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 2017 Ford Expedition owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Vehicle suddenly shifts to 1st gear while travelling at 45MPH or more causing immediate jerking and slowing of vehicle, placing driver, occupants and other drivers at risk of crash. In this condition, the speedometer reads 0MPH while still travelling and other warnings on dash are: Airbag Failure, Blindspot system fault, Cross traffic system fault, and See manual. Vehicle then appears stuck in 3rd gear until pulling over, stopping the engine and restarting. All warnings clear after restarting. This has occurred many times without proper diagnosis from Ford service. Now vehicle is doing this two to three times weekly and is currently in Ford service. Now diagnosed as Lead Frame Failure. …
For 1.5+ years, the transmission will unexpectedly and suddenly downshift into 1st gear without warning. Which causes a sudden deceleration. No warning lights before it happens. It occurs randomly and at different speeds. It has happened over 20 times. I've experienced it happening at speed ranging from 35mph to 65mph. The gear shifter was in the drive position each time this issue occurred. The suv is the 2017 ford expedition EL with the 3.5L ecoboost engine with 6 speed automatic transmission. No check engine light before or after the issue (so no OBD2 code to read) a big yellow warning appears during/after saying "see manual". Sometimes the issue will resolve in a few seconds. The suv has not been to the dealership yet for this issue. But i will be contacting ford today.
Vehicle was jerking and a wrench illuminated on panel. Was able to get out of traffic to side of road but very dangerous as we had to just coast to safety. Took vehicle to dealership...code threw for throttle active stuck. This happened on March 23, 2022. Than again on July 23, 2022, was on interstate and wrench illuminated and again stalled. 75 Mph traffic and thank goodness we was able to clear traffic to side of road. Limped home. 1st incident mileage was 118395. And second incident 128024.3
Driving vehicle on road and car lost all acceleration power. The check engine light appeared and the problem was diagnosed as a faulty throttle body. This exact same issue has been identified as a recall item with an extended warranty (ten years or 150,000 miles) on other Ford vehicles but for some unknown reason the 2017 expedition is not covered. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE... I did speak to Ford and they offered no assistance.
Sudden and severe downshifts occurred at roadway and highway speeds resulting in sudden speed decrease. Also revving and loss of power occurred. Problem codes P0706 & P0707 were logged which point directly to the Transmission Range Sensor (TRS), which is integrated into the molded lead frame. This sudden and uncontrolled loss of speed caused significant danger to vehicles, ocupants, and other vehicles.
The electronic throttle body gets stuck closed. The engine stalls or goes into limp mode. At highway speed I then have to try and navigate a dead car to the shoulder or am stuck in the middle lane with cars going past at 70+ mph. This is a known defect in fords engine and other years/models are recalled. 2017 Ford Expedition needs to be added immediately. This is dangerous.
I can be driving up a hill the traction control warning light and hill decent braking light come on causing the vehicle speed to drop the vehicle shakes acting like it is trying to stop. Once you stop and turn the vehicle off the error codes go away . This problem has been occurring since early September it currently only occurs going up hill on one road
Driving at highway speed, vehicle gauges drops to zero and transmission stays at 3rd gear. Unable to know what travel speed is while trying to exit safety off highway. Have to turn off engine to reset issue, but no way to figure out what happened.
In 2022, around mileage of 67000, our SUV was climbing a steep road when it suddenly made a pop sound & went into limp mode with the wrench light showing and the engine sounding rough. It felt like no fuel was getting to the engine & the gas pedal was non-responsive. The RPMs didn't change when the gas pedal was pressed. The grade was so steep, we barely made it to the side of the road without rolling backwards into traffic behind us. After turning the engine off and sitting about 10 mins, we tried starting the engine again. The car seemed to have reset itself! It ran fine; the wrench light turned off, and the gas pedal was responsive again. (At the time, we were on vacation at the coast and had traveled from our home at about elevation 3500'. We had also recently had to buy gas from a small no name gas station, so we feared we may have gotten bad fuel). …
Tl* the contact leased a 2017 Ford Expedition. While attempting to park the vehicle with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle began to accelerate independently and crashed into a tree. The air bags deployed. A police report was filed. The contact sustained a concussion, lacerations to the left shin, and bad bruises to the right side of the neck and shoulder. Medical attention was required. The vehicle was towed from the scene. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was approximately 25,600.
Acceleration complaints in other Expedition years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2017 Ford Expedition?
NHTSA has 21 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2017 Ford Expedition, 6% of the model year's 357 complaints. The component named most often is throttle (5 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2017 Ford Expedition acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2017 Ford Expedition, though it has 4 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 2017 Ford Expedition acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 50,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 4 injuries 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.