Ford Recall: Fire in the Hole
Ford Motor Company claims that it is unclear whether its cruise
control switches are the fault for over 560 reported fires and
explosions in Ford vehicles. Many of these fires broke out when
the vehicles were parked in family garages, destroying homes and
lives. In cases like this the numbers reported are only a
fraction of what has actually occurred, but Ford claims to be
doing its best to determine the cause of the fires and refuses
to declare the cruise control switch at fault. Here are the
facts:
More than 16 million Ford vehicles have rolled out of the lots
installed with a cruise control switch that is designed not to
switch off. This switch remains hot and powered, even when the
car is parked. Only a thin metal sheet separates the switch from
the brake fluid line, and only a little extra heat can cause the
switch to combust, dripping flaming fluid over all the plastic
components, resulting in a full-blown hood fire that is very
difficult to extinguish. Many owners have reported explosions,
both while driving Ford vehicles and after parking them.
In May of 1999, Ford issued a recall on Crown Victoria, Grand
Marquis, and Town Car models from 1992-1993. A second recall
issued in January of 2005 affected 800,000 vehicles including
all 2001 F-Series Super Crews and all the year 2000 Expeditions,
Navigators, and F-150 Pickups. Even these massive recalls have
not solved the problem. As recently as this month reports have
come in of vehicle fires in models not covered by the recall. A
1999 Expedition caught fire in a family garage after 3 Ford
dealerships refused to replace its cruise control switch.
Federal investigators are now looking at 3.7 million Ford trucks
and SUV