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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
10 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
39,651 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2008 Ford F-150 engine problems

engine problem

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2008 Ford F-150 Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #36

Nov 182019

F-150

  • 115,600 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Had cruise control set while driving along freeway. Needed to slow down and tapped brake to release cruise control. Nothing happened. Pressed brake again to slow down and engine power increased to coincide with cruise control setting. Manually shut off cruise control and it disabled. Cruise control currently will not shut off by utilizing brake system.

- South Jordan, UT, USA

problem #35

Apr 162018

F-150

  • 10,000 miles
When I brake the engine sounds like its racing louder and louder and seems like I'm excellerating instead of stopping. Its very hard to stop in time at a stop sign and I can't. I almost it a crossing car.this problem happened several times with myself and also when my husband drove the truck.we took it to a mechanic. The same happened to 2 mechanics at the shop on test drives. They have a theory it is happening because when we take our foot off the gas pedal and put it on the brake to brake we are too close to the gas pedal and are unknowingly pressing both at the same time. I didn't feel like that was happening, but maybe it was bec now when I brake, I place my foot much further from the gas pedal. I've heard this is a common problem in trucks, but I wasn't warned and I don't think this is safe.

- Chilton, WI, USA

problem #34

Aug 232017

F-150

  • 60,693 miles
When the brake is depressed the engine accelerates (never know when this is going to happen). I have had three instances over the total 8 years (first owner). All three times the brakes are ineffective in stopping the vehicle. Two times backing out of my driveway (afraid that the truck would cross over my road and hit neighbor's vehicles or home. Once it occurred at a all stop intersection. In most cases I had to take the truck out of drive to stop it. I'm afraid it is going to cause serious issue with life and property. There are nine other reported cases of this happening on 2008 F-150 vehicles see website for the nine reported cases ( M.carcomplaints.com/Ford/F-150/2008/engine/unintended_acceleration.shtml). I think there is an issue with the throttle body sticking but have no idea. I checked Ford and there is no known recall for this issue. So far no injuries or destruction of property has occurred with me but some of the nine other cases has occurred. Would greatly appreciate your help so there are no fatalities regarding this issue.

- Naperville, IL, USA

problem #33

Aug 212015

F-150

  • 164,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Sitting in my truck with the key turned or even on idle, the electronics on my dash(radio allumination, trip box, etc.) will be faded on one side or will be completely faded and I cant see the time, station, gas mileage, etc. From time to time when it does this, my cruise control figure wont show but after a while(10-30 minutes) it will pop up on the cluster. It doesnt matter if its cold out or hot out, idle, running or ignition switched off, it will be faded. Its becoming more of a common thing(daily).

- Mitchell, SD, USA

problem #32

Mar 132012

F-150 8-cyl

  • miles
2008 Ford F-150. Consumer writes in regards to throttle body system malfunction. The consumers wife was driving the vehicle, but when she hit the brake, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and crashed into a building.

- Corning, OH, USA

problem #31

Dec 302013

F-150 8-cyl

  • 64,000 miles
I had problems with the throttle sticking and I put my OB11 on and isaid code P2104 and P2111.so icalled and they say its a well know problem.if you don't know what to do I can see some one get hurt so I think it should be a recall.

- Bradner, OH, USA

problem #30

Dec 212013

F-150 8-cyl

  • 74,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

This has happened numerous times when braking the accelerator is also depressed at the same time. Causing the vehicle to continue to move unexpectedly. Today while pulling into our driveway this happened again and the vehicle went through the house pushing it off the foundation and causing damage to the vehicle. This is a design flaw the gas and brake pedal are to close together. This has also happened to my wife and she wears a size 6 shoe. Are there any recalls or class action suits that any one is aware of. Or does someone have to die before it matters. I have been on other web sites and find many owners of and \08 F150 have the same complaints.

- Gould City, MI, USA

problem #29

Nov 152012

F-150

  • 150,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at various speeds the vehicle accelerated independently. The vehicle was taken to two independent mechanics for diagnosis and neither could find the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileage was 150,000.

- Monture, NC, USA

problem #28

Jul 182012

F-150 8-cyl

  • 32,000 miles
05/31/2013 purchased used 06/29/2011 2008 Ford 150 mileage: 26,440 issue: Accelerator has stuck two times in town. 1st incident: 07/18/2012 mileage 32,000 driving in town with no cruise control being used. Preparing to turn at intersection, speed about 10 mph, when engine started to roar. First reflex was to press brake which caused the tires to squeal. Put in neutral which caused the engine to slow down to normal. 07/19/2012: Took to Ford dealer they stated with out the check engine light being on they could only guess as to what the cause may be. Have enclosed the work order. Invoice states cruise control sticks, but both incidents the cruise control was not being used. 2nd incident: 05/29/2013 mileage 40,260 slowing down for a red light in town, speed about 15 mph, engine started to roar, put in neutral, engine slowed down. My wife and daughter both drive this vehicle occasionally, I am afraid they might not get it into neutral soon enough to keep from causing injury to a person or anything in the path. 07/18/2012: Repair consisted of cruise control switch. With out the engine light being on, they just had to guess as to what repair to do.the shop manager said if it happened again they would just have to keep the vehicle and drive it to see if this problem would recur. This would cause us not to have use of the vehicle for possibly months. Vehicle functioned fine until 05/29/2013. If I were to return to the dealer, they again would have to make a guess as to the repair needed. Please make recommendations as to what I can do with this issue.

- Middle River, MN, USA

problem #27

Mar 202013

F-150 8-cyl

  • 43,500 miles
Twice in the last two months my truck has suddenly accelerated when I pressed the brake pedal to stop. The first time I thought I had accidentally hit the accelerator at the same time as the brake; but it happened again and it was clearly a surge without touching the gas pedal. Both times were at low speeds and I was able to stop by pushing hard on the brake pedal. However, the engine was surging against the brakes. I looked up information on this problem and found that Ford did not have a brake pedal accelerator interrupter on this year's truck. I called my Ford dealer who said that no one had reported a similar problem to him and that there was not a tsb from Ford on this issue. When I asked if he could put a brake pedal interrupter on my truck, he said he didn't know if it was possible. He said he would find out and call me back, but never did.

- Mannington, WV, USA

problem #26

May 032013

F-150 8-cyl

  • 51,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2008 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph and depressing the brake pedal, the engine rpms increased excessively. The brake pedal began to pulsate and the contact crashed into another vehicle. The contact was able to come to a stop when he shifted the vehicle into park. The contact did not sustain any injuries. The vehicle was towed to a collision center. A police report was filed of the incident. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 51,000.

- York, PA, USA

problem #25

Aug 012009

F-150

  • 5,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Ford F150. The contact stated that the vehicle rpms increased excessively to 5,000 as the vehicle surged abnormally. The contact applied the brakes to stop the surging failure. The failure also recurred while the contact was sitting at a complete stop. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to have a diagnostic performed but the dealer was unable to generate a failure code. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 5,000 and the current mileage was 7,760.

- Rancho Cucamonga , CA, USA

problem #24

Sep 052012

F-150

  • 98,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while attempting to stop, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. As a result, the vehicle crash into a stone wall. The driver sustained minor bruising and a police report was filed. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 98,000.

- Blackstone, MA, USA

problem #23

Apr 022012

F-150 6-cyl

  • miles
2008 Ford F-150. Consumer states acceleration issues with vehicle the consumer stated he began experiencing sudden acceleration problems in early April 2012. The first time it occurred, he was backing down a boat ramp, when all of a sudden, the vehicle accelerated. The consumer had the brake pedal all the way to the floor. Finally, he used the emergency brake to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for a an inspection. However, the dealer was unable T duplicate, the consumers concern. After leaving the dealership, driving at a very slow speed, he applied the brake, but the vehicle suddenly accelerated out of control and onto the interstate. The consumer stated he had the brake pedal to the floor, the engine was racing at high RPM's and at that point, he slammed the transmission into park. The consumer stated he has experienced sudden acceleration on several occasions.

- Smithville, TN, USA

problem #22

Feb 252012

F-150 8-cyl

  • 53,000 miles
While backing up truck accelerated on its own, also did the same when stopped at a light.

- Elkton, MD, USA

problem #21

Nov 152011

F-150

  • 52,000 miles
While driving on the interstate at 70 mph, the vehicle lost acceleration. The RPM's shot up, and truck would not accelerate. It was as if it had slipped into neutral. Had to pull over on side of highway, and turn the truck off. This seemed to reset the issue for the time being. Has happened several more times. Took it to two different dealerships. The first one cleaned the maf sensor. The second dealership flushed the tranny and reprogrammed the truck. None of these solutions have worked. It happened again this week with my two young children in the car. Was able to make it onto shoulder before an accident occurred. Have another appointment at dealership tomorrow morning. This is dangerous!

- Laporte, IN, USA

problem #20

Jan 212012

F-150

  • 46,811 miles
It was about 6:00am when I started my truck up and drove to my mail box which was about 300ft from my carport. I had backed my truck under the carport to remove grocerys the day before, so I drove forward to the mail box and drove backwards to park my truck back under the carport, . I came to a complete stop and took my foot off the gas pedal and pressed the brake when the truck started spinning the tires as though the engine went to full trottle. I took of in reverse ran thru a two foot ditch, over my outside airconditioner unit and slammed into my brick home. I had applied the brake as hard as I could with no effect. Upon the impact with the house I turned the ignition switch off to stop the wheels from spinning. I could finally put it in park.

- Egan, LA, USA

problem #19

Sep 012011

F-150

  • 39,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the accelerator pedal became stuck in open throttle mode and the vehicle accelerated abnormally, causing the contact to crash into a pole. The vehicle was not inspected by the dealer or repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileages were 39,000.

- Wahiawa, HI, USA

problem #18

Jul 162011

F-150 4WD 8-cyl

  • 126,000 miles
Stop at gas station and turned truck off and entered store. Returned to truck and cranked. Put in drive drove around station to entrance of main highway. About 20 yards to stop sign to highway I was going about 5 mph and I lifted right foot off of gas pedal to apply brake. The truck slowly started to speed up. I applied the brake with one foot and the truck started to apply more gas until I had both feet on the brake and pushing as hard as possible and it was pushing me toward the highway in front of a oncoming car. The back tires started to spin. I put the truck in neutral the engine revved to around 6-1/2 RPM before I could turn the switch off. I sit there for about 30 seconds with engine off then restarted the truck and it was ok.. I have an appointment on 7/18/2011 with a Ford dealership to have the truck looked at. I have looked over your web site and there has been many other F 150 trucks with the same problem it seems as mine. I think you need to think about talking to Ford Motor Company about a possible recall. I have a 17 year old daughter that sometimes drives my truck and that was the first thing that I thought of. What if she had been driving when this happened, would she have reacted as fast as I did before being pushed out in front of the oncoming car.. just something to think about..

- Kernersville, NC, USA

problem #17

Aug 122010

F-150

  • miles
TL- the contact owns a 2008 Ford F-150. The contact stated the gas pedal gets stuck on the vehicle. The contact was pulling into a parking lot and the vehicle sudden started to accelerate. The contact had to press down on the brake and put the vehicle in neutral in order to the get the vehicle to stop. The contact stated the front wheels kept spinning even thou the brakes were pressed and the tires left skid marks. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that they could not duplicate the failure. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 34,500.rl

- Johnstown , PA, USA

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