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.
9-1-05, 8:00 am, sherri adams parked the 1997 F-150 at L-3 communications, greenville tx. The truck remained parked and locked all day. At approximately 5:20 pm security notified sherri the truck was on fire. Partial fire depart report below. 9-6-05 insurance fire investigator determined the cruise control switch was cause of fire. 9-7-05 insurance adjuster determined the truck was a total loss. 9-8-05 adams contacted Ford to report incident. To date, have not been contacted by Ford. Fire depart incident report: Date: 09-01-05 incident: 05-09-001 description of incident: On Thursday, 09-01-05, at 1709 hours, security notified fire control of a vehicle fire in the parking lot for building 180. Fire control responded with firefighter hopson in #7 followed by lt. Turner in #8. the vehicle was located in the parking lot South of building 180 next to the fence at mccullough blvd., just East of the intersection of ave. D. security was in place and assisted. Upon arrival at the scene there was heavy smoke and flames coming from the hood and windshield area of a 1997 Ford F-150 XLT pick-up (tx license # 56Y yhi), belonging to tim and sherri adams. Neither of the owners were present or located before fire control cleared the scene. The vehicle was locked and the left side glass was shattered to gain access. Fire was present in the hood compartment and under the dash on the left side. The handline of #7 was used to knock down the fire and then to cool down the area. The vehicle suffered heavy damage in both areas. There was a vehicle parked East of the truck within 3 feet but it sustained no damage. Persons unknown notified greenville fire department, which responded with an engine company. The fire was out by the time they arrived and no assistance was required. Fire control remained in the area for cool down, until 1740 hours. Approximately 70 ?? 80 gallons of water and a very small amount of foam was used in the extinguishes the fire.
Within 1/2 hour of truck turned off, fire erupted, caused by the cruise control switch. Luckily I was close by and had a fire extinguisher in the back of the truck, I put out the fire before the truck went totally up in flames. Extensive repairs were made to get the truck back up and running. I spent almost $3,000. I tried to contact Ford several times, but got the run around, and they just dusted me, telling me it's not their fault, no recalls, no defects. I tried to explain that this same type of fire happened to my brother's other 3 trucks, F-150's, just a week prior to mine igniting.
In Feb./ 05 cruise control quite, mechanic couldn't find problem, Aug 15/05 ABS light comes on. Thinking brake fluid is low, I pop the hood and notice plug on master cylinder is burned/melted. Car wont shift out of park, and no brake lights. I get a new plug and harness from dealer and replace blown fuse. I still have no cruise light on on dash but brakes and cruise work. Dealer said no recall but plenty of service bulletins. $15 part
ABS light started flashing 16 times with pause then repeats. Noticed #13 fuse was blown. Replaced and looked up immediately to find white smoke billowing out of hood. Pulled out fuse to find that it was blown (thank goodness). Heard on internet forum that it may be the cruise switch on master cylinder. Looked there and found switch partly melted. Disconnected switch and battery, replaced fuse and hooked up battery, but not the switch. No more blinking light, but now no cruise control, of course. Still have yet to contact Ford about the failure.
- Portland, OR, USA
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My son told me he didn't have any brake lights on his truck, a 1997 Ford F150. I thought it might be a fuse since he said that he replaced the bulbs. When I replaced the fuse there was a abundance of smoke coming from underneath the hood. To locate the source of smoke with the hood open we replaced the fuse again. The smoke was coming from the cruise control module on the master cylinder. We replaced the part and I have kept the old part. I can supply the number on the part or send it anywhere you like.
1997 F150 Ford super cab pickup truck. The cruise switch caught the brake reservoir on fire and in turn, the consumer did not have any brakes. The consumer opened the hood and threw an old towel over the fire and smothered the flames. Had the road service tow it to the place where normally the service was done on the truck, and they said they could not fix the problem because this was a Ford problem. Then, it was towed to a Ford dealership, and the dealership gave consumer the manufacturer's number, contacted manufacturer, and they said a customer representative would call back no later than Tuesday, and on Monday afternoon the manufacturer did call and informed consumer that this vehicle was not involved in the recall due to VIN. Consequently, they would not do repairs for free. Consumer called the insurance company, and they were going to send a fire inspector to investigate the vehicle. The insurance company said that this was Ford's problem also. Moreover, the insurance company was going to send a claims adjuster. No injuries reported.
The consumer stated that the 1997 Ford F 150 caught on fire and burnt completely. The owner parked the truck at 6 pm in the garage and at 9 pm heard the horn. The owner then went to the garage to check on the truck and found the truck burning. The fire was coming from the driver's side under the hood. The owner said the fire was from the cruise control switch. Claimed that he was just seconds from losing his house. The owner had not seen anything in the tv news or news papers about the ongoing investigations with the switch. The owner had not used the cruise control that day or did not notice anything funny about how the truck was driving. A fire department report, and an insurance report were issued. Pictures were taken. The vehicle has already been moved from the fire location. The vehicle was a totaled. Loss and there was damage to the owner's house, severe smoke damage throughout the house. The insurance took care of the smoke damages. There were no injuries.
Consumer owns a 1997 Ford F150. Vehicle caught on fire. The consumer drove the vehicle the previous day approximately 5 hours and parked in the driveway. Yesterday, August 16, 2005, around 8:30 pm the consumer heard a noise. He looked outside to see the vehicle on fire. The fire was in the front of the vehicle, underneath the hood. There were no indications that there was a problem with the vehicle. There was no other damage reported. The consumer assumed the fire was caused by the cruise control switch. He believed it was an electrical fire because he did not smell any type of gasoline odor. A police report was taken. The consumer was going to take photographs of the vehicle.
While watching cnn news August 16 2005, a report was on what should have been a recall of Ford vehicles that have a faulty cruise control switch. I was parked and had been sitting for approximately thirty minutes when I noticed smoke coming from under the hood. At that point, I opened the hood and saw where the smoke was coming from, then grabbed the wiring way above the heat source and started pulling the wires until they broke loose. The wiring was attached to a switch at the end of my brake cylinder, it was the cruise control for the vehicle. The vehicle would not crank and I could not remove it from park, I had to call for help. A day or so later, I saw a report on cnn news about the problem for this switch and Ford was not doing anything about it. It would have been good, if Ford would have notified me of this problem. I had driven my mom to visit someone in a nursing home, otherwise my truck would have been on my carport. Is there more hidden problems that Ford is hiding that could, or would, have destroyed my house by fire if I had not been in the vehicle at the time" is it safe to park in my garage now" I asked Cherokee Ford in wookstock, Georgia if they knew of a recall on this since it was on the news, and they said some vehicles were, but not mine, and to keep watching the news and if, (big word)Ford did have a recall, come back and they could reimburse for the part only, since my repairs were complete.
There is a recall for the vehicle speed control for the 2000 Ford F150, stating it can lead to fires. Vehicle was parked in a parking lot and the ignition was off. Went out to the vehicle and there was a burning smell. Some wiring melted. Contacted Ford, they said the recall was for 2000 models. The consumer had vehicle repaired, they replaced the speed control deactivation switch. This happened on June 23, 2005. The consumer did not have any pictures of the vehicle, but did have the invoice from where the vehicle was repaired.
1997 Ford F150. The consumer states on August 10, 2005 H vehicle caught on fire. The vehicle had been sitting for approximately 7 hours before this occurred. The vehicle did not have any problems prior to fire. The fire department was called and they filed a report. Ford has been notified. The vehicle has not yet been inspected to see why this occurred. The consumer suspected it started under the hood on the driver's side. It was the cruise control switch. The vehicle was totaled.
1.well first the cruise control on my 97 Ford F150 went out. Then my brake lights went out too. Replacecd brake lights, then fuse went out in interior fuse box so, truck would not go into gear. Replaced fuse then it blew it again. Replaced again truck could now shift into gear. I went home parked truck the truck in drive way and did not move it for the truck for the rest of the day. Was waken up about 3 in the morning by cops telling me my truck was on fire. The truck ended up burnt everywhere but the bed total loss pretty much un drivable. Burned a 95 Caravan and part of a 2002 Ford Excursion. I know have I vehicle to move my kids that are in school and myself and my wife which also now has some serious nerve damage she has nightmares of other vehicle burning and can hardly sleep. Tried contacting Ford but C.S. department puts me on hold all day.
NHTSA: This is in relation to an under hood fire in a 1997 Ford F150 pertaining to the speed control deactivation switch, brake pressure switch. On July 23, 2005 a neighbor came banging on my door yelling your truck is on fire. There was a fire coming out from under the hood where the brake master cylinder is located. The truck was parked in my drive under my carport and had been idle for approximately 2.5 hours. I ran to get my fire extinguisher and attempted to extinguish the fire. My neighbor called the fire department and then came out with another fire extinguisher. Another neighbor grabbed his extinguisher and gave it to me and that also failed. I grabbed my hose to try to minimize the fire until the fire department arrived. I only had on shorts (no shoes). I received several burns on the bottom of my feet the hole that was melted in the hood of the truck clearly shows where the fire was located. The day before that I had went to a mechanic to have my A/C looked at. The mechanic pointed out that brake fluid was leaking onto the speed control deactivation switch. On a Ford recall web site it says the following signs could indicate that you have a problem with your cruise-control switch: Cruise control is not working properly (mine recently stopped working); brake fluid leaking around the switch (exactly what the mechanic pointed out); fuses are blown near the switch, (that morning the truck would not go into gear and a mobile mechanic came out and he replaced the brake pressure switch fuse). Everything points to this problem with the speed control deactivation switch recall problem Ford is having. I contacted Ford to see if they wanted to investigate the situation and they said no and showed little to no concern.
The caller parked the vehicle and one and a half hours later it burst into flames. The caller thought a report was filed by the fire department. The dealer said that the caller had insurance and not to worry about it. The manufacturer urged the caller to contact the dealer if he wanted to know what was being done. The fire damage was done to the driveway, and a tree was destroyed.
Contact stated the cruise control on his 1997 Ford F150 went out. Then the brake lights failed. When the consumer took it to the dealer to get the brake lights fixed there was smoke coming from under the hood. It was smoking where the cruise control switch was. This happened on 9-17-04. He disconnected the switch. He bought a new switch and installed it, and never had any more trouble. He wanted to file a complaint so NHTSA would be aware that the 1997 Ford -F150 had a bad cruise control switch. He was not aware of any problems until he had heard it on the news that the 2000 year models had a defective cruise control switch. Updated 03/29/06
1997 Ford F150 caught on fire with the engine off and parked in the driveway. A neighbor alerted the consumer that there was a fire at about 2:45 am. The neighbor said that there was a sound like a shotgun blast. The fire was coming from the driver's side wheel well. The fire department came because the fire spread to the consumer's house and the neighbor's house. The vehicle was a totaled. It burned all the way back to the tool box. There was excessive damage. Fire department suggested it may have been the cruise control switch. The consumer sustained smoke inhalation, and went to the hospital. The consumer E-mailed Ford and asked for someone to contact him, and no one did. There was an ongoing insurance claim. There was massive property damage as a result of the fire.
1997 Ford F150 caught on fire underneath the hood near the cruise control mechanism. When the consumer contacted the manufacturer about faulty cruise control switches, he was told his vehicle was not included in the recall.
Parked the vehicle about 1:15 at about 1:43 the vehicle was reported on fire. Prior to the fire a fuse had blown multiple times that prevented getting out of park. After first fuse change it lasted a couple of weeks then it blew again. The fuses that were used were the proper size. The owner called Ford to figure out why could not get out of park. The cruise control was not used often. The vehicle was insured by state farm and was investigated. Owner has post fire pictures and will send.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Alvin, TX, USA