Huh? What is the connection? Diesels have no electrical system, nor brakes? Ford doesn't build diesels?
Posted on 08/03/2006 7:35:00 AM PDT by ShadowDancer
Ford Recalls 1.2 Million Trucks, SUVs, Vans
Automaker Says Recall Tied To Speed Control Switch
POSTED: 9:43 am EDT August 3, 2006
UPDATED: 9:57 am EDT August 3, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Ford recalled 1.2 million trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans on Thursday amid concerns of potential engine fires, expanding upon one of the largest vehicle recalls in history.
Ford Motor Co. said the recall was tied to the speed control deactivation switch system, which could corrode over time, overheat and catch fire.
The recall involves vehicles fueled by gasoline or natural gas and equipped with speed control, including the 1994-2002 F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 F-Super Duty trucks, 2000-2002 Excursion SUVs, 1994-1996 Econoline vans and 1996-2002 E-450 vans, and 1998 Explorers and Mountaineers. The recall does not involve similar vehicles fueled by diesel.
Last September, Ford recalled 3.8 million pickups and SUVs from the 1994-2002 model years, including the top-selling F-150 pickup, because of the concerns over engine fires. It was the fifth-largest auto industry recall in U.S. history.
In January 2005, the company recalled nearly 800,000 pickups and SUVs from the 2000 model year because of similar issues.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday it closed a nearly two-year investigation into the cause of the fires. The agency has received 1,472 complaints connected to the problems, including 65 reports of fires.
NHTSA said there have been no confirmed deaths or injuries, but lawsuits have been filed over three deaths in Iowa, Georgia and Arkansas, allegedly connected to vehicle fires.
Ford said last year its review found that brake fluid could leak through the cruise control's deactivation switch into the system's electrical components, leading to corrosion. That could lead to a buildup of electrical current that could cause overheating and a fire.
Dealers installed a fused wiring harness to the cruise control deactivation switch to prevent the risk of fire if the switch leaked.
NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson said that agency investigators, working with Ford, found the switch overheated in vehicles where the switch was placed in an upright position or at an angle and where there was excessive vacuum pressure in the brake system.
He called it "one of the most exhaustive investigations that we've ever done."
Tyson said he did not expect any additional recalls. About 20 million of the switches are used in vehicles, but Tyson said similar problems have not been found in non-Ford vehicles.
"We believe that we have identified the problem vehicles and we believe the Ford recall today is going to address the remaining problem," he said.
In a letter to NHTSA, Ford said that through April, it had identified about 250 incidents alleging fire or smoke tied to the switch in the affected vehicles, with about 60 related to smoke. The company said there have been no allegations of serious injuries or fatalities.
Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley said about 40 percent of the vehicles under the previous recalls have been fixed.
Owners of the newly recalled vehicles will receive notices in the mail in a week and dealers will install a fused wiring harness. Customers can contact Ford at 1-888-222-2751.
Huh? What is the connection? Diesels have no electrical system, nor brakes? Ford doesn't build diesels?
"Wow,it really does come down to that?"
I've seen it happen many times.
2 cents per switch times 20 million switches = $400,000.00
The bean counter is a HERO! He just saved the company that much money.
The connection is that Ford diesel trucks don't have this problem. Not to mention that they get much better fuel mileage and, at least for now, diesel is the cheapest fuel around.
Top of the line engine, beautiful car...T-Boned by a hit-and-run driver...knodking me out, in Missouri City, Texas.
That car prolly saved my life, so I'm driving a big Ol' Buick Roadmaster now.
knodking=hey, I like that word.
Did anyone else notice that these switches were not made by Ford? Or that Ford is not the only user of them? It turns out Ford's critical mistake was installing them vertically. Those manufacturers who used them horizontally aren't being recalled.
Why aren't they naming the switch manufacturer?
Yep them Fords are real pieces of crap. That's why my son got rid of his Escort...with over 300,000 mi on it.And our daughter is looking to unload her Contour truly one of the worst cars Ford has ever made with nearly 200,000 miles.I'll be keeping my Ranger though because nobody makes a decent basic small truck anymore.Everything now days is extra wide, super duper cab with a luxury car interior that will look like hell after a months use as a real truck.
I've owned two "vehicles" in the category of POS.
1960 Ford Galaxy
1973 Dodge Monoco
Haven't bought an "American" car since.
Semper Fi
You miss the point. 40 million cars a year are manufactured, and one engineering snafu caused this recall.
Other than that, I love my van. Every car I have ever owned has been a Ford and I've been pleased with them all (except the Pinto).
I never lost an engine on any of mine and one of them had over 200,000 miles on it when I got rid of it.
But the diesel trucks are part of the recall. The F250's and above are all diesels, correct?
Nope... some are diesels, but not all... most aren't diesel, actually...
"Warning! Obscure reference ahead:"
No references. Just my personal experience, for what it's worth.
ROTFLMAO!
I bet you're right.
I feel your pain, my friend! I was driving to campus in 2000 in my Merc, physics midterm IIRC, and some oblivious woman on a cell phone made a last-moment, oops-I-missed-my-turn-I-think-I'll-make-it-now turn and rammed into the front of my car, destroying every piece of hardware I'd ever installed in that car.
I spent the entire summer before that semester doing a complete overhaul of the suspension and steering systems, and to think she drove away in her Plymouth Breeze. No insurance, suspended driver's license, and she gets to drive away. There oughta be a law!
Uh, no. The picture following the Warning! is the obscure reference. (A still from the movie "Class Action", starring Gene Hackman, in which a car compnay is sued for deaths caused by a faulty part the manufacturer thought was too expensive to replace. Hey, I said it was obscure).
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