Filed under: Recalls/TSBs, Ford
Recall Redux: Ford recalls another 155,000 trucks and SUVs for cruise control fix
As if Ford didn't have enough problems, they also have to contend with the gift that keeps on giving: their cruise control switches. The company previously recalled 5.8 million vehicles because a manufacturing problem with the switch could cause a short, resulting in a "thermal event" (more commonly referred to as a fire). Now Ford has to add another 155,000 assorted F-Series trucks and SUVs to the tally. The affected vehicles are all from 2003 and they include the seldom-seen Lincoln Blackwood pickup (above). Of the millions of affected vehicles, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration got 1,472 customer complaints and 65 reported fires.
[Source: USA Today]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Tim 10:30AM (3/06/2007)
"I'd rather deal with a fires than sludgy engines". Detroit Fanboy
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Dummy 10:34AM (3/06/2007)
Yes fire good - sludge bad
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toyota4life 10:40AM (3/06/2007)
TIM,what a dumb ass ,i would take sludge and balljoint any day over getting roast ,you better drive in your fire suit
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Gary Z 10:44AM (3/06/2007)
Okay, there's the bell ringing for round 1. Domestic fans in the red corner, imports in the blue corner.
Let the back and forth hate over who makes better/crappier vehicles begin !!!!
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Tim 10:51AM (3/06/2007)
toyota4life
I was being sarcastic...c'mon dude
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Accordsforall 10:55AM (3/06/2007)
Hmmm
Yup.. let the "my domestic is better than you import because..." battles begin...
This SHit is gettin old...
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toyota4life 10:56AM (3/06/2007)
#5,its hard to tell since you brought up sludge,but im still laughing at the comment
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Don 10:59AM (3/06/2007)
Sad Sad Sad The Only Thing That Ford Has Going For it Is Selling Re badged Mazdas Best car never built by Ford
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whofan 11:04AM (3/06/2007)
Sludge or Fire? Thats why I drive GM and Chrysler.
All companys have their problems. Some people tend to have better luck with certain makes than others.
You can`t tie a name on luck it varies to idividual experience.
I hope Ford can put their electrical problems to rest. This is really hurting them bad. Their poor dealers don`t help either.
Chrysler has been best for me in my area.
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Accordsforall 11:28AM (3/06/2007)
Hmmmm
Ya know #10.. GM has a recall out on its speedos.. turns out theres a big scandal surrounding that. As for the Honda Odo recall... = old news.
But its funny how you said "Thats why I drive GM and Chrysler." Wait a coupla months.. and they will be the same company.. then you can deal with the the GM quality isses..
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toyota4life 11:51AM (3/06/2007)
yea i would not gloat much about gm and chrysler,along with all the recalls from gm the grand prixs are now catching fire shortly after parking it ,advice ,park around the block ,not in your garage,and chrysler had the worste recall rate in 2006 ,dodge ram had 6 to 7 recalls in one year
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MikeW 12:05PM (3/06/2007)
What if your sludge was on fire?
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dejal 12:11PM (3/06/2007)
But, the Ford F150s seen in the "behind the scenes" of the making of the Toyota commercial didn't catch on fire. So, that makes Fords better than Toyota.
Also truth, justice and the American way.
I think.
Maybe.
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Dummy 12:17PM (3/06/2007)
#13 mmmm bbq'd sludge
i dunno why toyota wasts al that guud sludge puttin it in der mowters
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Avinash machado 12:29PM (3/06/2007)
Well I guess all brands have problems from time to time. This includes Toyota as well and not just the domestics.
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That One Person 1:05PM (3/06/2007)
Only 45% of people contacted got their vehicles repaired? Who wants to bet that some of those people who were too lazy/dumb to do anything about this problem (ie. take their vehicle in or disconnect the power supply like Ford said) will turn around and sue Ford and claim they werent told.
Has Ford gone after Texas Instruments and Dupont about this (read some articles on this problem...Dupont played a part, too)?
And while I know no fires should have started but there was only 65 reported fires? For some odd reason, people were making it sound like hundreds of houses burned down. And no reported deaths? Not according to other news sources. But even those were vague...
Ford needs to clean this mess up. Luckily, of all the people I know with F-150s and Expeditions and all that, none of their vehicles have burst into flames.
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GM WHO? 1:23PM (3/06/2007)
FREE Stop Drop and Roll lessons with every Ford Truck
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Bryan 1:56PM (3/06/2007)
At least Ford is recalling them and not telling their customers "it's your fault!". Hmmm 3500 sludge ups, 65 fires. Ford needs to take Texas Instruments down like Firestone! And this is coming from a Texan! I did hear though that the switch issue primarily is causing fires in warmer climates, like here in Houston. However, I have only heard of a few fires here on the news from it. My grandfather is part of the 45% who actually got off of their butts and had it properly taken care of. At least this situation is controllable, unlike your engine just quitting on you in the middle of driving down a freeway or highly traveled road from sludge!
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Expertus Dico 2:44PM (3/06/2007)
'the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration got 1,472 customer complaints and 65 reported fires.'
According to this August 2006 article Ford got some of their own:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/08/nhtsa_ford_fires.html
AS quoted:
"Ford has identified about 250 incidents of fire or smoke tied to the cruise control switch. The company said there have been no allegations of serious injuries or fatalities. ConsumerAffairs.Com has received more than 270 reports of fires in Ford vehicles -- at least 30 of them involving Ford trucks catching fire for no apparent reason in 2006 alone."
And no reported deaths?
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/ford_fire_death.html
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toyota4life 3:06PM (3/06/2007)
BRYAN,like i said ,i would rather have sludge and anything but fire ,who would rather get blown to bitts than sludge?hey bryan how would you like your ford welldunn or welldunn? 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 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
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• 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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