Re: 2003 Lincoln Town car cruise control runaway issue on 3/16/07 I was involved in a single car accident during a snowstorm on a two lane narrow road. I had previously disengaged the overdrive and manually shifted into 2nd gear at 20-25 mph for better control. The vehicle suddenly over steered to the right. Trying to correct, it over steered to the left, slid sideways in the deep shoulder on the left hand side of the road for about 25 feet. The left front wheel hit a large oak tree, bounced off and the vehicle went down a steep 70 foot driveway and jumped a frozen pile of snow. I did have the car under control going down the driveway. It was a very busy ten seconds. The initial estimate from geico is $5100, claim 023442150101027. I call the Ford 800 number and didn't get any help there, which is no surprise. I am well aware of manufacturers not addressing vehicle problems until they have to because of monetary issues or legal requirements. I am a former GM dealer and have driven literally thousands of vehicles in various conditions of dire repair. I also attended bondurant high speed driving school, have an expired scca racing license and hold ama expert competition motorcycle license. Even though this was 35 to 40 years ago the competition experience took over. One cause could be the locking dog for the steering has shorted the cruise control ribbon wires and caused the problem. There could also be issues with the cruise control circuitry and/or modules. Since the accident I have heard several complaints about cruise engagement problems. There also may be an issue with the auto traction control which might explain why the car went so violently out of control. This device is rather useless and impedes drivability rather than helps. On the drive back to my house I had to disengage it to drive up small hills, and have done so before in bad weather as this type of traction control impedes acceleration.

- Newburgh, NY, USA