6.7
fairly significantTypical Repair Cost:
no data
Average Mileage:
65,678 miles
Total Complaints:
6 complaints
Most common solutions:
- not sure (5 reports)
- scds (speed control deactivation switch) replacement (1 reports)
electrical problem
Helpful Websites About 2004 Ford Explorer car dies when using cruise control
2008Aug 20
Explorer V6
- Automatic transmission
- 81,000 miles
I have owned my 2004 explorer since May 2008. My daughter has had the car engine die on her while driving 3 to 4 times now, when putting it in cruise control at approximately 30 35 mph, lights in dashboard & guages still functioning while rolling then, engine dies, power steering quits (of course) & her having to pull over stop and putting it in park and restarting again.. I have not taken it to dealer yet for this problem, however now I will have this issue addressed as I have another problem of the car being low on gas (probably ran out).....& now the starter will not engage when turning key...nothing, no clicking, even tried to jump start & battery appears to have a good charge but will do nothing when turning key, Unhooked the battery cables to see if it would possibly reset something electrical or computer related, fuel pump, checked the fuses ....I just don't know yet, because I am a new owner, without an owners repair manual......& unable to diagnose myself ! The good old days are gone when a person could manually bypass the starter relay switch with a simple wrench on the positive terminal on battery directly to the starter relay terminal and start the dam car if that happened after running out of gas then putting gas in and then not being able to get the starter to engage! Yep better get one of those engine code identifying gadgets that identify the "check engine" problem codes that are stored in the computer......
2008Jan 09
Explorer XLT 4.6L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 37,768 miles
I own a 2004 Ford Explorer XLT which has been a horrible nightmare. Recently another problem started to occur. I drive on a military post which has a speed limit of 30 MPH. When I attempt to set my cruise control anywhere nea 30 MPH or so my explorer just shuts off. All the gauge lights come on and I have to pull over and turn it back on. The first time it happened I was turning on a curve and I nearly wrecked so it's a pretty big problem. When I took it to the dealership they claimed the couldn't duplicate the problem but that was before I knew it happened only around 30 -35 MPH. Now it's out of the warranty and they say they can't help me.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2008Jun 15
Explorer NBX 4.6L V8
- Automatic transmission
- 84,000 miles
The car stalls when using cruise control between 30 & 35 MPH.
2008Mar 29
Explorer XLT V6
- Automatic transmission
- 56,300 miles
Slow speed use of cruise control will kill the engine.
Used cruise at 55-60 mph with no problems, then came to a long 35 mph zone and tried to set cruise at about 38. All dash lights came on, tach dropped to zero, engine was off, but car kept rolling (and headlights stayed on) far enough to pull into a parking lot. Put it in park and turned the car off. It restarted with no problems.
I don't normally use the cruise, but it would be nice if it worked within the range stated in the owners manual. It still works fine at 55+ mph.
2008Mar 05
Explorer XLT 4.0L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 60,000 miles
just bought an 04 explorer XLT. I use cruise control extremely often to try to save gas and not get a ticket. Well i was cruising at about 35 and tried to turn, my power steering was out...my car was off! the lights were all on, the engine just randomly shut off. after doing some tests i found out that it does this almost everytime i use cruise control between 30 and 45mph. So i called a mechanic friend of mine. he said that many fords have a recall for a fault SCDS (speed control deactivation switch) and said to call ford and ask if if my car is covered under the recall. I will be doing that tomorrow but if anyone has had a similar problem please let me know...i'll post an update when i figure out what the problem is and get it fixed
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2009Aug 02
Explorer V8
This is the second time I've had this experience with my Ford. I've driven it for about 7 years and never had anything like this happen. Both times, I was driving on low-speed limit roads and was trying to avoid speeding, so set my cruise control around 30-35 mph. Within just a few minutes, the engine stalled out, power steering was lost, and all the lights you can imagine were on in the dash. It was frightening, especially the first time when I was driving up a steep hill. I thought someone was going to ram into me from the back, and I couldn't steer the car off the road because there was no shoulder.
I use the cc at high speeds, around 70-80 mph, and don't have any problems. Guess I'll just quit using it at anything less than 50, to keep it safe.
Ugh, wish I'd bought a Honda!
Hope P.
Birmingham, AL, USA
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