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2004 Ford Ranger acceleration complaints

Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 19 of 19, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2004 Ford Ranger acceleration problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Jan 23, 2006 · Acceleration, Brakes · 30,000 miles · GA · crash

Dt*: the contact stated while approaching an intersection at 40mph the vehicle in front stopped short. When the brakes were depressed the vehicle seemed to accelerate rather than slow down. The contact swerved to avoid a direct rear end collision, but clipped the vehicle in the right rear bumper. Both vehicles sustained only minor damage. The police filed a report at the scene. The contact experienced two previous failures with the brakes, but no accidents resulted in the other incidents. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, but the problem could not be duplicated. However, the dealer replaced the brake pads.

Filed Sep 12, 2005 · Acceleration · 22,000 miles · IN

(1) when I (the driver) have attempted to stop the vehicle (a 2004 ford ranger with automatic v-6), the throttle fails to disengage and even appears to be working to overcome the brakes. This has occurred (3) times since the vehicle's purchase on july 30, 2005. (2) while the occurrences appear random in nature, the engine races, tires spin/squeal even with the brake pedal fully depressed. The problem has occurred each time when the engine is warm and always when attempting to come to a stop at low speeds, such as at a stop sign or in a parking lot. No accident has occurred yet, however, this was purely a matter of luck and timing. (3) the vehicle has been returned to the ford dealership twice and no corrective actions have taken place, as the dealership can not duplicate the random event.

Filed Jan 24, 2005 · Acceleration · 18,700 miles · NY · crash

After making a right turn, the vehicle accelerated and lurched forward and crashed into a bridge. The consumer drove the vehicle home and a tow truck picked the vehicle up and took the vehicle to the dealer. The problem was not determined.

Filed Dec 28, 2004 · Acceleration · 8,985 miles · OR · crash

While driving 50 MPH, the accelerator pedal became stuck and the vehicle accelerated to 70 MPH. The consumer hit a wall. The vehicle was towed.

Filed Nov 17, 2004 · Acceleration · CO

The engine controller tends to hold the engine speed between 2000 and 2500 RPM when my foot is not touching the accelerator pedal. This behavior is most obvious when the clutch is depressed while changing gears. The engine RPM is held artificially high (way above normal idle) for as long as I depress the clutch, up until the point that the vehicle has coasted almost to a complete stop. I believe that the computer also does this when the clutch is engaged. For example, if I remove pressure from the accelerator pedal and allow the vehicle to coast with the clutch engaged while in third gear on a level road, the vehicle never slows down below approximately 30 MPH (corresponding to approximately 2000 engine rpms). Also, while descending a hill in a low (2nd/3rd) gear using engine braking (not touching the gas pedal), I can feel the truck spontaneously accelerate. I first took the truck to the dealer for this complaint on 10/22/04. The technician confirmed the behavior, inspected various sensors, probed the computer for error codes, and eventually resorted to resetting the computer in hopes that the problem would magically disappear. This of course did not fix the problem, so I returned to the dealership on 11/16/04 with the same complaint. They researched the issue and found that it is a "normal characteristic" of the vehicle, supposedly added to the computer program to improve emissions. Aside from being annoying, I believe that this "feature" could pose a safety problem because it reduces the effectiveness and predictability of engine braking on down-hill grades. Engine braking is very important in my area because of the steep, frequently snow-covered roads.

Filed Nov 3, 2004 · Acceleration · 100 miles · WY

The vehicle experienced an acceleration problem. When driving down the road the accelerator will remain open even after consumer took foot off the accelerator pedal, and the rpms will hold at 3,000 rpms. The consumer contacted the dealer, and was told that this was designed to reduce fuel emissions. This defect occurred intermittently. *ak

Filed Aug 31, 2004 · Acceleration, Airbags · CA · crash · 2 injuries

While driving 45 MPH vehicle suddenly accelerated. Consumer applied both feet to the brake pedal and vehicle continued to accelerate, causing the vehicle to hit an embankment and roll over more than twice. Driver and passenger sustained neck and back injuries and were transported by ambulance to the hospital. Vehicle was totaled out by the insurance company. Upon impact, the air bags did not deploy.

Filed Mar 23, 2004 · Acceleration · 750 miles · CA

While driving vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own. This sudden acceleration occurred more than thirty times since ownership of the vehicle. Four different dealers examined the vehicle, and none of them could find the cause of the problem.

Filed Mar 23, 2004 · Acceleration · GA

Repeatedly hit the accelorator pedal when applying brakes.

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