Filed under: Recalls/TSBs, Ford
Ford recalling 3.6 mil vehicles with faulty cruise control units
This one almost slipped past us as we readied for the weekend, but Ford announced a big recall today, involving 3.6 million vehicles with a faulty cruise control switch that could potentially cause a fire. This is essentially a follow-up to the January recall involving 6 mil light trucks for basically the same concern. This newest recall affects about a dozen different Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models from model years 1992-2007. Ford is apparently undertaking this latest recall in response to complaints that the speed control deactivation switch is always on.According to Ford spokesman, Dan Jarvis, "Customers remain concerned about the long-term durability of the speed control system and about the safety of their vehicles." Jarvis admitted that the company had received "a few reports of fires" in Crown Vics already, but no deaths, injuries or accidents from this problem.
The full list of vehicles being recalled is a long one: 1998-2002 Ford Ranger, 1992-1997 Lincoln Town Car, 1992-1997 Ford Crown Victoria, 1992-1997 Mercury Grand Marquis, 1993-1998 Lincoln Mark VIII, 1993-1995 Taurus SHO, 1999-2001 Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer, 2001-2002 Ford Explorer Sport, 2001-2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac, 1992-1993 E150-350 vans, 1997-2002 E150-350 vans, 1993 Ford F-Series pickups, 1993 Ford Bronco, 1994 Mercury Capri, 2003-2004 Ford F-150 Lightning, and 1995-2002 Ford F53 motor homes.
Letters will also be sent to 177,000 owners of similar vehicles in Canada, Mexico and Europe.
In case you're counting, and we know some of you are, this is sixth recall for speed control system concerns by Ford since 1999. Altogether there have been 10.4 million vehicles involved.
Thanks for tips, everybody.
[Source: Forbes]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
AlexP 6:49PM (8/03/2007)
How the hell did this news just pop in between the...
WITCH!!!
I bet half of them aren't even on the roads. :V
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AlexP 6:51PM (8/03/2007)
Uh, something must've gone wrong, because now it's on top...
Yeah, moving on.
joe 7:00PM (8/03/2007)
Just another day at the office.
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Jeff 7:00PM (8/03/2007)
It would be nice if they actually fixed the problem. They installed a fused harness in my F150. There could still be a current draw where there should not be, but it will blow the fuse before it becomes enough to start a fire. Very poor customer service if you ask me.
I'm done with the big 2.5 for at least the next ten years. They need to prove to me that they have changed for good. Show me long term results. I have spent around $75K over the past ten years on domestic brands, and every one has been less than satisfactory from a reliability standpoint.
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ttruck 11:56AM (8/04/2007)
Well Jeff, quit buying Ford products then.
ttruck 11:57AM (8/04/2007)
Well Jeff, quit buying Ford products then.
Gardiner Westbound 7:24PM (8/03/2007)
Reports say several people have been killed by these things.
It just has to be morally better and cheaper, Ford's primary concern, to make these things right in the first place.
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blogged to death 9:30AM (8/07/2007)
There's a total of 16M cars / trucks Ford sold with this cc device. There are video of internal Ford testing showing it's failure and the fiery results. Ford installed it anyway b/c if was cheap.
So there's 9M recalled for this fire hazard (minus the ones that went up in smoke and the houses they burned down) and another ~ 7M Fords to fix this fire hazard (minus the ones that have already and will catch on fire).
Seems Ford constantly finds itself in the middle of a safety concern from fires and their customer's well being. Fool me once (Pinto) shame on you, Fool me twice (cc, ignition coil, ignition switch, plastic manifold fires) shame on me.
Ryan 8:28PM (8/03/2007)
Quality Job #1
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Mani 8:31PM (8/03/2007)
Yep, another quality product from our Ford boys. There are fetalities due to this little doh! Way to go!!!
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crawford.kirk 8:55PM (8/03/2007)
How could they wait so long?
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Camaro02 9:16PM (8/03/2007)
Found On Road Dead...
Why am I not surprised
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Mal Fuller 9:41PM (8/03/2007)
This is the same old brake light switch problem that Ford has been obfuscating for nearly a decade. Are they finally going to stop denying the problem and actually fix it this time or have they more sleazy hocus-pocus fixes up their sleeve? My dad worked for Ford for forty years but he is spinning in his grave these days.
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Bryan 10:01PM (8/03/2007)
Of course the typical bashers will complain. At least Ford is recalling without a fight like your sludged up Toyotas and Lexuses with faulty airbags that require a law suit. Now on to the recall...this was expected. And before you go complaining, this was Texas Instruments fault. And as a Texan it dissapoints me that they could let this happen, but thats life. We have 4 F150's in the family, all on the road, no issues. My grandfathers 02 already had the recall and is fine. There are more F-series on the road with 250k miles or more than ANY other truck in the WORLD. Now my question is...it states they have problems with vehicles up to 2007, yet, in the list of vehicles there arent any past 2002. Uhm, hello? Typo or what?
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Mani 10:33PM (8/03/2007)
"And before you go complaining, this was Texas Instruments fault."
Ofcourse it is!
BTW. did you buy into that 11,000 towing capacity in your F150 like the TV commercial says? Just curious...
Realist 11:03AM (8/04/2007)
Typical of a lot of insecure domestic crap lovers. Mention a recall from Ford/GM, what do these morons do? They want to talk about Toyota "sludge" problems instead.
This is a FORD problem, you dumbass. Not Toyota. F-O-R-D. Quit mentioning Toyota's "sludge" probem from the past. I know you enjoy dwelling on Toyota misfortunes, but dude, just let it go. You're grasping at straws and it makes you really sound desperate.
If you want to dig up stuff from the past, at least explain how it is relevant to the news you commenting about.
Like that massive probem a couple of years ago with Ford vehicles catching fire for no reason at all. Now how is that relevant to this article? Because it's basically the same old problem from the same old crap company.
Bryan 4:54PM (8/04/2007)
Yeah Mani, so can you prove it to be false? Realist...we arent insecure, we are the realists. Quality is equal or better now. Deal with it.
That One Person 12:30AM (8/04/2007)
Yes, let's put 100% of the blame towards Ford. That is about as stupid as people putting 100% blame towards Ford when their 10 year old Firestone spare (which had been recalled) blows up and the vehicle flips and you were too stupid to wear a seatbelt and were the only one hurt in the vehicle.
People need to realize that TEXAS INSTRUMENTS built this product. And they also used materials sourced from DUPONT.
Hey Jeff, go drive a Toyota pickup that has a faulty steering system that could fail while doing 70 mph down the freeway. And you kno what's funny, my whole family has bought nothing but Ford products for the last 50 years and not one of them has had any serious problem. You don't have to believe me but it is the truth. So you are gonna dump the Big 3 for new import products that aren't proven? Makes sense...not.
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Guenther 12:48PM (8/04/2007)
No one said Toyotas are perfect, at least not in this post. Its a ball joint recall for premature wear. If you perform maintenance as a responsible owner, an alignment shop will find this LONG before it becomes dangerous.
Jeff 9:48AM (8/05/2007)
Yea, Toyota recalled their faulty ball joints. Ford did not. I got a letter in the mail explaining how to inspect them. Sure enough, they failed prematurely. I replaced them before they broke, but I was none to happy to be doing so on a car with mileage in the mid five digits.
Ford was nice enough to make the upper ball joint a permanent part of the control arm, which tripled the cost of the new parts. New Moog control arms have replaceable joints.