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Ford Recalls 4 Million Trucks to Fix Fire Risk

September 7, 2005
After years of turning a deaf ear to reports of fires in unattended F-150s and other trucks and SUVs, Ford Motor Co. is finally recalling nearly 4 million of the vehicles to replace a faulty speed control deactivation switch that may cause underhood fires.

Flaming Fords • Ford Cruise Control Fire Strikes Florida Car Dealership • Ford Hopes to Wind Down Recall of Fire-Prone Vehicles • Ford Expedition Suspected in Fatal Ohio Home Fire • Ford Fires Continue Despite Long-Delayed Federal Warning • Feds Warn Some Ford Trucks and Cars Can Erupt in Flames • Ford Fire Lawsuits Spread • Ford Recalls 57,000 More Trucks, SUVS for Fire Hazard • Ford Fires Strike in Minnesota, California • Ford Plans Another Recall to Fix Fire Hazard • Ford Fire Hazard Recall Creeps Along • Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute Continue Ford Fire Tradition • Ford Fires Kill Pets and Spread Despair as Year Ends • Ford Lacks Parts for Fire Recall Repair • New F150 Erupts in Flames as Ford Truck Fires Rage On • Red Hot Texas Car-B-Que • Kerry Vows Action to Get Flaming Fords Off the Road • Flaming Ford Scandal Disgraces Ford, Feds • Ford Tries Again to Fix Fire Problem with Massive Recall • One Ford the Recall Missed • Ford Stops Sales of Big Super Duty, Recalls 2008 Trucks • Ford Recalls 155,000 More Trucks to Fix Fire Hazard • Feds Probe Fires in Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute • Feds Wind Up Ford Engine Fire Probe with Massive Recall • Ford Truck Fires Mount as Recall Rolls Slowly • Ford Trucks Burn As Recall Fiddles • Ford Truck Fire Fix Delayed by Parts Shortage • Ford Recalls 4 Million Trucks to Fix Fire Risk • Nader Demands NHTSA Warn Ford Truck Owners • Wrongful Death Suit Charges House Fire Started in F-150 • Feds Look Deeper for Ford Fire Causes • Recall Leaves Many Questions Unanswered • Houston Lawyers Sue Ford • Ford Recalls Some Fire-Prone Models • Feds Probe Ford F-150 Engine Fires • Ford Recall Was Biggest Ever --- • Bronco • Crown Victoria • Dump truck • Expedition • Explorer • F-150 • Other F-Series Trucks • Focus • Mustang • Ranger Pickup • Taurus • Windstar

The estimated 3.8 million Ford vehicles affected by the recall are from the 1994-2002 model years and include the Ford F-150 pickup as well as the Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator and Ford Bronco SUVs.

It's the fourth largest recall in Ford's history.

The brake fluid in the recalled vehicles may leak through the speed control deactivation switch into the speed control system electrical components, potentially corroding them and leading to fires, the company said.

Ford said it will install a fused wiring harness between the switch and the speed control mechanism of the affected vehicles to act as a circuit breaker.

In January, Ford recalled about 792,000 pickup trucks and SUVs for a similar problem involving the speed control switch. That recall included 2000 model-year F-150 pickup trucks, Expedition and Navigator SUVs and 2001 model-year F-Series Supercrew pickup trucks equipped with cruise control.

The government began the defect investigation in March involving F-150 pickups from the 1995 to 1999 and 2001 to 2002 model years and Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators from the 1997 to 1999 and 2001 to 2002 model years.

NHTSA has received more than 550 complaints of engine fires from the cruise control switch in the Ford models.

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