This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 1996 Ford Explorer. While placing fuel in the vehicle, the contact noticed smoke underneath the hood. He opened the hood and noticed that the vehicle was on fire. The fire was doused with a fire extinguisher. The contact examined the damage and noticed that the wiring harness for the cruise control had melted, as well as the master cylinder. There were no warning signs prior to the failure. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 127,000.
The contact owns a 1996 Ford Explorer. He noticed the on/off cruise control switch became tacky and his thumb print was left on the switch. There is a recall for the vehicle speed control (NHTSA campaign #97V074000), however his VIN was not included. The failure mileage was 190,000 and the current mileage was 191,000.
: the contact stated while driving 82 mph with the cruise control engaged, the vehicle began to accelerate continuously without warning. The speed of the vehicle rose past 97 mph. The brakes were applied and the cruise control button was disengaged, which did not change the speed. The vehicle was then shifted into neutral, and the brakes were applied with excessive force which slowed the vehicle down. The vehicle was not taken in for service following the incident.
I was driving from louisville to rehoboth beach, de. I left around 4:00 am with no trouble with my car. Approximately 9:45 am est my cruise control went out on my car and my car kept accelerating and would not stop. I pushed every button on the steering wheel and kept pushing the brakes and that would only slow down the car. My car was traveling in excess of 80+ mph, I only had the cruise control set on 74. My car was driving out of control on the curvy and mountainous roads of hwy 79 N and this went on for around 5 miles before I came to a straight-away at the bottom of the mountain and was able to put my car in neutral (slamming on the breaks) my car still did not stop, I finally put it in park (I'm in the emergency lane now, ) still did not stop and turned the car off. My breaks were smoking and I was finally able to get the car to stop. This was between mile marker 71 & 72. I immediately called aaa (my cell phone was out of range so I had to put it on roam) and the highway patrol showed up within minutes and waited with me until the tow truck came. He then towed me to gassaway Ford where the service manager (john smallwood) checked out my car and told me the cruise control piece was defective. He removed it from my car and checked my breaks and said they were O.K. (I drove the rest of my trip to rehoboth and back to louisville, the breaks appear to be loose now and not as tight as they once were). He gave me the defective piece and they were out of that part so it was not replaced on my car. He advised to file a complaint with Ford and with the NHTSA because the piece was defective and I'm lucky I wasn't killed.
I own a 96 Ford Explorer and was told by co-workers that a defective part had been recalled in the 2000 model F-150 that part was the cruise control switch that was located in front of the brake fluid housing, it was a live wire even though the engine was off and the key was not in the ignition, if for any reason there was a spark or short that wire would cause the car to explode. I noticed that I had a leak around a part in my Ford Explorer that was in front of my brake fluid housing and when I went to the Ford dealer to find out what the leak was from the mechanic told me that I had that same part that was being recalled in the F-150. The part only cost $18 dollars to replace but the point that I'm making is how would I have explained to my family why my car exploded when I would of had no idea what was wrong. I would like to put a word out to all the Explorer owners around the world to have there cruise control switches check or replace so that they don't have a unpleasant visit to the Ford repair place to find out that they could of not come back the next morning.
- Kissee Mills, MO, USA
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Contact stated in 02-05 the car started smoking while driving. The consumer pulled over and there was a fire under the hood. The car was destroyed. The fire department was called. The consumer reported of having no problems with the cruise control prior to this happening. The consumer was unable to determine what may have caused the fire. He was not sure if it was electrical or caused by the vehicle speed control:cruise control.
1996 Ford Explorer two doors: Cruise control buttons on the steering wheel melted. New buttons put by a private technician at my own cost. Several Ford vehicles are being recalled for this problem but not mine. Why not? I am the original owner.
The contact owns a 1996 Ford Explorer. The contact states that the cruise control switch O melted because of the hot sun. The cruise control does work, but the consumer no longer uses the cruise control. The vehicle has not been to a service dealer to report this problem. The consumer has not contacted the manufacturer.
Contact's son owns a 1996 Ford Explorer. The contact stated there were no prior problems with the vehicle. Her son drove the vehicle for approximately 1-2 hours. After the vehicle was parked for about 20 minutes someone knocked on the door and said the vehicle was on fire. The vehicle was not inspected to determine the cause of the fire. The consumer has not contacted the manufacturer yet, but was going to do so.
I was driving 75 on I76 in Colorado. I had the speed control set to 75 mph. All of a sudden, I couldn't cancel speed control and the speed started increasing. I tried everything to cancel it - no luck. I slammed on the brakes and brought the car to a slower speed moving straight before turning the key and engine off - I knew the steering wheel would lock, that's why I straightened the car out on the shoulder before I turned it off.
Consumer complained about a cruise control. Problem. After cruise control was activated vehicle kept accelerating, and vehicle would not stop. Driver had to put the vehicle in reverse to get the vehicle to stop. Consumer had the vehicle towed to an independent repair shop, where the mechanic disengaged the cruise control.
Accelerator would stick. The brakes fails to work when this happens. Can happen at different speeds. Have taken to dealer & informed idle air control motor needed replacing. Problem since returned.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lutz, FL, USA