NHTSA Complaint #10565432 — 2004 FORD EXPLORER

THIS IS A COUNTY GOVT VEHICLE PURCHASED USED FROM A DEALER ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO. I HAD BEEN HIGHWAY DRIVING FOR ABOUT 3-4 HOURS AT SPEEDS BETWEEN 55-70 MPH. I MADE ONE BRIEF STOP DURING THAT TIME, AND WAS MOSTLY USING CRUISE CONTROL. JUST PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT, THE SPEED LIMIT DROPS FROM 70 TO 55, AND THEN TO 35 IN A RELATIVELY SHORT DISTANCE. I USED THE CRUISE CONTROL COAST TO REDUCE MY SPEED FROM 55 TO 35. THE 35 MPH SPEED STARTS ON A BRIDGE- THERE IS A SMALL INCLINE AND THEN A LITTLE LARGER DECLINE. AT ABOUT THE BASE OF THE BRIDGE, THE ENGINE SHUT OFF, I LOST STEERING AND COASTED TO A STOP. I DON'T RECALL IF I HAD BRAKING. I WAS WITH A PASSENGER; IT WAS NIGHT, AND THIS OCCURRED IN AN AREA THAT WAS NOT SAFE. I TRIED RESTARTING THE CAR, AND IT RESTARTED WITH NO PROBLEM. I DROVE TO A NEARBY GAS STATION. THE POWER STEERING FLUID WAS LOW, SO I FILLED THAT, RESTARTED, AND DROVE THE REMAINING 1 1/2 HRS WITH NO PROBLEMS. OTHER EMPLOYEES CONTINUED TO DRIVE OVER THE NEXT 2 1/2 MONTHS LOCALLY-VERY LITTLE HIGHWAY DRIVING, WITH NO ISSUES. ON FEBRUARY 21, I WAS RETURNING FROM A TRIP IN THIS VEHICLE FROM THE SAME AREA, WITH THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCES AS ABOVE. WHEN I WAS STILL ON THE BRIDGE WHERE THE SPEED DROPS TO 35, THE ENGINE SHUT OFF AGAIN. THIS TIME I WAS ALONE. THERE WAS A VEHICLE FOLLOWING VERY CLOSE BEHIND ME BUT FORTUNATELY I CONTINUED TO COAST AS THIS WAS ON THE DECLINE OF THE BRIDGE. I WAS ABLE TO STEER SLIGHTLY TO GET OFF THE HIGHWAY. THE CHECK GAUGES; CHECK ENGINE, AND BATTERY WARNING LIGHTS WERE ALL ON. THE CAR RESTARTED WITH NO PROBLEMS. I DROVE TO THE SAME GAS STATION; CHECKED THE GAUGES-ALL WERE NORMAL AND NO WARNING LIGHTS. I DROVE THE 1 1/2 HRS REMAINING WITH NO PROBLEMS. ON A WEB SEARCH, I FOUND MULTIPLE CASES OF VERY SIMILAR PROBLEMS ON EXPLORERS WITH NO RESOLUTION. I COULD FIND NO RECALLS ON THE VIN. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND POTENTIALLY FATAL PROBLEM. *TR