The defect
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 4.0L SOHC ENGINES AND STILL RETAIN THE ORIGINAL THROTTLE BODY (PART NUMBERS 97JF-9E926AB OR 97JF-9E926-AC). SOME OF THE ORIGINAL THROTTLE BODIES INSTALLED ALLOWED A GAP BETWEEN THE PLATE AND BORE TO BE BUILT TOO NARROW. THIS REDUCED CLEARANCE ALLOWED THE ENGINE DEPOSITS NORMALLY PRESENT IN THE THROTTLE BODY TO CONTACT OR BRIDGE THE GAP. IF THE ENGINE DEPOSITS BRIDGED THE GAP BETWEEN THE THROTTLE PLATE AND BORE AND THEN HARDENED, ON THE INITIAL APPLICATION OF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AFTER THE ENGINE HAS COOLED, THE OPERATOR WOULD NEED TO APPLY ADDITIONAL FORCE TO THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL TO BREAK THE BRIDGE.
The risk
THIS COULD RESULT IN ENGINE SURGE WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL BREAKS FREE.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE ORIGINAL THROTTLE BODIES.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Ford Explorer | 1997, 1998 |
| Mercury Mountaineer | 1997, 1998 |
Components: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Explorer | 1997 | 1,731 | 7 |
| Ford Explorer | 1998 | 1,959 | 9 |
| Mercury Mountaineer | 1997 | 328 | 6 |
| Mercury Mountaineer | 1998 | 236 | 5 |
Other vehicle speed control recalls in 2000
15 of the 541 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2000 concerned the vehicle speed control; FORD MOTOR COMPANY filed 963 campaigns in all.
| 00V425000 26 Dec 2000 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY |
| 00V329000 16 Oct 2000 | LAND ROVER NORTH AMERICA, INC. |
| 00V302000 12 Oct 2000 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY |
| 00V230003 4 Oct 2000 | MACK TRUCKS, INCORPORATED |
| 00V252000 21 Sept 2000 | GULF STATES TOYOTA, INC. |
| 00V230002 5 Sept 2000 | FREIGHTLINER CORPORATION |
| 00V230001 17 Aug 2000 | BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY |
| 00V210002 9 Aug 2000 | MAZDA NORTH AMERICAN OPERATIONS |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2000