1999 Ford Ranger Acceleration Problems

Which parts fail

• Cruise control
  6
• Accelerator pedal
  3
• Linkages
  2
• Cables
  1

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

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  00%
• 25k–50k
  427%
• 50k–75k
  320%
• 75k–100k
  320%
• 100k–150k
  320%
• 150k+
  213%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1999 Ford Ranger owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

On 20 January 2015, approx 11:30 pm while the vehicle was parked in the garage since the previous evening, the vehicle alarm went on it's own. I went and turned it of f and while trying to figure out why, I smelled something burning immediately there was smoke coming from under the hood. I went into action and got the hood open, I saw flames coming from the switch at the end of the master cylinder. I've noticed the switch before, I did not know what it did, I just thought it was part of the braking system. I managed to put out the fire at that point. The switch was completely burned out, the brake fluid reservoir was badly charred but did not burn through (that would have been disastrous). The following day I was searching for a replacement switch (f3ta-9f924-ca) and found out it was called: speed control deactivation switch and has to do with the cruise control system. …

Tl contact owns a 1999 Ford Ranger. The contact was informed by someone that the vehicle was on fire while it was parked at his residence. The contact stated that the flames were coming from underneath the hood. The fire was extinguished by the contact. The fire department was not notified. The contact called the manufacturer stated that NHTSA recall 07V336000, vehicle speed control was related to the failure. The failure was not diagnosed by a dealer. There were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages were 146000.

Tl contact owns a 1999 Ford Ranger. Recall notice#05s28 indicated the speed control switch should be deactivated. The vehicle was parked in a parking lot, it caught fire and burned other vehicles. The fire began under the hood. A fire department report is available. The current and failure mileages were 115000.

Under full brakes the pickup continues to move forward especially on slippery surfaces. The motor does not accelerate but neither does it slow down while stepping on the brake and the accelerator pedal is not depressed. This has resulted in quite a few close calls and one minor accident.

Tl contact owns a 1999 Ford Ranger. While driving 65 MPH with the cruise control engaged, the vehicle shut off without warning. Approximately two weeks later, the failure recurred. As of September 17, 2007, the dealer had not inspected the vehicle. NHTSA campaign id number 07V336000 (vehicle speed control) was referenced. The dealer stated that the part was unavailable and they would disconnect the vehicle speed control. The contact was dissatisfied with the remedy. The failure mileage was 50,000 and current mileage was 60,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while driving an unknown speed with the cruise control activated, the buttons on the steering wheel become abnormally hot. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not repaired or inspected. The manufacture was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 144,000 and the current mileage was 150,784. Updated 06/10/14 the consumer stated the manufacturer refused any assistance because the vehicle was over 150,000 miles. Updated 06/16/2014

Ford has an active recall, begun about 3 months ago, but doesn't have the parts available to fix this problem. At the very least this is extremely poor customer service, at the worst it is fraud - depriving me of the vehicle I originally paid for! This is the recall for cruise control, a feature I use frequently and specifically bought with this model. Ford knew they had a problem and they would need the parts to fix it - why don't they have it, or have responsibility for compensating for failing to have it?

Incident #1:approaching a stop sign doing approx 10-15 MPH. Vehicle engine started surging 3-4 times. RPM went up to approx 2100 then the problem went away. Foot "did not" slip from brake pedal to gas pedal. If my foot was not on brake vehicle would have shot through the stop sign. Incident #2: 11/12/2005: vehicle was moving approx 5 MPH in front yard when the engine RPM surged up to approx 2100. Had to firmly apply brake or vehicle would have jumped forward. Problem lasted aprrox 3-4 seconds.

Consumer stated when the engine was hot it was difficult to disengage the clutch . Vehicle accelerated to 4000 rpms. When the clutch was engaged engine continued to operate excessively. When driving vehicle did not slow down. Manufacturer's recall was issued. However, this vehicle was not included due to VIN. The initial problem started some time ago when the cruise control was engaged. The problem ceased for a while. However, consumer was afraid to drive. And had it repaired.

1999 Ford Ranger sport truck 4 cyl 5 speed stick power steering , brakes, air conditioning , cruise control. Once in a while it will accelerate by itself. With foot off of the pedal it will keep accelerating . Then it will gradually come back down in speed. I can never tell how long it will last. Usually it is a matter of 10-15 seconds it can happen whether the vehicle is hot or cold. It seems to accelerate up to about highway rpms 2500-3000 . It can be a little nerve wrecking.

Related recalls

Acceleration complaints in other Ranger years