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August 23, 2006
BIG FORD CRUISE CONTROL-FIRE RECALL GETS BIGGER
The Detroit News has reported that Ford Motor Company, expanding “one of the largest safety recalls in automotive history," has said it will recall an additional 1.2 million vehicles nationwide that are prone to engine fires. "The Dearborn automaker has recalled 6.7 million vehicles worldwide since January 2005 that are equipped with a Texas Instruments speed control deactivation switch that has been linked to dozens of engine fires and has sparked numerous lawsuits," the paper said.
Vehicles included in the expanded recall are 1994 to 2002 models of the Ford F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 Super Duty pickups; 2000 to 2002 models of the Excursion; 1994 to 1996 Econoline vans; 1996 to 2002 E-450 vans; and 1998 Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers. About 20 million of the switches in question are used in both Ford and non-Ford vehicles, but a spokesman for the NHTSA said similar problems have not been found in non-Ford vehicles. If the combined total of 6.7 million Ford vehicles called back -- including 5.8 million in the United States -- were a single recall, it would be the fourth-largest ever, behind a 1996 Ford recall of 7.9 million vehicles for ignition switches and two by General Motors Corp., according to NHTSA data.
In all, the switch-related fires reportedly have led to at least 13 lawsuits around the country and have been the subject of government investigations since 1998. Most of the fires in question occurred when the vehicles were not running. The fires can ignite well after the engine has been turned off because electrical current continues to run through the switch. NHTSA recently issued a 29-page report stating that fatigue failure of a brake seal allows fluid to corrode the cruise control switch when it's pointed up, the newspaper said. "The brake systems generate a vacuum that can potentially cause the (switch) to fail and in certain installation orientations catch fire."
Posted by MVHAP at August 23, 2006 09:31 PM