uncontrolled acceleration

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nbaker

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My 2000 Expo Eddie Bauer awd 5.4l is accelerating on its own after being driven at hwy speeds(65+) and when you apply the brakes it will accelerate. It does it both after using the cruise control and with out using it. It will get to the point of redline and you have to shut it off or its going to blow. Ford says the recall from early 2000's was done and the cruise control switch and harness have been replaced. Local dealership is no help, they argued with me that the recall even was real.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?
 

01yellerCobra

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That's a cable operated throttle right? Have you disconnected the cruise cable to make sure it's not sticking? Is there a return spring missing that's supposed to be there? If all those are ok you might need to remove the throttle body and clean it.

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BAD RONALD

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... Ford says the recall from early 2000's was done and the cruise control switch and harness have been replaced. Local dealership is no help, they argued with me that the recall even was real.

There would be a blue tag on the harness if the recall work was done. This recall involved overheating and fire danger.

I have a '95 Aerostar that experienced runaway acceleration that was triggered by cruise control use. A tap on the brakes would stop the acceleration in my case. I do not know what correction was made to the cruise control at the dealer, but the condition never recurred after service.

Ford has always tried to deny existence of rapid uncontrollable acceleration, but it once was common enough in FOMOCO cars and trucks. One famous runaway incident (similar to yours) involved a Lincoln Town Car driven by a Secret Service Agent. The car intended for use by then VP Al Gore arrived at the White House where it took off out of control across the lawn and had to be crashed into a tree to be stopped. The agent, even while standing on the brake pedal with both feet, could not control the runaway. This occurred before Gore had entered the Lincoln. Pretty hard for Ford to cry "operator error" in this case, one would think.

Expand your search on this problem beyond this board. There's gotta be a ton of information for you.
 
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splintrcel

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is the speed deactivation switch the pressure sensor located on the master cylinder or is it something else. I replaced that a few years ago but i was unaware of this problem, thanks for the heads up. My expediiton this summer randomly accelerated when i was at low speeds two times and i dont know what the cause of it was. This could be the issue.
 

splintrcel

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I just answered my own question with google lol, it is the cruise control sensor on the master cylinder. Its like a $15 part and takes like 10 min to swap
 

Mikes05expy

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I had the same unexpected acceleration issue on my 05 right after replacing the throttle position sensor. It happened twice within a couple days, both times were while using the cruise control and a tap on the brake stopped it. One of the two times was while trying to drop speed with the steering wheel controls and instead it accelerated rapidly, but it hasn't done it since.

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nbaker

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Thanks for the trips, I'm going to tear into it tomorrow. Also all 3 times that is has happened it was very cold, below zero cold, -5 at least.
 
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nbaker

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Changed the cruise control switch out last weekend. Friday was the first time out with in on the highway. It happened again after 40 miles @ 75 mph average, I checked periodically by lifting off the gas and RPM's & speed would drop off like normal. I didn't turn on the cruise control at all during the trip. Went to slow down coming into town and that's when I happened, I was able to control it with the brakes but it was still trying to accelerate. It lasted about 10 minutes and then **** it was back to normal driving.
 

toms89

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With the 2000 expedition the only thing that can apply throttle other than the driver is the cruise control. I would disconnect the cable as suggested to see if it still happens or goes away.

When you say uncontrolled acceleration to what degree do you mean?? Like w.o.t. or slight increase in rpm...

A video with instrument cluster in view may help..

Heavy type acceleration I could only attribute to cruise control issues or really big shoes catching the throttle pedal while braking... lol. Some thoughts for mild unintentional acceleration would be pcm control issues, faulty throttle body, IAC, intermittent vacuum leak, tranny, etc...
 
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