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Ford Cruise Control Fire Strikes Florida Car Dealership

Fires hit North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas
Replacement parts still in short supply

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

April 30, 2008

“A 2001 Ford F-150 Sport Model caught on fire while tuned off at the lot. The truck was totaled and burned to a crisp,” Val Fernandez told ConsumerAffairs.Com.

The fire from the Ford F-150 spread through the car lot. “One of the vehicles next to the truck, a 2002 Lincoln LS was singed with over $2000.00 worth of damage,” Fernandez estimated. “The lot was a complete mess from all the fire damage.”

The New Port Richey car dealer is still evaluating the loss of business because of what he describes as a “fiasco.”

Both the fire department and police reported that “cause of the fire was a faulty cruise control thing that keeps running even when the vehicle is turned off,” Fenandez told ConsumerAffairs.Com.

Fernandez has been unable to remove the charred Ford truck from the lot until the investigation is complete and that is continuing to harm his car lot business, he said.

Burning Ford trucks have also wreaked havoc lately in North Carolina, South Carolina, Arizona and Texas.

Investigators in Raleigh, North Carolina blamed an early-morning fire on a 1998 Ford Explorer and its faulty cruise control switch.

The fire began about 2:30 a.m. Investigators said that the SUV's cruise control system started the fire, which spread from the garage to the house, according to the report. The Ford SUV was parked outside and flames from the vehicle charred garage and filled the house with smoke.

In Charleston, South Carolina a ConsumerAffairs.Com reader reported his 2001 Ford F-150 Supercrew truck “caught fire and was destroyed beyond repair.”

The fire began two hours after he parked the truck. The F-150 is “totaled out,” he said. Others on his lot were damaged, and one had to be towed away.

A Ford truck owner in Texas lost his pick-up in the early morning hours Sunday.

"I jumped out of bed and ran to the door and when I opened it I saw the flames coming out of the hood of the truck here from the front door."he said. “As it was burning it exploded and fire just went into the air. "

Repeated delays by Ford in obtaining sufficient parts to repair the recalled cars and trucks continues to frustrate and anger Ford owners. A Phoenix, Arizona Ford owner told ConsumerAffairs.Com that he received the recall notice on his 2000 Ford Ranger in August of 2007.

“I took the truck to a dealer and they disconnected the device. As of now, April 2008, the cruise control has not been fixed and the dealer has no idea when the new part will be available. Ford won't tell them,” the truck owner said.

Ford reiterated the recall of 9.6 million cars and truck April 28 on its Web site but still insists the possibility of fire caused by the cruise control switch is insignificant.

“The potential for fire is small. However, owners who are concerned should park their vehicle outside until the repair is completed. Ultimately, the best action for customers is to have their dealer perform the repair as soon as possible,” Ford states on its Web site.

Federal safety regulators at NHTSA disagree.

In a strongly worded and highly unusual statement, NHTSA in February warned owners of the recalled vehicles to go to a Ford or Lincoln Mercury dealer as soon as possible and have the potentially dangerous cruise control system disconnected.

“This condition may occur either when the vehicle is parked or when it is being operated, even if the speed control is not in use,” the statement warned.

"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," NHTSA warned in the consumer advisory.

The safety agency said the fire danger is present regardless of the age of the vehicle.

NHTSA advised consumers in the February warning that many Ford dealers would disconnect the switch as a “drive-through” service and interim repair until parts are available.

In the most recent recall notice posted on the Ford Web site, the automaker stopped well short of taking any responsibility for vehicles that already have burned. The automaker said owners “should work with their insurance company to address these concerns.”

Ford insisted in the recall notice that parts for the speed control switch recall are available for passenger cars and owners should contact their dealer to schedule a service appointment to have final repairs completed.

For Ford trucks however, parts are currently available only in limited quantities, according to the automaker.

“Truck vehicle owners will be notified by mail when parts are available to service their vehicles. All truck vehicle owners are expected to be notified by early June, 2008,” the recall notice stated.

According to Ford, when the badly need repair parts are available, the recall involves the installation of a fused wiring harness into the speed control electrical circuit, or the replacement of the deactivation switch if it is found to be leaking. The repair ford said in a statement is “a quick repair, and will be performed on vehicles built between 1992 and 2004.

Ford warned owners of the listed vehicles that the company investigation has "found that if brake fluid leaks through the speed control deactivation switch into the speed control system electrical components, those components may corrode. Together with other conditions, this could lead to overheating, and possibly, a fire at the switch.”

“This condition may occur either when the vehicle is parked or when it is being operated, even if the speed control is not in use,” the statement warned.

A NHTSA spokesman told ConsumerAffairs.com that the agency is "monitoring the recall closely."

Recalled models

The recalled vehicles are:

1. 1993 – 2004 F150
2. 1993 – 1999 F250 (gasoline engine)
3. 1993 – 1996 Bronco
4. 1994 – 1996 Econoline
5. 1997 – 2002 Ford Expedition
6. 1998 – 2002 Lincoln Navigator
7. 1998 – 2002 Ford Ranger
8. 1992 – 1998 Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car
9. 1993 – 1998 Lincoln Mark VIII
10. 1993 – 1995 Ford Taurus SHO with automatic transmission
11. 1994 – Mercury Capri
12. 1998 – 2001 Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer
13. 2001 – 2002 Ford Explorer Sport and Explorer Sport Trac
14. 1992 – 1993 and 1997 – 2003 Ford E-150-350 gasoline or natural gas vehicles
15. 2002 – E-550 gasoline engine vehicles
16. 1996 – 2003 E-450 gasoline or natural gas vehicles
17. 1994 – 2002 F-250 through F-550 super Duty trucks (gasoline engine)
18. 2000 – 2002 Ford Excursion (gasoline engine)
19. 2003 – F250 – F550 Super Duty, Ford Excursion
20. 1995 – 2002 Ford F53 Motor home chassis
21. 2002 – 2003 Lincoln Blackwood

Ford truck and SUV owners wanting more information about the fire danger in their vehicle or the recall may contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673 or NHTSA 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153).

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