didn't slow, pressed harder, still didn't slow, moved gearshifter to 1st gear, could hear engine revving, realized gas peddle/accelerator was stuck, tapped foot on gas pedal and car finally slowed. Took car to four seasons ford in hendersonville, was told they couldn't recreate the problem but maybe the cruise control cable seemed "possibly not quite snapped in place". They snapped it back. Have not had another problem but am paranoid about driving the car now.

Filed Jul 25, 2012 · Acceleration · 121,000 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle experienced sudden acceleration without warning. The contact shifted into neutral and depressed the accelerator pedal until the vehicle decelerated. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 121,000.

Filed Feb 20, 2012 · Acceleration, Body · 500 miles · NM

Multiple issues with my 2003 ford explorer which include the electronic mother board having been replaced twice (under warranty), cracked liftgage (not under warranty cost $300), transmission rebuild approx 90,000 ($3000), dome lights do not turn off, door ajar lights, electric rear windows do not open, o/d light flashes and now the final problem after having replaced my transmission in july 2011 is a drive train or drive line issue. At approximately 45 MPH after dropping from a higher speed, a thumping happens. Diagnosis for this issue has been 3 days still with no final determination.

Filed Sep 11, 2011 · Acceleration · 35 miles · FL

I was driving at 60 MPH and approaching a red light 1/4 mile ahead I released pressure on the accelerator but the car maintained 60 MPH and would not slow down, I applied the foot brakes but realized this was not the answer, it felt like the cruise control was not releasing however the cruise control not being used, I placed the car in neutral and braked to a stop the engine was racing. I tapped the accelerator with my foot and the accelerator pedal retracted , the engine slowed,I continue my trip and after driving a few miles found that the accelerator was stuck again,I selected neutral and tapped the accelerator,the engine went back to idle.I pulled over and looked at the accelerator cable where it connects to the accelerator to make sure the accelerator was not caught on the carpet, I opened the hood to check the accelerator cable which was hidden under a large plastic shroud (cover), I removed the shroud in and immediately discovered the problem. A small cheap snap and lock fastener in the end of the cruise control cable had broken allowing the stiff cruise control cable connector to slip from its connector and restrict or lock the retarding movement of the accelerator cable, the throttle cable does not retract and the engine is stuck at a high RPM and a novice driver would not know what to do and would probably panic and eventually the brakes would fade and the driver crash. When the remedy is to 1) shift to neutral and 2) tap and release the accelerator quickly which because the cruise cable is not attached or anchored at it's end quickly frees the accelerator cable in my opinion this cruise control connector and weak metal spring type push in fastener is too weak and suffers from metal fatigue over time. I am just glad my wife was not driving alone when this happened.

Filed Mar 7, 2011 · Acceleration · 138,000 miles · CO

While accelerating to merge into highway, vehicle experienced sudden unintended acceleration. My son had to manually pull up on the gas pedal on the floor to correct this. We were able to recreate it again by pressing down heavily on the gas pedal - and this time we were ready to manually pull up on the gas pedal. We verified that the floor mats were not obstructing the gas pedal in any way.