| Both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Ford Motor Co. have issued several recalls of millions of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles as a result of a defective cruise control switch that can lead to a spontaneous fire, even when the vehicle is turned off, parked and unattended. |
| The most recent of this Ford cruise control recalls occurred on September 9, 2008, when the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration re-recalled millions of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury SUV's pickup trucks, vans and cars. This advisory was the second recall warning from the safety agency issued in 2008 and is meant to bring in nearly 5 million cars, trucks and SUVs which still have not been brought in for repair since an earlier recall of 12 million vehicles in February 2008. |
| The federal safety agency has received nearly 60 complaints of fires that occurred in the affected vehicles, which are listed below. In addition, the agency stated that it is also currently investigating a similar problem in Ford Windstar vans. The agency has received more than 130 complaints of alleged fires in those vehicles. |
| Vehicles Included in September 2008 NHTSA Cruise Control Fire Recall |
1993 - 2004 Ford F150
1993 - 1999 Ford F250 (gasoline engine)
1993 - 1996 Ford Bronco
1994 - 1996 Ford Econoline
1997 - 2002 Ford Expedition
1998 - 2002 Lincoln Navigator
1998 - 2002 Ford Ranger
1992 - 1998 Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car
1993 - 1998 Lincoln Mark VIII
1993 - 1995 Ford Taurus SHO with automatic transmission
1994 - Mercury Capri
1998 - 2001 Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer
2001 - 2002 Ford Explorer Sport and Explorer Sport Trac
1992 - 1993 and 1997 - 2003 Ford E-150-350 gasoline or natural gas vehicles
2002 - Ford E-550 gasoline engine vehicles
1996 - 2003 Ford E-450 gasoline or natural gas vehicles
1994 - 2002 Ford F-250 through F-550 super Duty trucks (gasoline engine)
2000 - 2002 Ford Excursion (gasoline engine)
2003 - F250 - F550 Super Duty, Ford Excursion
1995 - 2002 Ford F53 Motor home chassis
2002 - 2003 Lincoln Blackwood |
| Ford, Lincoln and Mercury owners are urged to contact their local dealers at 888-222-2751 to repair their defective cruise control switches or contact NHTSA's auto safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236. |
| The last recall issued by Ford Motor Co. occurred on August 3, 2007, when the auto manufactuer again expanded the recall of Ford vehicles due to problems associated with the speed control deactivation system. The latest recall included several additional model years of some vehicles previously affected by the switch recall, as well as a few new models of cars, trucks and SUVs, for a total of 3.6 million vehicles recalled. Owners of the vehicles included in this recall will receive notices in the mail urging them to visit dealers to install a corrective fused wiring harness to repair the allegedly defective cruise control switch. |
| The August 2007 recall greatly widens the scope of previous Ford recalls made in March 2007, August 2006 and January/ September 2005. The March recall consisted of 155,000 2003 model year trucks, SUVs and cars. The January recall consisted of almost 800,000 Ford pickups and sport utility vehicles, including model year 2000 Ford F-150s, Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators and 2001 F-Series Super crew trucks made at the same time, while the September 7, 2005, recall included 3.8 million full-size pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. |
| NHTSA first opened an investigation into the alleged switch defect in November 2004. In March 2005, NHTSA began a second investigation of the issue, this time including Ford F-150 pickups from 1995-1999 and 2001-2002 model years, and Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators from the 1997-1999 and 2001-2002 model years. |
| The 2005 recall came less than two weeks after consumer advocate Ralph Nader criticized Ford for delaying action on the issue. Up to that point, NHTSA had received more than 1,000 complaints of engine fires linked to the faulty switch. |
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| Based on information from NHTSA and Ford, and as reported in the media, the cruise control switches that have been linked to fires are the same or similar to those on many vehicles manufactured by Ford (or sold under the Lincoln or Mercury brand names). |
| RECALLED VEHICLES |
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| VEHICLES WITH THE SAME OR SIMILAR SWITCHES |
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Cars
1993 Lincoln Mark VII
1993-1995 Ford Sable |
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SUVs
1992-1997 Mercury Mountaineer |
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Pickup Trucks
1998-2002 Ford Ranger |
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Vans
1992-1993, 1997-2002 Ford Econoline
1994-2002 Ford Windstar |
To learn more about the Ford Fire Recall, click here. |
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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
To report a vehicle fire incident
Phone: (888) 327-4236
Web: www.nhtsa.gov
Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation
NHTSA
Office of Defects Investigation
NSA-10.01 400 7th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20590 |
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Ford Motor Company:
Phone: (800) 392-3673
Web: for recall information, visit Ford's Recall Information Page |
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Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP:
Phone: (800) 541-7358
Web: for information regarding your legal rights and our law firm, visit our website, US Auto Injury Law.com |
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