Throttle body problem?
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,425
Likes: 229
From: Pennsylvania
Throttle body problem?
First off, This is NOT on my Corvette but I thought I might get some thoughts from you guys. It's actually on my 2009 F150 with 4500 miles. Last night the throttle stuck open and kept accelerating by itself. It happened twice before also. I had to kick the pedal to get it to release. Scared the f-ck out of me as I was in traffic. I took it to the Ford dealership today and they said the throttle body was the problem. This is not operated by a cable from the pedal but instead an electric motor and sensor under the pedal. It's now fixed they say. Have any of you ever heard of such a serious problem with a throttle body like this of any make newer vehicle?
Racer
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 289
Likes: 1
From: Tucson Arizona
I'd be on the phone or on the website for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to report the problem. If it is a common problem and reported enough times a recall could result.
In the meantime, you have a throttle by wire system. Did Ford indicate what was replaced and what the cause might be? Any chance that the floor mat got onto the pedal or positioned itself to keep the pedal down? Do you have any non-factory electrical equipment on the truck, e.g. ham radios, audio amplifiers, trailer brake controllers? Electromagnetic interference from those devices, either conducted via power wiring or radiated from those devices, can cause electronic controls to behave incorrectly.
No insults intended, but could it be a size 13 shoe on size 10 pedals?
Steve
In the meantime, you have a throttle by wire system. Did Ford indicate what was replaced and what the cause might be? Any chance that the floor mat got onto the pedal or positioned itself to keep the pedal down? Do you have any non-factory electrical equipment on the truck, e.g. ham radios, audio amplifiers, trailer brake controllers? Electromagnetic interference from those devices, either conducted via power wiring or radiated from those devices, can cause electronic controls to behave incorrectly.
No insults intended, but could it be a size 13 shoe on size 10 pedals?
Steve
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,425
Likes: 229
From: Pennsylvania
Steve, 
I do have rather big feet at that! We questioned the floormat theory but I don't remember it getting in the way. The Ford service guy said they did find some sort of "burn" in the throttle body once it was removed, but it was like pulling teeth after that to get any more info. The new part was installed with no questions asked. They actually said there was a shortage of them from the factory. That's what led them to believe there may be more of these things being replaced than what is reported. No consumer reports that I could find. It seems OK now. Oh and by the way, there isn't any non-factory installed equipment in it.
I do have rather big feet at that! We questioned the floormat theory but I don't remember it getting in the way. The Ford service guy said they did find some sort of "burn" in the throttle body once it was removed, but it was like pulling teeth after that to get any more info. The new part was installed with no questions asked. They actually said there was a shortage of them from the factory. That's what led them to believe there may be more of these things being replaced than what is reported. No consumer reports that I could find. It seems OK now. Oh and by the way, there isn't any non-factory installed equipment in it.
