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 2009 Ford F-150 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The gas pedal got stuck while I was driving. I couldn't stop it and lost control. It caused a horrific car accident. 10 people were involved and I'm currently fighting the case in court to prove I was not reckless. It has been inspected by my insurance but unfortunately it was only for damages and not for mechanical issues regarding the gas pedal.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 Ford f-150. While the vehicle was in reverse, it revved up. The brake pedal was depressed and extended to the floorboard. As a result, the contact crashed into an enclosed trailer on July 5, 2017. The failure recurred on November 24, 2017 and the vehicle crashed into a wall. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The air bags did not deploy and the vehicle was not towed. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 133,000.
While in drive at idle speed the trucks RPM jumped to approximately 4000 RPM instantly . I had to push my foot brake as hard as I could and put shifter in neutral then it was OK for a while then this happened again several weeks later took to dealer no check engine light could not find a problem very dangerous situation.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 Ford f-150. While driving approximately 65 MPH on a highway in an active construction zone, the accelerator pedal automatically dropped to the floorboard. The contact depressed the brake pedal to the floorboard, but the vehicle did not decelerate. The contact stated that he lost complete control of the vehicle and turned into a ditch to avoid a crash. The air bags did not deploy. While in the ditch, the vehicle was placed into neutral and the engine was shut off; however, the rear wheels kept spinning for thirty seconds. The contact had to apply full pressure to the accelerator pedal before it would disengage. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and could not assist. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The failure mileage was 107,365
After coming to a complete stop, I accelerated rapidly and let off the gas pedal once I reached the posted speed limit...the truck continued to accelerate on its own !! I had to stomp on the brakes to slow the truck down, threw it in neutral and rolled to a scary stop. The truck continued to rev to 4000 RPM's while in neutral. My wife jumped out of truck while we were at a red light. Luckily no one was in front of truck. While truck was revving in neutral on its own, I tried stomping on gas pedal several times to try to stop it from revving to no avail. I finally turned the truck off and restarted it a few minutes later, the truck idled normal. I immediately began to try to duplicate the problem to no avail the floor mat did not interfere with the pedal. I do have a video of the incident on my phone.
Vehicle was motion. Merging onto interstate 93. Depressed the accelerator to bring the vehicle to highway speed. When I took my foot off the accelerator, the pedal did not come back, but rather was stuck wide open. I was forced to pull into the breakdown lane, turn off the engine, put it in neutral and coast to a stop. After about 5 minutes, I restarted the truck and it was fine. This vehicle has the 4.6l 3-valve per cylinder v-8 engine with an automatic transmission. It does not have cruise control or any power options. I decided to file a complaint about this after reading over 100 reports of this same issue on the internet. The manufacturer denies there is a problem. Something needs to be done to correct this issue before someone gets killed because of it.
Tl contact owns a 2009 Ford f-150. While placing the vehicle into reverse, the accelerator pedal became stuck and the steering column locked to the left. The contact lost control of the vehicle and almost struck a pedestrian. The vehicle crashed and the contact was injured. The vehicle sustained damages to the cab, tires, and seating area. A police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop and inspected by a technician, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was inspected by an insurance agent, who is currently investigating the failure and repairing the vehicle. The contact is in the process of notifying the manufacturer. The failure and current mileages were 13,000. Updated 06/23/09. Updated 06/24/09.
2009 Ford f-150, 4.6l super crew. Pulled into driveway and stopped to allow passengers to disembark just outside of opened garage door. Once passengers entered house through door at front of garage, I removed my foot from the brake and pressed on accelerator to pull in. Vehicle suddenly surged forward and engine began to rev very high. Immediately pulled foot off accelerator pedal and pressed hard on brakes. Vehicle continued to surge forward and increase rpms. Unable to stop, vehicle slammed into front of garage wall. Airbags did not deploy, engine only stopped high revs and slowly returned to idle shortly after impact.
Traveling at 65 MPH on the express way, I took my foot off the accelerator and the truck took off, accelerating as if it was being floored!. I hit the brake pedal but the engine still continued to rev itself and accelerate. I thought it might be a stuck floor mat but nothing was in the way. I hit the brake pedal again and popped the gear shifter into neutral. This stopped the engine from revving itself and accelerating. I took the vehicle into the dealership, and they claim to have never heard of anything like this and can't find anything wrong with the vehicle! Thank god I did not smash into the vehicle that was in front of me.
While pulling away from a drive through window, I took my foot off the accelerator to put on the brake as I neared the stop sign at the intersection to enter main road. As this happened the truck accelerated suddenly and darted the truck and passengers into 2 lanes of traffic where they were hit by a van which in turn swung them into the opposite 2 lanes of traffic (so truck went through 4 lanes of traffic). Truck's airbags deployed on driver and passenger side (with driver seat bags too) and no injuries occurred. Truck is being fixed and will be taken to local Ford dealership afterward for evaluation.
Acceleration complaints in other F-150 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2009 Ford F-150?
NHTSA has 54 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2009 Ford F-150, 17% of the model year's 324 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2009 Ford F-150 acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2009 Ford F-150, 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 2009 Ford F-150 acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 44,000 miles, and 44% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 9 crashes, 1 fire and 11 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.