Ford Recalls Due To Potential Car Fire

[MalahatTwo7]

Some Ford Vehicles Face Fire Risk Cruise Control Switch Needs To Be Disconnected

POSTED: 11:53 am EST February 28, 2008

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Thursday urged owners of certain unrepaired Ford, Lincoln and Mercury SUVs, pickup trucks, vans, and certain passenger cars to bring their vehicles to dealer repair shops immediately.

The NHTSA said the vehicles need to have the the cruise control switch disconnected. Failure to have the switch disconnected could lead to a vehicle fire at any time, whether or not the key is in the ignition, and whether or not owners use the cruise control system.

Many dealers will perform this as a "drive-through" service so owners do not have to leave their vehicles at the dealership or schedule an appointment in advance.

The safety agency said the fire danger is present regardless of the age of the vehicle, and could occur while the vehicle is parked and unattended. Several dwelling fires have been attributed to the problem.

NHTSA said it is issuing the consumer advisory due to concerns that many owners have yet to respond to multiple safety defect recall notifications involving approximately 9.6 million registered vehicles.

It said that approximately 5 million vehicles have been repaired so far, leaving about 4.6 million passenger cars and light trucks with the faulty switches intact, and in danger of catching fire.

Ford and NHTSA urged all owners of recalled vehicles that have not been repaired to bring their vehicles to dealers as soon as possible to have the faulty switches disconnected, as an interim safety measure. Ford is in the process of re-notifying owners of the SUVs and other light trucks concerning the importance of having the switch disconnected.

This interim fix will eliminate the risk of fire while affected Ford and Mercury owners are waiting for final repairs from the company, NHTSA said.

The involved vehicles are:

1993-2004 F150
1993-1999 F250 (gasoline engine)
1993-1996 Bronco
1994-1996 Econoline
1997-2002 Ford Expedition
1998-2002 Lincoln Navigator
1998-2002 Ford Ranger
1992-1998 Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car
1993-1998 Lincoln Mark VIII
1993-1995 Ford Taurus SHO with automatic transmission
1994-Mercury Capri
1998-2001 Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer
2001-2002 Ford Explorer Sport and Explorer Sport Trac
1992-1993 and 1997-2003 Ford E-150-350 gasoline or natural gas vehicles
2002-E-550 gasoline engine vehicles
1996-2003 E-450 gasoline or natural gas vehicles
1994-2002 F-250 through F-550 super Duty trucks (gasoline engine)
2000-2002 Ford Excursion (gasoline engine)
2003-F250-F550 Super Duty, Ford Excursion
1995-2002 Ford F53 Motor home chassis
2002-2003 Lincoln Blackwood

Distributed by Internet Broadcasting.

[ResidentTruckie]

phewww

Good thing I have a '92 Explorer! haha I'd hope it's be fixed by now though! And I wish the transmission line didnt blow too :-/

[dave29]

Fords suck, Let em burn so we have something to do
Longs noone gets hurt Its all good

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

Fords suck, Let em burn so we have something to do
Longs noone gets hurt Its all good

May you be condemned to drive a Yugo for all of eternity for insulting the Blue oval!

You have to remember that many of the controls and components that go into your car, truck, SUV and yes, even fire apparatus are are made for the manufacturers by other companies.

[dave29]

May you be condemned to drive a Yugo for all of eternity for insulting the Blue oval!

You have to remember that many of the controls and components that go into your vasr, truck, SUV and yes, even fire apparatus are are made for the manufacturers by other companies.

Hahahaha funny

[Weruj1]

this came out awhile ago ................I got mine fixed already.

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

Originally Posted by CaptainGonzo

May you be condemned to drive a Yugo for all of eternity for insulting the Blue oval!

You have to remember that many of the controls and components that go into your car, truck, SUV and yes, even fire apparatus are are made for the manufacturers by other companies.

Hahahaha funny

I meant it.

[KEEPBACK200FEET]

I bought an old Pinto circle track car once for a couple hundred bucks, and when my mom saw it, the first thing she said was "It's gonna explode!". Nevermind the racing fuel cell right in front of her. Ha.

[MalahatTwo7]

Just remember this quote the next time you want to knock North American engineering:

Russian space craft. American space craft. Don' make no difference. ALL MADE IN TAIWAN!

[DaSharkie]

May you be condemned to drive a Yugo for all of eternity for insulting the Blue oval!

No blue ovals in my driveway. A Toyota 4Runner (made in Japan) and Subaru Outback (made in Indiana).

The 1 Ford I had had electrical problems out the wazoo, a recurring theme in Fords in general, though I like the looks of the F-150s - I just cannot get by the constant recalls of vehicles made by the big 3.

My GMC pick up strated to die at 62,000 miles after 6 years, and was essentially dead a year later. My Chevy Impala (which was an awesome car) literally fried at 59,000 miles after 6 years. My Oldsmobile died at 86,000 miles after 6 years. My Dodge had transmission and electrical problems problems at 45,000.

I can accept problems with cars occurring, however I cannot accept the continuing death of cars in what I deem to be an unacceptable time.

My Subaru? 50,000 miles on it and the only problem was the e-brake leather boot stitching which was replaced. The 4Runner has 7,600 miles on it and my only qualm when I bought it new last year was the crap tires - since replaced.

You have to remember that many of the controls and components that go into your car, truck, SUV and yes, even fire apparatus are are made for the manufacturers by other companies.

I trotally agree here, but I cannot relate completely given that there are consistently a large number of recalls across massive numbers of automobiles with the big 3 on a frequency greater than that of other makes.

I think the quality of the big 3's vehicles has improved, but they do not seem to last anywhere near as long as others.

You live in the People's Republic with me, how many Subarus that are old, tired, and beaten up do you see running around here? Freaking things won't die. Yeah it has a little 4 banger tucked in it, but the thing is all-wheel drive and we get 30+ mpg on the highway in ours. Now why in the hell can't the big 3 build an engine, transmission, and differential combo that can at least match it? Nothing has changed in that drivetrain for 3 model cycles over 10-15 years.

There is more to this than the components made by other people.


And for a real thrill, watch this show from Britain about how they cannot kill a Toyota Hilux (basically a Toyota Tacoma.)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Lrk6vsb77xk

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0Uc4Ksz3nHM

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YfZDtC9kjVk


And if you really want a chucke, how about some car soccer?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOun_ugWMP8

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

Posted by DaSharkie

You live in the People's Republic with me, how many Subarus that are old, tired, and beaten up do you see running around here? Freaking things won't die. Yeah it has a little 4 banger tucked in it, but the thing is all-wheel drive and we get 30+ mpg on the highway in ours.

I see a lot of newer Subies. Vermont is the land of the Subaru

On a side note.. many years ago, a guy named Ernie Boch ( now deceased) bought the distribution rights for Subaru. The first Subaru car imported was the Subaru 360, an ugly little wart of a car that looked lke a mini-me version of a VW Beetle gone bad. People laughed... so did Ernie Boch. Every Subaru sold east of the Mississipi makes a ka-ching and increases the wealth of his son, Ernie Boch Junior, who is the CEO of the Boch Automotive group on the Automile in Norwood... Come On Down!

Ernie Jr. didn't want to be a car guy.. his heart was in music. He graduated from Berklee College of Musicas a guitar major. He did his thing, then went to work for Dad... who fired him. Another try, another firing. The young Mr. Boch tried a third time, learning the business from the ground up... starting as a lot attendant.

Today, he leads a multimillion dollar empire, and still plays music in his band Ernie and the Automatics... who's members include Barry Goudreau and Sib Hashian, formerly of the band Boston. The money he makes from music goes to Music Drives Us, a charity he set up to help kids with musical talent realize their potential.

[ZootTX]

Ironically, we had a car fire last night, an F150 from the era covered by this recall. The owner hadn't driven it in almost 10 hours.
Hmmm.

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

Ironically, we had a car fire last night, an F150 from the era covered by this recall. The owner hadn't driven it in almost 10 hours.
Hmmm.

If the truck wasn't driven in 10 years, the drain on the battery to maintain the radio presets and ECM memory would make it deader than dead.

Prairie dogs and matches?

[edge1317]

If the truck wasn't driven in 10 years, the drain on the battery to maintain the radio presets and ECM memory would make it deader than dead.

Prairie dogs and matches?

He said hours.....

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

ooops... my bad

[HuskerMedic]

I have a Ford Explorer affected by this recall and my parents have a Ford pickup that is also affected. We got our letters for the recall at about the same time a several months ago (I still have the letter somewhere, I can look for sure when I got it).

Dad went to our local small town Ford dealer where both vehicles were purchased new. Dad is on a first name basis with the service manager, and our family on average purchases one or two vehicles per year from this dealer, so they have a vested interest in keeping the family happy, and to date they have.

When dad asked about the recall, the service manager said there is a national shortage to get the affected recall part. He put our names on a list. Dad asked about people not wanting to wait, noting the fire hazard mentioned. The service manager said that if people decided not to have the recall done, Ford had sent out preprinted liability waivers he was supposed to try to have them sign. Dad has subsequently checked back several times and the part is still not available.

Has anybody else affected by this recall had any problems with parts availability? My initial take on the whole situation is not very positive towards Ford (just the company; I still like our local dealer).

[BrianB35]

Some of us, including myself work for Ford and without that paycheck couldn't be a volunteer for their respective departments.

So the next time you want to bad mouth a company either keep it to yourself or don't post it in writing. I bet you wouldn't like to hear your company sucks.

Fords suck, Let em burn so we have something to do
Longs noone gets hurt Its all good

[BrianB35]

My Ranger was part of this recall and I got the part. It's just an extension harness with an inline fuse. I'm surprised my wife' van hasn't been recalled.

[lieut1sc]

I have a Ford Explorer affected by this recall and my parents have a Ford pickup that is also affected. We got our letters for the recall at about the same time a several months ago (I still have the letter somewhere, I can look for sure when I got it).

Dad went to our local small town Ford dealer where both vehicles were purchased new. Dad is on a first name basis with the service manager, and our family on average purchases one or two vehicles per year from this dealer, so they have a vested interest in keeping the family happy, and to date they have.

When dad asked about the recall, the service manager said there is a national shortage to get the affected recall part. He put our names on a list. Dad asked about people not wanting to wait, noting the fire hazard mentioned. The service manager said that if people decided not to have the recall done, Ford had sent out preprinted liability waivers he was supposed to try to have them sign. Dad has subsequently checked back several times and the part is still not available.

Has anybody else affected by this recall had any problems with parts availability? My initial take on the whole situation is not very positive towards Ford (just the company; I still like our local dealer).

Ya it's kinda funny when they have a recall they sometimes don't have the parts to cover it. I think it is because the Govt. recalls them, lets the public know and then tells the dealer. I know I've heard of recalls from the public before they tell us at the dealership.

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

Brian.. I am a Ford guy.

When I had my 1997 F150, the only issue was a broken tie rod (replaced under warranty) and the cruise control recall. I bought the truck in September of 1996 and sold it in October 2007, when I took over the wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee (that's what she wanted) as my daily driver and bought her a 2007 Edge SEL AWD.

I've had my 2006 Mustang GT since May of 06, and just heard about the passenger airbag recall. I'll get it done when I put her back on the roadf after the snow is gone and the streets are swept (the Pony is a "toy! )

Like I stated in an earlier post on this thread, those components come from other manufacturers and are not the fault of the vehicle builder.

My 1986 F-150, 1992 Explorer, my son's 2001 F150 and 2001 Mustang have all given us great service. His F150 just turned 100K miles.

The 86 F150 is still in use on a family friend's horse farm in South Carolina!

My former 1997 F-150


The Stangs


The Jeep


The Edge