1996 Ford F-150 Acceleration Problems

Which parts fail

• Cruise control
  22

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

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  00%
• 25k–50k
  00%
• 50k–75k
  621%
• 75k–100k
  27%
• 100k–150k
  1241%
• 150k+
  931%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1996 Ford F-150 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

The contact owned a 1996 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 05V017000 (Vehicle Speed Control). The contact stated that while parked in the driveway, she observed fire between the finder and the hood. The heat from the fire rippled the front of the garage causing property damage. The vehicle was not diagnosed and the origin of the fire was not determined. The fire was extinguished by the fire department. The vehicle was towed to an unknown impound lot. It was unknown if a police report or fire department report was filed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 1996 Ford f-150. The contact was notified by his mother that the vehicle was on fire while parked in the driveway. The contact noticed flames under the hood on the driver's side near the windshield. The contact was able to extinguish the fire. When the contact opened the hood, he noticed that the wiring harness, fuse box, and relay box were burned, and the master brake cylinder was completely melted. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 05V017000 (vehicle speed control). The fire department was not notified. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 200,000.

Dt: 1996, Ford f150 pickup truck caught on fire while parked outside of the garage and the engine was not running. The truck had not been driven for at least 2 hours prior. The last time it driven was on short trip to a local gas station in which the fuel tank was filled up. Consumer was notified by a passing driver, who was in the neighborhood and knocked on the door to alert them, that truck parked in the driveway on fire. Consumer's husband and the passer by tried to put out the fire with a water hose and fire extinguishers. However, they were unsuccessful. The fire department came and put the fire out. The fire began on the left front driver's side near steering wheel. The firemen noted it smelled electrical in nature, and that the heat from fire was most extensive and contained in heat on the driver's side. The cab was burned extensively. …

A fire occurred under the hood of our 1996 Ford f-150, destroying the whole front end and into the cab. Truck is a total loss. No one was hurt, and it was parked on my job parking lot, away from any close vehicles. I had just driven to work. I arrived to work as a security officer at 11:20p.m. And at 12:50a.m. The truck was in flames. We bought it used in March 2008 and had never heard of any recalls or any defects. It was a very clean, well kept truck. We received one recall notice in late November early December 2008(during holidays) about a speed control switch. The letter stated that the vehicle could ignite at any time. It gave no warning signs to look for and stated if we could not get it in right away to park it away from any dwellings. My husband is disabled, he couldn't just run down there, and it was the holidays as well. …

Dt: the consumer stated that 1996 Ford f150 caught on fire and burned. The vehicle was parked and turned off in the consumer's driveway. The truck had been parked for about twenty to thirty minutes. The cruise control was used the day prior to turning off the truck. Everything on the truck was in working order. There were no prior problems with the truck. The fire started under the hood. The consumer could not tell for certain the location was where the fire started. The fire department told the consumers where the fire started. A reported was taken by the fire department. No injuries were reported. There was property damage to an outside building that the consumer owned. The consumer took pictures of the vehicle and could supply a copy of if needed. The fire department did not give any indication of what started the fire. The vehicle was completely destroyed.

1996 Ford f150 had made a short trip to home depot. Approximately 1 hr. Later I smelled what seemed like burning tar. I looked and there was a large amount of smoke coming from under my hood.. Upon inspection I found the cruise control brake switch smoking profusely, a small flame. And extremely hot. I unplugged it and the immediate problem stopped.. The switch is burnt and melted. If I had not been outside and found this even 5 minutes later. I would now have a burned truck. This is the same switch that Ford has recalled on the 2000 models.and admitted to having a problem as far back as the 97 models. But not on 96. I have checked their web site and there is no recall on this year. I will be taking it to the local Ford dealership soon.. But was wondering if you had any more complaints on this model for this problem.

Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle was parked at an independent repair shop for inspection of the brakes due to a previous failure of the master cylinder and brake fluid leakage, when a fire erupted from the front under hood area and spread from the vehicle to the repair shop. No injuries were sustained. Extensive damage was sustained to the vehicle and the repair shop. A police report was not taken. The fire department was alerted and extinguished the fire. The fire department inspected the vehicle and determined the fire originated from the master cylinder. The vehicle was awaiting further inspection by a manufacturer representative. There was a NHTSA recall, #05V388000, regarding the vehicle speed control. The vehicle was not included in the recall due to the VIN. Updated 9/15/2006 -

Denton, texas. Recently purchased used 1996 Ford f 150 truck, sat in work parking lot under a shade tree from 7:30 am-3:15 pm...and engine compartment burst into flames, destroying the truck. I was notified at 3:20 that my truck was on fire which was not able to be put out with hand extinguishers. Fire dept was called, broke windows to put out fire inside the cab. Truck was totally burned out from cab forward. Police were called, but refused to come. Fire marshall in did not respond to call. Message was left on answering machine. Shade tree was burned, but vehicles nearby were moved prior to any involvement. No personal injuries occurred.

Tl contact owns a 1996 Ford f150. On October 4, 2007, the vehicle burst into flames while parked on the side of the house. A tree and some of the grass caught fire. A fire report was filed. The manufacturer stated that they would not be able to determine if the fire was due to recall number 05s28 because of the extensive fire damage. The current and failure mileages were 119,934. Updated 01/02/08 the consumer believed the fire was related to the recall regarding the cruise control. Ford stated they could not find any evidence that the fire was related to the recall. Updated

The cruise control cut out switch on my 1996 Ford f-150 caught on fire between noon 7/23 and 09:15 am 7/24/2005 while the vehicle was parked switch off in my garage. The brake fluid reservoir remained intact but was damaged by the fire. If it had dumped the fluid I should have lost my house ,my car and probably my life. This item has resulted in a recall on some late model trucks and SUV's but I was not notified that the same switch as the recall units was on my truck. Symptoms included the cruise control becoming inoperative a couple of weeks before the fire. Thanks t hogan.

Related recalls

Acceleration complaints in other F-150 years