NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE05-037: STUCK ENGINE THROTTLE
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE05-037 on July 7, 2005 and closed it on November 2, 2005. NHTSA's investigations file lists 3 models from 2 makes for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE05-037 (also written PE05037)
- Investigation type
- Preliminary Evaluation The first stage of most defect investigations: NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation gathers basic information about a possible safety defect, including from the manufacturer.
- Status
- Closed November 2, 2005
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Ford Motor Company
- Components
- Vehicle Speed Control; Vehicle Speed Control — Accelerator Pedal; Vehicle Speed Control — Cables
- Vehicles and equipment
- 3 models from 2 makes, including the Ford Explorer and Ford Explorer Sport
A recall appears here only when NHTSA's investigations file links one to the investigation; NHTSA's summary or record can name others.
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE05-037.
ON JULY 7, 2005, THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) OPENED A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGED STUCK THROTTLE COMPLAINTS IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR (MY) 2002 FORD EXPLORER AND MERCURY MOUNTAINEER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE STANDARD AVAILABLE 4.0L SOHC V6 ENGINE.AT THAT TIME, ODI WAS AWARE OF 15 COMPLAINTS THAT ALLEGED STUCK ENGINE THROTTLE CAUSING UNWANTED VEHICLE ACCELERATION AND 1 ALLEGED CRASH AS A RESULT.SIX COMPLAINANTS REPORTED THAT THROTTLE CONTROL CABLE REPLACEMENT REMEDIED THE ALLEGED STUCK THROTTLE CONDITION.ADDITIONALLY, ODI WAS AWARE OF A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN ISSUED BY THE MANUFACTURER THAT REFERRED TO AN ACCELERATOR CABLE DESIGN CHANGE.ODI SENT A LETTER TO THE MANUFACTURER ON JULY 18, 2005 REQUESTING CERTAIN INFORMATION ABOUT THESE VEHICLES. ACCORDING TO FORD, APPROXIMATELY 234,092 SUBJECT VEHICLES BUILT FROM AUGUST 14, 2000 (?JOB 1?) THROUGH OCTOBER 31, 2001 USED A PARTICULAR ACCELERATOR CABLE KNOWN AS A 16 LAY WIRE DESIGN.THIS DESIGN IS COMPRISED OF THE THROTTLE CABLE SURROUNDED BY A CONDUIT MADE OF SEVERAL CONCENTRIC LAYERS INCLUDING A TEFLON LINER, A NYLON TUBE EXTRUDED OVER THE TEFLON LINER, 16 LAY WIRES WRAPPED AROUND THE NYLON TUBE, AND FINALLY A NYLON JACKET EXTRUDED OVER AND AROUND THE LAY WIRES. FORD REPORTS THAT THROTTLE CONTROL CONCERNS RELATED TO THE ACCELERATOR CABLE ARE LIKELY CAUSED BY A MIGRATION OF THE INNER TEFLON LINER OUT OF THE CONDUIT AT THE DASH PANEL FITTING.SHOULD THE TEFLON LINER MIGRATE OUTWARD SUFFICIENTLY TO CONTACT THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL ARM IT COULD INTERFERE WITH THE PEDAL?S ABILITY TO RETURN TO IDLE.IN NOVEMBER 2001, FORD BEGAN USING A NEW 12 LAY WIRE DESIGN ACCELERATOR CABLE.THIS CHANGE WAS IMPLEMENTED TO ALLOW FOR INSTALLATION OF OPTIONALLY AVAILABLE POWER-ADJUSTABLE PEDALS. FIELD DATA SUGGESTS THAT THE CONDITION WITH THE SUBJECT CABLE IS MORE PREVALENT IN COLD (WINTER) CLIMATES.OF THE 396 WARRANTY CLAIMS RELATED TO THE ALLEGED DEFECT, NEARLY 68% OCCURRED IN WINTER MONTHS AND MOST WARRANTY CLAIMS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH VEHICLES SOLD IN THE NORTHEASTERN, NORTHERN INTERIOR (MIDWEST), AND ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGIONS OF THE UNITED STATES.THIS SEASONAL TREND APPEARS TO BE IN DECLINE WITH FEWER WARRANTY CLAIMS PAID IN WINTER 2005 THAN IN PREVIOUS WINTERS.THERE ARE NO KNOWN CRASHES RELATED TO THE ALLEGED DEFECT ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLES, THE COMPLAINT RATE IS LOW AFTER APPROXIMATELY FOUR YEARS IN SERVICE (3.0 INCIDENTS PER 100,000 VEHICLES) AND THE FAILURE TREND IS DECLINING.THERE HAVE BEEN NO NEW COMPLAINTS SINCE JANUARY 2005.
A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT TREND HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED AT THIS TIME AND FURTHER USE OF AGENCY RESOURCES DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE WARRANTED.ACCORDINGLY, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT DOES NOT EXIST.ODI WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR ITS COMPLAINT DATABASE AND WILL RECEIVE UPDATED COMPLAINT AND WARRANTY DATA FROM FORD IN SPRING 2006 TO VERIFY THE TREND ANALYSIS.THE AGENCY WILL TAKE FURTHER ACTION IF WARRANTED BY THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE05-037. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Ford
All Ford recallsMercury
Mercury Mountaineer
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE05-037
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.