2005 Ford Explorer: adaptive cruise control problems

Filed Aug 14, 2018 · Acceleration, Brakes · 130,100 miles · VA

1) ABS, brake, and wrench failure lights flashed on for about 3 seconds and turned off when decelerating with cruise control from 55 MPH to 45 MPH zones at courland, va. Vehicle manual provides no guidance on this failure mode; only 'warning lights turn on and continue flashing, reduce speed and take vehicle to nearest service provider' and 'warning lights turn on and stay on, stop driving immediately and have vehicle towed to nearest service provider.' 2) approximately ten minutes later, driver began applying brakes to disengage cruise control and slow from 60 MPH to 35 MPH school zone speed about 50 to 60 m before school zone warning sign at capron elementary, va, on state highway 58. 3) driver checked speed upon entering school zone and found cruise control light still on and vehicle still traveling at 60 MPH. Depressed brake approximately 1/3 total braking range (4 cm), which should have locked the brakes and brought the vehicle to a full stop. No effect. Cruise control light remained on and vehicle continued at 60 MPH. 4) at this point, driver realized that he had no control of the vehicle, panicked, and decided he had to stop or crash the vehicle. Driver jammed the brake petal as hard as he could and held. It took probably 3 seconds for the rear brakes to finally go up a logistic growth resistance curve, grab, and stop the vehicle. No braking by front wheels. Abs did not work. Contributing physical defects: worn-out front brakes, even though vehicle was kept under rigorous maintenance and had valid virginia state inspection sticker. Warped front brake rotors most likely induced intermittent false signals to computer control center causing cruise control to fail to disengage.

Filed Feb 27, 2018 · Acceleration · 166,000 miles · WA

When using the cruise control and the 2005 ford explorer is going down hill or when pressing coast button, the 2005 ford explorer stall, engine cuts out. Steering and braking becomes difficult.

Filed Nov 3, 2017 · WA

While using cruise control, when the vehicle decelerate going down hill the engine stalls all warning light comes on and engines dies. This happen all the time when I or wife are drive with our family

Filed May 25, 2014 · Acceleration · 69,500 miles · TN

Our 2005 explorer with v8 engine has developed a serious problem when cruise control is engaged and a hill is crested (for example) and the engine goes to idle it drops below stall speed and dies while driving. Driver must move shifter into n and restart, obviously critically dangerous problem. The car has no problem with normal driving or idling without cruise on. This problem is persistent and easy to reproduce even on flat surfaces when cruise backs off the throttle to slow down. A/c can be on or off.

Filed Oct 3, 2011 · Acceleration · 49,600 miles · CA

My 2005 ford explorer engine shuts off while driving when cruise control is on. The engine also has a hum sound while cruise control was on.

Filed Sep 26, 2011 · 71,000 miles · KY

The car stalls while driving at various speeds from 25 MPH to 55 MPH without warning. The loss of power brakes and steering at these higher speeds is extremely dangerous especially in close traffic. After coasting to a stop the car restarts easily. This stalling occurs with the cruise control on and off and does not appear to be a factor. Weather in all cases was dry and warm. The stalling has occurred several times ,weeks and months apart. Two ford dealers have looked at the car but cannot find a computer code problem, they also haven't been able to recreate the problem thus they say they cannot fix the problem. A web search divulges that others have reported this similar problem to ford for the 2002,2004 and 2005 explorer. Please look into this before someone gets injured or killed!

Filed Oct 5, 2010 · Acceleration · 75,000 miles · NY

I have a problem with the cruise control on my 2005 ford explorer. My son first discovered it back in july-august 2010. While he was adjusting his speed for the cruise control while on the highway, the car completely stalled out and he lost all power steering and brakes. Thank goodness, he had the peace of mind to put the car in neutral and turn the key to start it again. I would not have thought to do that while traveling at a high speed trying to control the vehicle without power brakes or steering. Since that initial episode, both my son and my husband have tested it at slower speeds and have had the same results. So we brought it to a ford dealer in our area to have it checked out. They eventually determined that it was a problem with the electronic throttle box and that it would cost in the range of $800-850 to fix. I asked the dealer if there was a recall regarding this problem and he said there wasn't. I questioned why there wasn't since this was clearly a safety issue, stalling at high speeds. I realize it is only when I use the cruise control but that still doesn't take away the safety concern. He assured me that it would not happen if the cruise control was not used. So I opted to contact their customer service center to see what they could do. $800-850 is a lot of money. I got feedback on the issue a couple of days later that basically said there was no recall so they couldn't help me. Then I was asked to fill out a customer service survey where I reiterated that my concerns about the safety issue were not answered. I have not gotten a response from them and that was back on 8-10-10. So I am now writing to you. Just how does a safety recall get started? Are there other people out there that have had the same problem?

Filed Oct 15, 2009 · Acceleration · 1,550 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford explorer. While driving approximately 60 MPH with the cruise control system engaged, the scds deactivated without intention. The vehicle was restarted and she resumed normal vehicle operation. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. The technician was unable to duplicate the failure, therefore no repairs were made. The failure mileage was 1,550. The current mileage was 45,000. The consumer stated on several occasions, the cruise control would not resume after the brake was applied to reduce the speed. When the vehicle was restarted the system would work properly. Updated 11/04/09

Filed Aug 29, 2009 · Acceleration · 90,000 miles · DE

This morning, as I was in motion of (64mph). My cruise control was on and I pressed the off button on wheel to disengage. My truck completely shut down, the gas pedal felt like the truck was not on- it did nothing, the steering wheel was almost impossible to turn, the brake pedal very hard to push and would not bring the truck to a stop, the dash lights dimmed very low. After wrestling with these obstacles, I put the truck in park and turned eng. Off, then back on and I haven't tried the cruise since.

Filed Jun 27, 2009 · Acceleration · 65,000 miles · CA · fire

Car was parked and off out in front of garage, all doors locked. Approximately one hour we noticed the car was on fire outside. Fire was coming from inside engine hood. Fire department showed up, put out fire and kicked in the windows. Damage was severe and life-threatening; large fire almost caught the entire apartment building on fire. The fireman said that this seemed due to an electrical problem and not arson due to the way the fire came from the engine, all doors and windows of the car were closed with no evidence of break-in. This problem seems to be similar to the recall for scds the cruise control deactivation ford made on suvs and pickups 1998-2002 but this occurred on a 2005 ford explorer. Please help! People almost died due to this terrible hazard ford has not fixed.

Filed Apr 3, 2008 · Acceleration · 20,000 miles · NY

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford explorer. While driving 40 MPH with the cruise control activated, all of the warning lights illuminated and the vehicle slowed down. The contact pulled over and the vehicle stalled. The dealer could not diagnose the cause of the failure. The current mileage was 46,000 and failure mileage was 20,000.

Filed Mar 15, 2008 · Acceleration · 70,235 miles · VA

While driving the 2005 ford explorer xlt, 4x4 (4.0 l, 6-cyl, advance trac with roll stability control) vehicle , the cruise control was engaged at approximately 48 MPH. Less than 5 seconds later, while driving between 48 MPH and 50 MPH the vehicle engine shut-off. Ford car/truck dealer was notified that the engine shut-off while the vehicle cruise control was engaged at approximately 50 MPH. During the past two years the ford car/truck dealer was previously notified that engine failure had also occurred five separate times immediately after the cruise control was engaged.