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Feds Probe More Ford Fires

Ford Escape, Maza Tribute Owners Report Blazes

November 3, 2006

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Federal regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are investigating complaints that some Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute SUVs have inexplicably caught fire.

The investigation involves more than 600,000 SUVs from the 2001-2003 model years.

NHTSA has received eight complaints of engine fires around the antilock braking system's electronic control module.

The control module is an on-board diagnostic and control computer that monitors the braking system during normal driving conditions and when the antilock brakes are being used. The module is located in a circuit that is always powered regardless of whether the ignition is on or off.

Donna of Wake Forest, North Carolina, told the story of her Ford Escape catching fire to ConsumerAffairs.com earlier this year.

"My family and I were awakened at about 5 in the morning to the smoke alarms in the house going off. We quickly looked for the cause and saw smoke coming from the downstairs," she wrote. Donna grabbed her two small children and ran outside to see her garage door popped open and her 2001 Ford Escape on fire.

"I yelled to my husband it was the car on fire. Earlier I had heard a boom but fell back asleep assuming it was lightning or a car backfiring. The fire department came and put the fire out but not before the damage was done to our home."

"The car had not been driven in 2 days," Donna wrote us.

Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley said there have been no reports of injuries linked to the fires and the automaker was cooperating with the agency's investigation.

"At this time it's too early in the investigation to speculate on the outcome," she said.

Donna's Ford Escape was destroyed along with the contents of her garage, a refrigerator, mattress, lawn mower, and other lawn equipment as well as her children's outdoor toys.

NHTSA reports that in five of the eight complaints the fires occurred in circumstances similar to the Wake Forest fire, with the vehicles parked and unattended. In two other cases, the agency received reports of smoke or melted electrical connectors and wiring near the antilock braking system in Escapes.

The Escape and Tribute SUVs are similar vehicles known as "twins" in the automobile industry.

The NHTSA investigation does not involve the Ford Escape Hybrid, which was first introduced in 2004 and is not connected to a two-year investigation of engine fires linked to the cruise control systems in Ford trucks, SUVs and vans. That investigation led to the recall of about 5.8 million Ford vehicles in 2005 and 2006.

The preliminary evaluation will review the frequency, scope and safety consequences of the alleged defect. Defect investigations can sometimes lead to vehicle recalls.

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