Filed under: Minivans/MPVs, Government/Legal, Ford
Ford subject of another fire investigation
Even after recalling 10 million vehicles over the past few years, Ford just can't seem to shake the cruise control blues. There have been 130 reports of fires in 1998-2003 Ford Windstars, both during use and while parked, and the NHTSA is looking into the matter to determine if a recall is needed. The fires may be due to the Windstar's cruise control system, but Ford says this unit is different from the system that caused the 10 million-unit recall because it isn't powered at all times, and it doesn't pose a risk. If the Windstars are recalled, over 1.7 million minivans will be affected.
[Source: Autoweek]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
mike 8:45AM (5/21/2008)
Yep, and Toyota is the bad guy. Prius is a liberal hoax, Sequoa is meant to keep USA addicted to oil....and only Ford is pure and clean.
Ohhhh how wonderful Alan Mullaly's hair smell......ohhh my.
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Avinash machado 8:47AM (5/21/2008)
The Windstar is from the Pre-Mullay era.
inteller 8:55AM (5/21/2008)
yes, how convienent that they axed the Windstar.
C.W. 9:33AM (5/21/2008)
this kind of stuff is so stupid. Ford clearly doesnt make this vehicle anymore. they dont use this Cruise control supplier anymore. so who cares?!
look how much Ford has changed (and the other American OEMs) in the past 2 years, let alone 5-10 years ago. i read articles like this and laugh. they're doing right to fix the issue so yeah, toyota is still the bad guy because they still funnel American cash out of the country as a profit base for their HQs in Japan. Billions of dollars that could be going directly into the weakening american economy.
only a liberal rice-burning vehicle owner would ever take a story like this and reference toyota. silly.
tekdemon 3:48AM (5/22/2008)
C.W. Ford is "doing right" because the NHSTA is making them do it 10 model years later?
You have a really funny definition of "doing right" there.
Shipey 9:05AM (5/21/2008)
Ugh. Seriously?
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Phil L. 9:07AM (5/21/2008)
I have an '00 Windstar - and the switch started leaking on mine. I replaced it myself a few years ago.
The new switch was a new design - and came with a replacement harness section with a fusible link, so Ford knew something was going on.
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blogged to death 9:16AM (5/21/2008)
New slogan - Has your Ford caught on fire, lately.
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Randy 8:46PM (5/21/2008)
Or how about this one! "Toyota was deliberate in covering up a white 2005 Camry bursting into flames on Route 28 in Reading, MA". I saw it! " (backstory, the car was towed to a local tow yard, then covered by whomever and vanished within 6 hours". I know because I was going to post pictures on MT's forum when it happened and the yard said "Yeah, Toyo picked the car up already". 6 hours? Never heard a peep about it!
Or how about "VW Passat / aka Audi A6" (or is it 4?) burst into flames on Totten Pond Rd Waltham, MA last summer! I saw that too and placed the 911 call while a friend ran to his car, pulled out a fire extinguisher and tried to put out the front clip of the car as the woman that owned it freaked out!
Where was the coverage? Where was the news?
I guess you could sum it up to "Media Agenda"?
I can hear the news guys now "A Toyota blew up? Oh, well nobody would believe that so let's run the Firestone story more so Ford can take a few more kicks in the balls for something they had no part of" - - - "ok boss" As he drives away in he Ford Econoline New Truck!
I'm sorry, if every cop in the country, every ambulance in the country and almost every limo in the country is a Ford product, they must save more lives than they've ever taken with a friggin wire! For God's sake, get over the wire!
These are the headlines that I want to read!
"Every American's Life that was Saved in the Past 15 years was with the help of Ford Cars, Trucks and Vans"
Wow, I went in a few directions with this one! ;)
John P. 9:17AM (5/21/2008)
I wish my fords would burn some day, but they just keep running and running. No problems, damn things.
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Richard 9:31AM (5/21/2008)
I'll bet that the 60-minutes guys have just sent someone to the hobby shop to buy a bunch of Estes rocket engines...
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Ken Stamper 9:55AM (5/21/2008)
I think the most shocking thing is that apparently Ford somehow sold 1.7 million Windstars
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thedude3389 3:18PM (5/21/2008)
LMFAO, NICE!
J3-Colt 9:58AM (5/21/2008)
My wife had a brand new 2001 Windstar SEL. It was the biggest piece of crap on wheels--she would have celebrated if hers would've caught on fire.
Within the first two years of ownership we spent more time at the dealer for warranty work than driving--we replaced 2 power seat motors, 2 power sliding door motors, a cracked cylinder head and other engine trouble developed with less than 25K on the odometer!
The only good thing was the service department at our Ford dealership. They felt sorry for us being there so often and kept giving us free oil changes, a new set of floor mats, hats, and other goodies to try and appease us.
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Thedevil 9:59AM (5/21/2008)
It is amazing that this Pathetic company is still around.
and the worst part is ,they are trying to compare themselves to Toyota.
for those who talk that BS about the newer fords are better, yea right.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/05/ford_spark_plugs.html
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psarhjinian 10:06AM (5/21/2008)
I'm not a Ford fan (don't own one, won't own one since they killed the Focus wagon) but they're really pretty good cars, if you trust Consumer Reports' statistics on their newer models.
C.W. 10:39AM (5/21/2008)
you're an idiot. have you read consumer reports ? the car-buyers bible? do you know anytyhing about initial quality studies? do you know anything about virtual design and build? do you know anything at all?
i would venture to say the answer is NO to all of the above.
MKIV 10:52AM (5/21/2008)
@psarhjinian
CR is bashed here when it's for a import but praised when it's for a domestic.
The irony of it all.
Either they need to be trusted or not regardless of what make, model they are promoting.
psarhjinian 12:06PM (5/21/2008)
Generally, I'll give CR credit regardless of whom they're recommending. In general, they're pretty much accurate in their reviews and reliability histories; they're probably more accurate when it comes to high-volume mainstream products.
And yes, I do find the dichotomy surrounding CR to be amusing, especially watching GM fans trying to reconcile the recent stellar reviews of the Lambdas, CTS and Malibu with their historic opposition to everything CR.
psarhjinian 10:05AM (5/21/2008)
Ford makes some very good cars. The Fusion is, in many ways, still the best domestic sedan if you can forgive the power deficit (ditto the Taurus and Taurus X). The Edge is a solid crossover/wagon; the Mustang and F150 are also very good for their class. Heck, Ford makes the only "true" hybrid SUV that's affordable. The Focus was the best compact car you could buy before it's 2008 redesign (which wrecked it--good job, there)
That they're getting at or near the top of CR's reliability survey with their new models should be proof-positive that Ford has rounded the corner, even if the "Hey, since we put more money into quality, our warranty costs have gone down" press release was the "Duh!" moment of the century. Their marketing still sucks, but that's more or less a given in Detroit, and at least its just ineffective, rather than asinine. I'd hazard you could call Ford a "good" car company, if somewhat beleaguered.
The Windstar/Freestar, though, is very much from the "bad" Ford era. Picking on it would be like picking on GM for that plastic intake manifold issue.
Oh, wait, GM has never acknowledged that, have they?
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