2009 Ford F-150

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 FORD F-150. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE VIOLENTLY SHOOK ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,000. UPDATED 8/22/13 *CN THE TRACK BAR WAS REPLACED WITH OEM PARTS. ALL OF THE BALL JOINTS AND SHOCKS WERE REPLACED. THE TIRES WERE REPLACED, INCLUDING BALANCING. THE TRUCK WAS ALIGNED AND THE TIRES HAVE THE SAME AND PROPER AIR PRESSURE. THE TRUCK WOULD VIOLENTLY SHAKE EVERY TIME IT HIT ANY KIND OF SMALL BUMP. IT HAPPENED EVERY COUPLE OF MILES. THE SHAKING WAS SO BAD, IT FELT AS THOUGH, THE TIRES HAD BLOWN OUT. THE ONLY THING, THE CONSUMER COULD DO WAS STOP.

FROM A STOP, I RAPIDLY ACCELERATED TO 40 MPH. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO STOP AT RED LIGHT I HAD TO APPLY EXCESSIVE BRAKE FORCE TO STOP. THE ENGINE WAS RUNNING AT HIGH RPM WITH FOOT OFF ACCELERATOR. I HAD TO TURN OFF IGNITION TO PREVENT GOING INTO INTERSECTION. THEN A FEW MINUTES LATER I WAS ON HIGHWAY GOING 70 MPH AND SET CRUISE. I TOOK MY EXIT, PRESSED ON BRAKE TO TURN OFF CRUISE. THE EXIT SPEED WAS 45 MPH. I WAS NOT SLOWING DOWN AND PRESSED BRAKES VERY HARD TO REDUCE SPEED. THE ENGINE WAS STILL RACING HIGH SPEED AS I WAS APPROACHING A STOP LIGHT. I HAD TO PLACE TRANS. IN NEUTRAL AND SWITCH OFF IGNITION. AFTER STARTING ENGINE AGAIN RPM IDLE WAS NORMAL AND PROBLEM DID NOT RE-OCCUR ALL THE WAY HOME. ON 7/25/13 I TURNED IN TRUCK TO HOMER SKELTON FORD IN OLIVE BRANCH, MS. WITH A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT TO SERVICE PERSONNEL TO INSPECT OR REPAIR VEHICLE. (THIS WAS A FIRST EVENT SINCE OCT. 2012) I FOUND A CODE C1963 IN COMPUTER USING CAR MD AND LOADED DEFECT ONTO WEB SITE FOR MY RECORDS. *TR

I BOUGHT A PREOWNED 2009 FORD F-150 IN NOVEMBER 2011 WITH 49000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. I HAD ALWAYS COMPLAINED THE INSTRUMENT GAUGES WERE DIFFICULT TO SEE. I FINALLY INVESTIGATED AND REALIZED THAT THE INSTRUMENT PANEL IS NOT ILLUMINATED UNDER DAYLIGHT CONDITIONS. IT IS ONLY ILLUMINATED WHEN THE PARKING LIGHTS OR HEADLIGHTS ARE ON. THE ONLY WAY TO GET ILLUMINATION DURING DAYLIGHT IS TO COVER THE LIGHT SENSOR THUS SIMULATING DARKNESS. THIS,HOWEVER, ONLY ILLUMINATES THE GAUGES AT THE LOWER SETTING FOR NIGHTTIME DRIVING. THE DIMMER KNOB/WHEEL IS OPERATIONAL BUT DOES NOT INCREASE ILLUMINATION TO THE LEVEL EXPECTED FOR DAYLIGHT DRIVING. THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO OTHER COMPLAINTS ON THIS WEBSITE REGARDING THIS ISSUE AND THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER LIKE COMPLAINTS ON OTHER WEBSITES. THE DEALER TECH WAS HELPFUL, BUT UPON CHECKING WITH FORD, WAS TOLD THE VEHICLE WAS DESIGNED THAT WAY. I FIND THAT TO BE LUDICROUS. FOR INSTANCE, TODAY, ON A SUNNY MORNING, WHEN DRIVING TOWARD THE EAST AT 10:00 AM IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ THE GAUGES! HOW CAN THIS NOT BE A SAFETY ISSUE? *TR

TRAVELING AT 65 MPH WITH CRUISE CONTROL ENGAGED AS ANOTHER VEHICLE MERGED ON TO THE FREEWAY I FLOORED THE ACCELERATOR TO AVOID A COLLISION,THE ACCELERATOR STUCK AT A VERY HIGH RATE OF SPEED (85 TO 90MPH),TAPPING THE BRAKES HAD NO EFFECT,DISENGAGING THE CRUISE HAD NO EFFECT,TURNED THE IGNITION OFF IN NEUTRAL FOR APROX 4 SECONDS HAD NO EFFECT,CRUISE FINALLY DISENGAGED AFTER SHUTTING THE VEHICLE OFF IN NEUTRAL FOR APROX 10 SECONDS. *TR

I WAS PULLING MY BOAT, WHEN COMING TO A STOP, TO PARK THE TRUCK, IT SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. I HAD TO TURN OFF THE KEY TO STOP IT. I RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND DROVE AROUND TO BLOCK AND COME BACK TO MAKE ANOTHER STOP AND IT HAPPENED AGAIN. I AGAIN TURNED OFF THE KEY. I LET THE TRUCK SET FOR ABOUT AN HOUR AND RESTARTED IT WITH NO OTHER INCIDENTS. I AM VERY AFRAID IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN. TOOK IT BACK TO THE FORD DEALER WHEN I GOT HOME AND THEY SAY THEY CANNOT FIND ANY PROBLEM. *TR

I WAS ACCELERATING UP A SMALL HILL. I REACHED 30MPH AND STOPPED ACCELERATING. THE TRUCK CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE SLOWLY AT AROUND 2000RPMS AFTER I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE PEDAL. I SHIFTED THE TRUCK INTO NEUTRAL AND THE RPMS SLOWLY INCREASED AS IT WAS NO LONGER UNDER LOAD. I TAPPED THE ACCELERATOR AND THEY SURGED UP TO 4000 WHERE THEY WERE CAPPED BY THE COMPUTER. I USED MY BRAKES TO COME TO A STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET AND TURNED THE TRUCK OFF. I WAITED A FEW SECONDS AND STARTED IT BACK UP. THE TACHOMETER SHOWED 1000RPMS AND THEN DOWN TO 700-800RPMS. I CONTINUED HOME. THIS HAS HAPPENED 5 OTHER TIMES WITH THIS VEHICLE. I AM STILL TROUBLESHOOTING THE PROBLEM, BUT IT IS NOT CAUSED BY FLOORMATS AND I HAVE RULED OUT THE CRUISE CONTROL BEING PART OF THE ISSUE. THE LAST TIME IT HAPPENED, I ENGAGED/DISENGAGED THE CRUISE CONTROL WHILE THE TRUCK WAS ACCELERATING ON THE INTERSTATE WITH NO CHANGE IN BEHAVIOR. IT APPEARS TO BE MECHANICAL TO THE THROTTLE BODY OR A COMPUTER MALFUNCTION SOMEHOW. IT IS A DIFFICULT PROBLEM TO REPLICATE AND DOES NOT HAPPEN EVERY TRIP. I AM GOING TO INSPECT/CLEAN THE THROTTLE BODY AND CLEAN THE MASS AIR INTAKE SENSOR. I HAVEN'T EVER HAD A VEHICLE ACT THIS WAY AND THINK THERE IS A MAJOR PROBLEM IF YOU HAVE TO TURN A VEHICLE OFF TO RESET IT. LOSING POWER-STEERING/BRAKES IS THE PROBLEM WITH DOING THIS WHILE THE VEHICLE IS UNDER WAY. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 FORD F-150. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE THE ABS WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE ABS MODULE WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 15,000. UPDATED 7/1/13

AFTER ATTEMPTING TO DIS-ENGAGE THE CHILD SAFETY DOOR LOCK FEATURE THAT PREVENTS THE DOOR FROM BEING OPENED FROM THE INSIDE, BOTH THE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE DOOR LATCHES BECAME COMPLETELY INOPERATIVE PREVENTING THE DOOR FROM BEING OPENED AT ALL. I NOTED A SIMILAR COMPLAINT FILED ON THE NHTSA SITE (COMPLAINT #10489372.) WHEN I CONTACTED THE FORD DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIR I WAS TOLD THAT THE NEW VEHICLE WARRANTY HAD EXPIRED TWO MONTHS PRIOR (MARCH, 2013) AND WAS THEREFORE FORCED TO PAY NEARLY $400 FOR A NEW DOOR LATCH. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND AN INVESTIGATION INTO THIS ISSUE AS AN INOPERATIVE DOOR LATCH POSES A VERY HIGH RISK OF INJURY OR DEATH IF OCCUPANTS ARE UNABLE TO EXIT THE VEHICLE. *TR

AFTER THE ONBOARD COMPUTER SYSTEM DETECTED A FAULT FROM THE ABS SENSORS (REAR WHEELS WERE 17" AND FRONTS WERE 18" SO REARS TURNED FASTER THAN FRONTS), THE DRIVE-BY-WIRE (ACCELERATION) SOFTWARE SUDDENLY LIMITED ME TO THE SPEED AT WHICH I WAS TRAVELING AT THE TIME: 50MPH. EVEN THOUGH I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR TO THE FLOOR, I GOT NO FURTHER ACCELERATION. LIGHTS AND WARNINGS ON THE DASH INDICATED AN ABS AND BRAKE PROBLEM; THERE WERE NO SUCH PROBLEMS. AT THE TIME OF THE "OVERRIDE", I WAS ABOUT TO MERGE INTO FREEWAY TRAFFIC TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 20MPH FASTER THAN I WAS MOVING THUS LEADING TO THE PROBABILITY OF A REAR END COLLISION. I MOVED CLOSER TO THE SHOULDER AND (WILD GUESS) PUSHED THE BUTTON FOR SKID CONTROL (?)--TWO SQUIGGLY LINES ON THE BUTTON. HAD THE OVERRIDE OCCURRED 4-5 SECONDS LATER, I WOULD LIKELY HAVE BEEN INJURED. I HAD INSTALLED 18" WHEELS ON THE FRONT WITH THE INTENT OF INSTALLING 18" WHEELS ON THE BACK THE NEXT DAY. THE VEHICLE CAME WITH 17" WHEELS. I HAD DRIVEN APPROXIMATELY 20 MILES WITH THAT 18-17 CONFIGURATION BEFORE I EXPERIENCED THE WARNINGS AND CORRESPONDING SPEED LIMITATION. DRIVE-BY-WIRE MEANS DRIVE-BY-SOFTWARE. SOMEONE MADE MY DRIVING DECISIONS FOR ME AND THOSE COULD HAVE RESULTED IN MY INJURY OR DEATH. VEHICLE TESTING CAN NO LONGER CENTER ON PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENTS ONLY. TRUE SAFETY TESTING MUST INCLUDE AN ASSESSMENT OF THE "SAFETY" SOFTWARE WHERE DRIVE-BY-WIRE SYSTEMS ARE USED. I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE ON 2/25/2013 FROM CARMAX; 43,124 MILES. THE VEHICLE WAS IN GOOD CONDITION WITH NO PRIOR HISTORY OF ACCIDENT OR MAJOR REPAIR. *TR