Potentially Dangerous High Engine Rev

[jeduncan14083]

Hi all,

I'm trying to see whether anyone else has experienced this issue with their Hybrid Maverick. I drive a 2023 Hybrid XLT.

Last week I started my car on a cold day, with the heat dial turned to full blast, and when the car started, it immediately turned on the ICE engine, as should be expected, to warm up the coolant going to the heater core. Except, this time, when it turned on the engine, it acted like I had the gas pedal to the floor. I immediately shut off the car before doing anything else to make sure it wasn't jammed under my floor mats. It was not. I have WeatherTech type hard floor mats, and there was/always is a ton of clearance between the pedal and the floor mat itself.

Fast forward to today. I was picking up my son from school, and once we got in the car, I put it in drive (again, on a cold day) and the ICE quickly switched on after I crept forward a bit, and before I could even put my foot on the gas, the ICE went what felt like full throttle and tried to accelerate accordingly. I immediately shut off the car to stop it while still rolling. I again checked the pedal to make sure it wasn't jammed under the mats. It was not. A minute or so later I started it back up, put it in drive, and it happened again. No check engine lights came on or anything.

EDIT: Admittedly without a tachometer or way of measuring % power output to the wheels, I obviously have no way of knowing for sure what the actual RPM's were. but I do know that they were WELL outside of the range of a simple high idle. And I do know that significantly more than "idle' power was delivered to the wheels when I took my foot off the brake right before the engine speed went haywire.

I've also experienced issues with the car trying to "lurch" or "lunge" past the brakes while the ICE is running when stopped at red lights. The dealership claims they couldn't replicate the issue, and said that because, again, no check engine light came on, and there were no codes, so they said they couldn't escalate the issue to Ford Motor Company.

Another potentially safety-related problematic issue I've had since the car was new is that the whole car often shakes/shudders when stopping, particularly if I have to brake hard, and sometimes when I'm stopping hard over bumps, it even disengages the brakes if I hit a bump while braking.

Has anyone else experienced these issues?

NOTE: The dealership hypothesized that the high engine rev could have been associated with a very low, non-AGM battery, and that maybe it was trying to rapidly address said low charge, but they had no codes or any kind of evidence to support that theory. I have the vehicle home again, and intend to test it while filming several times per day while in this cold snap to see if it happens again.

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[Carlitos_92]

...and sometimes when I'm stopping hard over bumps, it even disengages the brakes if I hit a bump while braking.

That sounds a lot like ABS working as it should, because at some points in the suspension travel over rough bumps, the sensor(s) will see wheel lockup and try and release the brake pressure intermittently to regain traction. I can recreate this situation in multiple vehicles (including the Maverick) in the last leg of my commute.

Unintended acceleration and shuddering are things that you should have a dealer check out for sure. There are parts under the hood they can test, and software they can reload. They need to keep it until they can replicate it.

 

[OleFordGuy]

I’d have that thing towed to the dealer before you kill yourself and son with that full throttle mess

 

[Nw_adventure]

You might just want to trade it in for something else -

 

[TRUCKHEF]

Mine has gone full throttle in the cold too but when I was shifting from drive to reverse, also the brakes over bumps just looks like your ABS. But yes to the surging at stops while cold, and yes to random full throttle at 100% happened a while back maybe last year and hasn’t happened again since.

have you had the brake lock at low speed recall done yet?

 

[icegradner]

Hi all,

I'm trying to see whether anyone else has experienced this issue with their Hybrid Maverick. I drive a 2023 Hybrid XLT.

Last week I started my car on a cold day, with the heat dial turned to full blast, and when the car started, it immediately turned on the ICE engine, as should be expected, to warm up the coolant going to the heater core. Except, this time, when it turned on the engine revved to 100%, as if I had the gas pedal to the floor. I immediately shut off the car before doing anything else to make sure it wasn't jammed under my floor mats. It was not. I have WeatherTech type hard floor mats, and there was/always is a ton of clearance between the pedal and the floor mat itself.

Fast forward to today. I was picking up my son from school, and once we got in the car, I put it in drive (again, on a cold day) and the ICE quickly switched on after I crept forward a bit, and before I could even put my foot on the gas, the ICE went full throttle and tried to accelerate accordingly. I immediately shut off the car to stop it while still rolling. I again checked the pedal to make sure it wasn't jammed under the mats. It was not. A minute or so later I started it back up, put it in drive, and it happened again. No check engine lights came on or anything.

I've also experienced issues with the car trying to "lurch" or "lunge" past the brakes while the ICE is running when stopped at red lights. The dealership claims they couldn't replicate the issue, and said that because, again, no check engine light came on, and there were no codes, so they said they couldn't escalate the issue to Ford Motor Company.

Another potentially safety-related problematic issue I've had since the car was new is that the whole car often shakes/shudders when stopping, particularly if I have to brake hard, and sometimes when I'm stopping hard over bumps, it even disengages the brakes if I hit a bump while braking.

None of these issues throw codes, so the dealership says they can't do anything to help me.

At this point I don't think the car is safe to drive, and I'm considering calling an attorney, but because there's no replication of the issues with the dealership, I don't know what kind of recouse I have. That said, I have two kids, and I drive a lot for work, but with all these issues over the past two years, I don't feel safe driving it anymore.

Has anyone else experienced these issues?

This is completely normal in a modern vehicle and particularly the Maverick Hybrid. The engine revs high on purpose on a cold start to heat the catalytic converters and coolant up to optimal temperature as quickly as possible. The colder it is, the longer this will last. The surging feeling you noticed is also normal, and well documented by many Hybrid owners here. Ford did a software update for this issue back in 2023, it slightly reduced it, but it is very much still present. This will stop when the engine reaches operating temperature.

It will not overpower the brakes. If you don't feel you can hold it at the necessary pressure use the brake hold feature.

As for the shutter at stops, not sure about that. It could be an issue with the transmission, a small number of owners had theirs replaced for something like this. It could also be faulty motor mounts. The kind of dealerships that don't look beyond codes, means they have no one with meaningful diagnostic ability, find another dealership if you can.

 

[tom_tucker]

Yup. You can't just keep your foot off the brake and coast if the engine needs to warm up. Sometimes it can be very wonky and jerky if your are giving no input. Just use the brakes or accelerator. Some torque does get translated but not enough to overpower the slightest amount of braking or auto-hold.

 

[Chops]

This is completely normal in a modern vehicle and particularly the Maverick Hybrid. The engine revs high on purpose on a cold start to heat the catalytic converters and coolant up to optimal temperature as quickly as possible. The colder it is, the longer this will last. The surging feeling you noticed is also normal, and well documented by many Hybrid owners here. Ford did a software update for this issue back in 2023, it slightly reduced it, but it is very much still present. This will stop when the engine reaches operating temperature.

There is a big difference between “high idle” we all get while in Park upon start-up & “high revs” while the truck is in gear at a stoplight!

Geez, I would get in the habit of putting truck in Neutral at stoplights until problem is fixed. Very dangerous.

 

[icegradner]

There is a big difference between “high idle” we all get while in Park upon start-up & “high revs” while the truck is in gear at a stoplight!

Geez, I would get in the habit of putting truck in Neutral at stoplights until problem is fixed. Very dangerous.

This is never going to be changed, Ford considers it fixed. There are a ton of threads on this subject.

 

[Chops]

This is never going to be changed, Ford considers it fixed.

A few years back there was a Toyota model that “floored” itself while driving. Led to a couple fatalities & a major recall.

I don’t recall the defect then & imagine the issue with the Hybrid is not the same - but still unsettling if you’re behind the wheel with your kid.

 

[icegradner]

A few years back there was a Toyota model that “floored” itself while driving. Led to a couple fatalities & a major recall.

I don’t recall the defect then & imagine the issue with the Hybrid is not the same - but still unsettling if you’re behind the wheel with your kid.

The Toyota issue you mentioned was due to floor mats that would get caught on the accelerator. They recalled the floor mats and gave owners an updated version. People wine about Ford's all weather floor mats for the Maverick, but that is why they are designed the way they are. GM, Ford and a number of other manufactures had similar recalls shortly there after, but it never got the media attention that Toyota's recall did.

 

[Chops]

The Toyota issue you mentioned was due to floor mats that would get caught on the accelerator. They recalled the floor mats and gave owners an updated version. People wine about Ford's all weather floor mats for the Maverick, but that is why they are designed the way they are. GM, Ford and a number of other manufactures had similar recalls shortly there after, but it never got the media attention that Toyota's recall did.

Toyota ended up in lawsuits & ended up paying over $1billion for the “floor mat” problem - because it was more than just the floor mat. Their reputation suffered a bunch too.

The Toyota also had a “sticky” accelerator pedal issue that contributed to the unintended acceleration.

Again, I imagine the Hybrid does not suffer from a floor mat/pedal issue. But unintended acceleration is a seriously dangerous & costly situation if not handled correctly.

Especially if Ford has been aware of issue for years. The OP is thinking of contacting an attorney. Maybe GM or Toyota or Slate will make a referral?

 

[OleFordGuy]

For all this "is completely normal", "it's not going to change" etc., imagine this "the ICE went full throttle and tried to accelerate accordingly" happening with an inexperienced teen son/daughter driver, an elderly driver whose reaction time is naturally longer due to age or just any driver that is not familiar with this "modern vehicle" characteristic, IMO I'll call BS, it a F'ing disaster of a "normal" modern vehicle function, I'd call it a software design FLAW by the manufacturer or the hybrid technology itself if this in fact "normal" in all hybrid brands. Just my 2 cents on the matter.

 

[skinnyboy]

Has anyone else experienced these issues?

This (what would you call it, WAY over throttle issue?), has happened to me four or five times in three plus years on our '22 hybrid. Happens after driving a hundred or so yards after parking for about 20 mins., and is quite disconcerting. It is NOT normal operation, for this or any other vehicle.

When ours does it the truck is not full throttle, but it seems like it, since it is an unexpected VERY high RPM for the situation. A guess with no tach., but likely 4000-4500. It's a software glitch, likely trying to panic charge the HV battery.

Fortunately ours is not driving the vehicle forward with excessive force, (just what you might expect through the trans. with frictional drag in the planetary and the motor generator spinning really fast), and normal brake application is sufficient. Probably one reason Ford hasn't dealt with it, along with the fact it is vanishingly intermittent, and the software doesn't recognize the situation as a fault.

Unfortunately, the dealer probably can't help, and unlikely Ford will address it. If it is enough of a concern the minimum grief would be to sell and move on, sorry to say.

Cheers.

 

[jcs]

The 100% rev upon cold start happened to me twice on my 2025 Hybrid a week after I bought it in January. The 2nd time it happened a CEL was triggered. I took it to the dealer and they said it was a fluke. Ok, I guess, it hasn't happened again. The 2nd time it happened I pressed the brake pedal and shifted it from P to N, it immediately slowed down. So, unless it happens to you while it is in D I don't think it's too big of an issue but I think that Ford should correct this.

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