I am worried about this becase my wife sometimes uses my truck with my 2 year old daughter...this is the first time this ever happened.

I have an 02 F150 SC 5.4L. I was going to work this morning on the interstate and I set the crusie like I ways do. I first noticed a little after setting the cruise is that it (MPH) started to climb while I went down a hill. I hit the brake a little to bring it back down. I then reset the cruise and it did the same thing while it accelerated up a hill. The MPH went up above the set point and kept climbing. I was near my exit so I hit the brake and slowed down. I noticed that the brake was hard like the power brake was not working. When I came to a stop the RPM's were high 2500 and I could hardly stop the truck...I had to cut the engine.

I was on the phone with triple A for about 20 minutes all the while trying the engine. The first 3 times it started and went way high so I shut it off right away. The 4th time (after ~20 minutes) it started and was normal. I turned around and drove it home.

I have never heard of a throttle sticking in a vehicle. I should tell you that it was -5°F this morning...not sure if that had anything to do with it. Is it possible that the cruise was stuck on?

Thanks for the help.

Hartwa

 

Sounds like the cruise control wouldn't shutoff from hitting the brakes, did you ever try hitting the off button on the steering wheel? simular thing happened in my 98 f150 with a 4.6, replaced something to do with the brake pedal. the brake lights also didn't work.

 

Yeah, check under the dash, i beleive there is a switch on the brake pedal.

 

thanks for the feedback. I do not think it was the cruise switch because I shut the engine off several times before it reset. If it were the switch it should have reset after the first time it was shut off.

 

I have a '97 2wd 5.4 and I had a sticky throttle on a very cold morning several years back. I was in Nebraska visiting family and the throttle stuck just after starting the engine on a very cold morning, (0 F). It was running at about 1900 RPM. After many attempts to get it to settle down, engine off and on, puling on the throttle cable etc, I called the local Ford dealer and they said it was a known problem caused by moisture in the cable housing freezing thereby causing the cable to stick. They replaced the throttle cable unit as a warrentee item as I remember. However, I have had no such problems since.

 

Thanks for the help.

It happened again last night and I went under the hood and confirmed that the throttle was physically open a little. I was able to close it with my hand. SInce then it has happened a couple of times. There is a large spiral spring on the lever and a linear tension spring that should put the throttle at to zero. I can tell that it feels sticky though. Tonight I will disconnect the two cables and see which one is sticking....there are 2 that are attached to the lever. Which one did you have to replace?

 

Check close, I think one cable is from the Cruse Control unit, the other from the throttle.

 

Happened to me once too in my '97 4.6L F-150. It was also a cold morning. Scared the $#!+ out of me.

 

Same thing happened to me a few years ago on a very cold winter morning with my '02 Expedition. I was on my way to work and tried to stop at a red light. Had both feet on the brake pedal to get me stopped. RPM's were way up there! Luckily, I was right around the corner from work. Once I got there, I popped the hood and comfirmed the throttle was stuck open. The cable wasn't moving either. Moved my Expedition inside and lubed the cable as best I could with WD-40. Knock on wood, I haven't had any issues since.

 

Hmm... I had the same thing happen with my '86 Cougar... Must be a Ford thing.

 

Before you change anything, clean the TB with some good TB cleaner anmd also hit the TB cable and cruise cable sometimes they will get gunk in there and will stick. Try something cheap before something expensive, Good Luck

 

Thanks for all the good advice. I got the plastic 5.4L cover off of the top of the engine. When it happens again I will see which cable is sticking. I have already tried lubing it with gunk remover. Hasn't did it for a while but I will wait a week or so before I assume it is gone.