Low speed Cruise control..trucks shuts down

[gijoecam]

There is no way you're going into 5th gear at 30 mph. The part-throttle shift points are as follows:
1-2 19-22 (12-14)
2-3 27-31 (17-19)
3-4 38-45 (24-28)
4-5 58-64 (36-40)

The earliest possible 5th gear upshift is at 36 mph... that would be cracked-throttle, almost coasting. However, even if it did manage to shift into OD, it should absolutely NOT stall the engine. That is an unsafe operating condition and could result in a crash due to the lack of steering ability when the engine dies. Ford would not deliberately engineer such a system as that would be a HUGE liability.

If you can make it happen every time, definately have a dealership look at it as it should be an easy thing to track down.

-Joe

 

[mycaptainchris]

yep

My company Explorer (aka: The Exploder) also does this. I just put it in N and restart the car and continue. The scary part is you lose brakes and steering power too!!!!!

 

[skawtland]

It is a rarity that I do decide to slap-on the cruise control at 35mph, but whenever I do it is no trouble to just press the O/D off button. It seems as though this is quite a common problem then, judging by all the posts from other owners who have the same issues! She does certainly get into 5th gear though just as the engine stalls. In 4th gear at 35mph my Explorer is seeing, I'd say about 1100rpm it looks like, but the moment there is an ease on the engine load, such as a slight downhill grade, she will shift to 5th, the revs will drop wayyyy down there, (looks to be slightly below 500rpm) she'll gurgle, spit and stall. The transmission isn't exactly a quick shifting one in my experience, and it seems that possibly the time it takes the transmission to downshift back to 4th after getting itself in 5th and then realising the revs are too low to pull a slight incline is too slow... and then it's too late, stalled. But, I just turn off O/D and problem gone. Obviously the transmission isn't supposed to do this, but other than this minor wee glitch I've had no problems with the Explorer at all, love driving her... first SUV I've owned that I actually do enjoy to drive!

It's a scary thing to happen first time. When it did it to me, I didn't even notice to begin with until finding myself at a curve in the road and having trouble turning the wheel! I'd say it could be an easy position to find yourself in and end up panicking.

 

[rfolmar]

same issue

Just bought an 04 explorer and cruise control is not working sometimes. On the way home from work and tried the cruise and it done the same thing, about 30-35 mph and it shut down.

 

[zpn_by]

don't think you'll get much help on this one right now - the last previous post was 5 years ago. That said, I wonder if the converter is locked and doesn't release when coasting down. One poster said that his RPM went to about 500 or so and kept going. Check this out and see - if the RPMs drop with speed, then get below 500, that's too low for the engine to keep running.

 

[rpetersen77]

if anyone else has a newer model mine is a 04 xlt and would like to experiment and see what happens to them I would love to hear. I originally had the cruise at say about 55 hit coast till lower and right about 35mph it just shut down....let me know THANKS

I just got an 05 ford explorer and the same thing has happened 2 times now...when in cruise control at low speed (35mph) the whole system shuts down and I have to coast to the side and starts right up