Started the car to get heater going and warmed up and started buckling my kids up in their car seats. That’s when I started to smell an electrical burning smell coming through the vents. I turned the heater off and the smell got stronger. I turned the heater back on and smelled it even worse. I immediately switched it to AC instead of heat and then I started to notice smoke coming through the air vents. I immediately turned the car off. The smoke continued to bellow out of the air vents. As soon and the interior lights turned off I noticed a glow under the passenger dash down by the corner of the floorboard. When I went around to look to see what was glowing I noticed there was a fire down in that corner and it was already big enough that I couldn’t blow it out no matter how hard I blew. I am thankful that I keep a fire extinguisher in my garage and was able to quickly put it out.
I normally strap my kids in and turn on a movie for them while I go back in the house and spend around 3 to 5 minutes getting the kids waters, making sure the diaper bag is stocked, and basic stuff like that. Had that fire started after I walked back in the house I am sure that I would have lost my kids in a blaze, strapped in to car seats, that day. It was Thanksgiving eve.
I found out that the blower fan for the vents is what sparked up and caught fire. There are no recalls by Ford for this and I have found out that I am not the only one this has happened to. This is an enormous safety hazard and I am shocked that it has gone ignored by Ford. Does an actual death need to take place before they set it right?
The car is a 2016 Ford Expedition. It’s 5 years old but new to me by 3 weeks. I haven’t even had a chance to make my first payment on it.
Because I did just buy it; the dealership replaced the fan. But the floorboard in that corner is all burnt up and am now questioning what more serious damage is in that dash that I can’t see. Like the airbag or other electronic wiring that may now be at risk.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Started the car to get heater going and warmed up and started buckling my kids up in their car seats. That’s when I started to smell an electrical burning smell coming through the vents. I turned the heater off and the smell got stronger. I turned the heater back on and smelled it even worse. I immediately switched it to AC instead of heat and then I started to notice smoke coming through the air vents. I immediately turned the car off. The smoke continued to bellow out of the air vents. As soon and the interior lights turned off I noticed a glow under the passenger dash down by the corner of the floorboard. When I went around to look to see what was glowing I noticed there was a fire down in that corner and it was already big enough that I couldn’t blow it out no matter how hard I blew. I am thankful that I keep a fire extinguisher in my garage and was able to quickly put it out.
I normally strap my kids in and turn on a movie for them while I go back in the house and spend around 3 to 5 minutes getting the kids waters, making sure the diaper bag is stocked, and basic stuff like that. Had that fire started after I walked back in the house I am sure that I would have lost my kids in a blaze, strapped in to car seats, that day. It was Thanksgiving eve.
I found out that the blower fan for the vents is what sparked up and caught fire. There are no recalls by Ford for this and I have found out that I am not the only one this has happened to. This is an enormous safety hazard and I am shocked that it has gone ignored by Ford. Does an actual death need to take place before they set it right?
The car is a 2016 Ford Expedition. It’s 5 years old but new to me by 3 weeks. I haven’t even had a chance to make my first payment on it.
Because I did just buy it; the dealership replaced the fan. But the floorboard in that corner is all burnt up and am now questioning what more serious damage is in that dash that I can’t see. Like the airbag or other electronic wiring that may now be at risk.
- Lucas W., Nampa, ID, US