Table 1 shows one common vehicle speed control related problems of the 2026 Ford Explorer.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Vehicle Speed Control problems |
Traveling of the freeway at 80 mph, pull left to pass semi, upon getting halfway past the truck the adaptive cruise control activates and brings the vehicle to under 65 mph extremely fast. After a few seconds the vehicle rapidly accelerates back to 80 mph. This has happened at least four times since purchasing the vehicle new. The problem is very erratic and only happens when passing a semi while driving up a hill or passing on a left turning bend on the freeway. The incident that disturbed me the most was when this malfunction happened the last time a vehicle following me had to take to the borrow pit to prevent collision with my vehicle. Fortunately there was no accident or injuries that occurred but I can imagine that at one time this problem will take place and someone will have a serious accident. Contacted Ford customer service and was given a case number to give to the dealer concerning this problem, upon taking the vehicle to the dealer I have now been told that Ford stated that if the dealer could not replicate the problem there was nothing that Ford will do about it. Adaptive cruise control is not a safe option on any vehicle if corrections cannot be made when there is a problem with the programming or the cameras that operate the system.
While operating the vehicle with the cruise control enabled and engaged, the vehicle resets the “set” speed 5 to 15 mph higher than initially set with no driver input or adjustment and begins accelerating. My spouse related this has happened several times to her at various speed settings. Today, I was on the highway with it set at 60 mph, the vehicle began accelerating and I noticed the set speed had changed to 75 mph. I disengaged the cruise control and turned it off. We plan to notify Ford and take it to the dealership for evaluation.