2005 Ford Explorer Acceleration Problems

Which parts fail

• Cruise control
  6
• Accelerator pedal
  4

Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  923%
• 25k–50k
  923%
• 50k–75k
  1025%
• 75k–100k
  410%
• 100k–150k
  513%
• 150k+
  38%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Ford Explorer owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Ford Explorer. While the contact was reversing out of the driveway, the vehicle was placed into drive and accelerated on its own. The accelerator pedal became stuck at 60 MPH. The vehicle went through a backyard, drove over a curb, drove through a neighbor's backyard, and crashed into a tree. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained two black eyes and a concussion that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The crash was not in relation to any recall. The failure mileage was 108,673.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Ford Explorer. While driving at 5 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated. As a result, the vehicle crashed into the contact's garage and other vehicle. There were no injuries. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 160,000. Updated 09/10/15

I was driving on 77 north in fancy gap, va, when suddenly I lost power steering and acceleration. I noticed smoke coming from car and in fact the car in front of me said he noticed black smoke and flames underneath the car. I pulled over to the shoulder and the car was immediately in flames. I exited through driver side door. My passenger had to exit through driver door as well because flames were spreading across the passenger side of the car. We distanced ourselves from the vehicle as the entire thing became engulfed in flames. Carroll county fire department and va state police arrived. It took over 45 minutes for the fire to be extinguished; the car kept re-igniting, even after several applications of water and anti-flame chemicals. The entire vehicle melted, including tires. Nothing was salvageable. The vehicle was a 2005 Ford Explorer with only 47,000 miles. …

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.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Ford Explorer. When attempting to start the vehicle, the engine began to sputter. She restarted the vehicle to resume normal vehicle operation. On another occasion while driving, the power steering and brakes failed without warning, which caused her to crash into a fence. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for inspection on two separate occasions. The failure was contributed to the fuel sensor and throttle position sensor. The throttle position sensor was replaced. The repair did not remedy the failure. The failure mileage was 45,000. The current mileage was 80,000. The vehicle identification number was unavailable.

Tl contact owns a 2005 Ford Explorer. While driving 5 MPH, the accelerator pedal became stuck. The contact drove over a curb and into a scaffold, which finally stopped the vehicle. There were no warning indicators prior to the failure. The dealer stated that the throttle body assembly failed. The windshield, hood, roof, fender, front driver's seat, and passenger's sun visor all sustained over $5,000 worth of damage. The contact stated that she did not want the vehicle back because she is afraid. A police report was filed. The failure mileage was 81,000.

Tl contact owns a 2005 Ford Explorer xlt. While driving in reverse out of a parking space she lightly placed her feet on the accelerator pedal and suddenly the vehicle accelerated and crashed into a parked vehicle. The parked vehicle was pushed into two other parked vehicles. She stated that her vehicle does not have floor mats. There were no injuries. The insurance company will investigate the failure. The vehicle's body was repaired. The police report number is 09-19790. The current and the failure mileages were 52,287. Updated 11/18/09.lj updated 11/19/09

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that on three separate occasions while depressing the brakes, the vehicle abnormally accelerated and the contact was unable to stop the vehicle. On the third instance of the failure, the vehicle accelerated and crashed into a parked vehicle. There were no injuries reported and no police report. The vehicle was not inspected or repaired for the failure. The manufacturer was not notified. The current mileage was approximately 97,000 and the failure mileage was approximately 25,000.

The vehicle shuts off while driving causing loss of power steering, power brakes with a complete loss of power. This is an ongoing problem and has happend during highway high speed driving. It happens on cars built 11/24/04 and prior. The codes are p2106 and p2135. It's caused by a faulty throttle position sensor and requires a powertrain control module reset b36.11, b37.2 or higher. This has been an ongoing problem thar Ford readily ackowledges. They have ugraded the throttle position sensor twice without solving the problem.

While turning around in a large driveway at low speeds, my 2005 Ford Explorer suddenly and unexpectedly accelerated causing it to run into a fence causing damage to the front end of the vehicle (minor) also ripping off the running board after running over a large log. This car has also failed to start at times and once the engine died while driving on the freeway for no apparent reason.

Acceleration complaints in other Explorer years