2008 Ford Mustang: sudden unintended acceleration

Filed Dec 18, 2023 · Brakes, Engine · MO

I have a 2008 Ford Mustang with a V-6 engine. Recently I had to jump start it twice in a week's time to get it started and decided to take it to my dealer to have the battery checked. On the way there, I had to stop for a line of line of traffic at a red light. The instant I applied the brakes the engine started racing. I stood on the brakes as hard as I could, but could not bring the car to a complete stop. I got it slowed down to about three MPH, steered it into a parking lot that was next to me, and shoved it into park. I was afraid to drive it, so I called AAA and had it towed to my dealer. I told them how the engine started to race when I applied the brakes, and that I couldn't bring the car to a complete stop. They wrote it up that the engine started running rough when I applied the brakes. That is not what I told them. They made no written reference to the unintended acceleration. This struck me as odd. Their analysis of the vehicle showed that the master cylinder and brake power booster had failed. They told me that sometimes when these components fail they can cause the engine to rev. My engine more than revved, it sounded like it was racing at full throttle. The incident shook me up quite a bit. It also seemed odd to me that two major brake components would fail at the same time. I had gotten new front and read brake pads earlier in the years and no other brake issues were discovered. Though the car has been repaired and seems to be OK, I'm somewhat skittish about driving it. I'm aware that there was a class action law suit filed against Ford in 2013 for 2002-2010 Ford vehicles claiming unintended acceleration. Though the suit was dismissed, I'm worried that the problem still exists. I know for a fact that my foot was fully on the brake pedal, and that the floor mat played no role in this issue. I had no similar issues with the car in the fifteen years prior.

Filed Jul 22, 2015 · Electrical · 27,000 miles · MD

Vehicle was being driven in a parade when it suddenly accelerated or surged at children walking in front two separate times. The first time the vehicle was stopped by the brake and the second time with the brake and the gear shift to neutral. Car was taken to ford dealer, the could not duplicate problem, but reprogrammed the computer and decarbonized the engine with no guarantee that the problem was fixed. Complaint file was started by ford 10733728.

Filed Jul 13, 2015 · Engine · 27,000 miles · MD

I was participating in a community parade, with lots of children, I was moving slowly when the car suddenly accelerated during two occasions. I was able to stop the car with the brake the first time and with the brake and shifting to neutral the second time. The vehicle was decarbonized and reprogrammed by the dealer with no guarantee that the problem was fixed. Ford started a case file: cas-7491264 on the incident.

Filed Oct 26, 2010 · Acceleration · 50,000 miles · CA · crash · 1 injury

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 ford mustang. While driving approximately 20 MPH the vehicle surged forward resulting in a crash. A police report was filed and within a few days the driver was taken to the hospital for injuries that were sustained during the crash. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop where it was not examined to determine the cause of failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 50,000.

Filed Jun 23, 2010 · Acceleration · 19,700 miles · CA · crash · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford mustang. The contact stated while pulling into a parking space at relatively low, unknown speeds, the vehicle abnormally accelerated. The contact was unable to stop the vehicle as it proceeded to jump a concrete curb and crashed through a row of bushes. The passenger reached over and shifted the vehicle into park. The unintended acceleration ended. The contact was able to reverse the vehicle and park without further incident. On a separate occasion, while driving at unknown speeds and attempting to brake, the vehicle abnormally accelerated a second time. The contact attempted to brake but to no avail. The vehicle crashed into the side of a building. The front air bags deployed. The contact suffered minor unknown injuries and the police were called to the scene. A police report was available. The vehicle was towed by her insurance company. The manufacturer was notified of the failure via email. She had not yet received a response. The failure and current mileages were 19,700.

Filed Feb 7, 2010 · Transmission · 5,450 miles · CA · crash

My accident happened in a parking lot. When carefully backing out of my parking spot, my car suddenly accelerated. I tried unsuccessfully to stop the car by hitting the brakes. My car kept accelerating. It clipped another parked vehicle. My car came finally to a stop when it hit a water hydrant/ sprinkler system.

Filed Oct 1, 2008 · Acceleration · IL

I rented a 2008 ford mustang from hertz. While turning a corner, the car accelerated on its own, and I had to brake hard to stop it. This only occurred once during the several days in which I drove the car. I have reported this to hertz.