Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Ford Expedition owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I was driving about 25-30mph and making a left turn. The vehicle suddenly shut off. I had no power steering or anything. It was totally off and stopped in the middle of the road. If a car had been coming it would have hit us. I was able to turn off the key, put it in park and start it up and pull off the road. I decided to carefully try to get home. On the way home I was stopped at a red light and it shut off again, no warning. I was blocking traffic. I was again able to turn off the key, put it in park, and start it up. I made it home a short distance. This is very dangerous and someone could get killed on a highway by a car randomly shutting off and becoming unsteerable.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Ford Expedition. While driving 72 MPH, the vehicle accelerated to 90 MPH without warning. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed, but failed to slow down the vehicle. The contact was able to get the vehicle off the highway and into a field where the vehicle was turned off and allowed to slow down. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was informed that the brake pads and rotors needed to be replaced. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 192,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving and depressing the brakes in order to stop the vehicle, it accelerated. Recently, the contact began to drive in reverse out of a parking space and the vehicle accelerated and crashed into another vehicle. The police were notified but a report was not filed. There were no injuries associated with the crash. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 49,000. The current mileage was approximately 69,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Ford Expedition. While driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle's speed decelerated to 20 MPH. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road and turned off the engine. Once restarted, the vehicle was able to operate normally. The contact stated that the failure recurred after driving 30 miles down the road and the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 196,997.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled. On another occasion, the vehicle stalled after the vehicle engine safety mode was initiated while driving approximately 5 MPH. The vehicle was restarted but the failure recurred five minutes later. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the throttle body sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.
As I was slowing down and made a right turn into a parking space, the vehicle accelerated on its own, running over the concrete stop and the curve. The car continued to accelerate and ran head on into a tree that was approximately 10 feet away from the parking space. The driver airbag did not deploy. My car was totaled as a result of this accident.
Driving to work via freeway, had just reached the bottom of a freeway off-ramp, at a stoplight. Light turned green, had just started to go and the "fail safe engine mode" light on my 2006 Ford Expedition came on the dashboard, within 5 seconds the car turned off on its own, like taking the key out of the ignition. Had it towed to a Ford dealership, they ran diagnostics, said the throttle body assembly needed replacing. I looked on the internet, googling "fail safe engine mode" and "Ford" and found this to be a common problem. Asked why it's not a recall item or has a technical bulletin with so many cases of it, plus it's very dangerous. Many in their internet postings said the problem comes back. Dealership said to contact Ford corporate, opened a cudl case for me to request reimbursement. …
Vehicle simply shuts off at any time and shows 'engine fail safe mode'. This has happened approximately 15 times since we bought the vehicle (used) in March 2012 (most recently on 10/13). I have researched this online and many other owners have the same complaint. We replaced the tps at a cost of around $300 as a possible fix and this worked for about 6 months - now the problem is back and my research indicates we need to have the throttle body replaced. This will cost us around $500 - for a total repair cost of around $800 - which we cannot afford! Ford has literally $hundreds of millions to take care of this and must recall due to this issue - there is no excuse to allow this dangerous problem to continue. Ford motor co. Owes me $800 due to their poor engineering and unwillingness to solve this issue - they are greedy crooks.
Tl contact owns a 2006 Ford Expedition. While driving approximately 70 MPH all of the interior and exterior lights began to dim. The radio shut off and the vehicle then stalled. The vehicle was towed home where she replaced the alternator. Approximately 5 months later the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the starter was replaced. Approximately 1 month later the failure began to intermittently recur. During one of the failures the check engine light also began to illuminate on the dashboard. The vehicle was taken back to an authorized dealer where she was informed the failure was due to the throttle body. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 87,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that the vehicle decelerated and entered into fail safe mode while driving 55 MPH. The vehicle would not accelerate further once it entered fail safe mode. The contact shut the vehicle off and upon restart, the vehicle operated as normal. The failure recurred once. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and the contact was informed that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 103,000. Updated 8/23/12 updated 09/06/2012
Acceleration complaints in other Expedition years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2006 Ford Expedition?
NHTSA has 29 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2006 Ford Expedition, 10% of the model year's 299 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2006 Ford Expedition acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2006 Ford Expedition, though it has 2 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2006 Ford Expedition acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 86,000 miles, and 7% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.