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Flaming Cruise Control Switches
  Info about Newer/Other Models than Those Originally Recalled

A Wider Inquiry on Fires in Ford Trucks

By Jeremy W. Peters

New York Times

Published: July 23, 2005

DETROIT, July 22 - As Ford Motor faces numerous lawsuits and tries to determine why hundreds of its trucks have burst into flames, federal authorities have widened their investigation into whether a faulty cruise control switch is causing the fires.

The families of two people killed in fires that the families say erupted from the trucks have sued Ford, and a third family is expected to file a wrongful-death suit next week. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also stepped up pressure on Ford, expanding its investigation to include more than 3.7 million Lincoln Navigators, Ford Expeditions and F-150 pickup trucks, the nation's best-selling vehicle.

The investigation centers on a switch in the trucks that disables the cruise control when the driver steps on the brake pedal. The safety administration is investigating the possibility that flammable hydraulic fluid is somehow leaking into the electrical component of the switch and sparking the fires.

The agency has received reports of 512 fires across the country that may be tied to the switches. Lawyers representing the families of three people who died in fires linked to the trucks say the switches are to blame.

In addition, property damage lawsuits have been filed in several states where houses have burned to the ground, with residents blaming truck fires in adjacent garages. However, questions remain about exactly how the fires erupt.

Circumstances surrounding some of the fires make it difficult to determine whether Ford is to blame. In one case, Earl Mohils and his wife, Dolly, were asleep in their home in Westgate, Iowa, when their house caught fire on May 2. According to the lawsuit the Mohils family filed last month, the fire started in their 1996 F-150 pickup and soon consumed the garage and then the entire house. Mr. Mohils made it out alive but Dolly, his wife of 34 years, did not. The family's lawyers say evidence points to the truck, but Ford asserts that the fire began somewhere else in the garage.

"My wife is dead," Mr. Mohils, 76, said in a telephone interview. He said he has breathing problems from inhaling smoke during the fire and is still suffering from his wife's death. "I don't know what's the matter with me. I got the blues. Everything is wrong."

The safety administration opened an investigation late last year into certain 2000 models of the F-150, Expedition and Navigator after owners began reporting fires. It tabled that inquiry once Ford agreed to a voluntary recall of the trucks, a total of about 738,000.

But the fires continued to erupt, this time in different model years of the same trucks. Just a few weeks after the agency called off its first investigation in March, it opened up an expanded inquiry into more than 3.7 million F-150's, Expeditions and Navigators from model years 1995 through 2000 and 2002. All those trucks have the switch suspected to be causing the fires. In addition, the switch has been installed in 16 million Ford vehicles but appears to be malfunctioning in only the F-150, Expedition and Navigator.

Ford says it does not have any proof that the switches are part of the problem.

"We don't know if these switches are an issue and that's part of our investigation," a Ford spokeswoman, Kristen Kinley, said.

In some Ford models, the switch is always receiving power from the car battery, even when the engine is off. Investigators are considering the possibility that the constant flow of electricity increases the risk of fire.

In Royal, Ark., the family of Jonnie Pope believes that a faulty cruise control switch is to blame for his death. In November 2003, Mr. Pope, who was 55 when he died, and his brother Gary, now 49, were on their way to their grandmother's house when they stopped for gas. As Jonnie was pumping gas, a fire started in the front of the truck and spread toward the rear. He got into the truck and tried to drive it away from the gas station but burned to death before he could get out.

"Everything seems to indicate that the fire started in the Ford F-150," said Bradley L. Leger, a lawyer in Houston representing the Pope family. Mr. Leger said that once investigators finish examining the truck, he expects to file a wrongful-death lawsuit against Ford. That could happen as early as next week.

Completing the federal investigation, and a decision from the safety administration about whether to order a recall, could require more than a year.

Rae Tyson, a spokesman for the safety administration, said, "This one is as complicated as they get."

"...a Ford document obtained by CNN shows the same or similar switch was installed in a total of 16 million vehicles, far beyond what was recalled. Those vehicles include:

Ford Supplements Previous Safety Recall

To: Ford owners of certain speed control-equipped gas or natural gas 1994-2002 F-250 through F-550 F-Super Duty trucks, 2000-2002 Excursions, 1994-1996 Econoline vans and 1996-2002 E-450 vans, as well as speed control-equipped 1998 Explorers and Mountaineers.

If you own one of the vehicles listed above, then you will be notified of a voluntary safety recall that supplements an earlier voluntary safety recall involving the speed control deactivation switch.

Last year Ford announced a recall of 1994-2002 model year F-150, Expedition and Navigator vehicles to repair the speed control system and address the possibility of fires. At that time, we indicated further analysis would continue to determine what operating conditions were contributing to the potential for switch leakage. We also said that when we had more answers about what was causing these fires, we would communicate our findings and take further action if appropriate. Today, we have more information to share with you.

After a year of intensive research, we have concluded that these vehicles do have specific factors that in rare situations may cause some speed control deactivation switches in them to be susceptible to brake fluid leaks and corrosion, which may result in the switch overheating. This is why we are recalling these additional vehicles.

We believe today's action includes those vehicles we identified as having a rare interaction between the speed control deactivation switch and the brake system that could cause the switch to overheat and ultimately catch fire.

To repair your vehicle, dealers will install a fused wiring harness at the speed control deactivation switch to eliminate the potential risk of fire if the switch overheats. The fused wiring harness cuts off the electrical current to the switch in the event there is increased current due to a leaking switch.

Ford has a sufficient supply of fused wiring harnesses to repair customers’ vehicles. If your vehicle is among those listed above, please take it to a Ford or Lincoln Mercury dealership to have the fused wiring harness installed.

Owners of these affected vehicles will be notified by mail shortly. Owners who have not already had their previously recalled vehicles repaired should contact their dealer to make arrangements for the repair. Vehicles from last year's recall include 1994-2002 Ford F-150s, 1997-2002 Ford Expeditions, 1998-2002 Lincoln Navigators and 1994-1996 Ford Broncos equipped with factory-installed speed control.

Customers may get further information at www.genuineservice.com or they may contact Ford's Customer Relationship Center at 1-888-222-2751.

Sincerely,

Ray Nevi

Assistant Director, Ford Automotive Safety Office

A photo of the burnt Town Car:

Here's a couple photos of the fire, and the burnt Lariat.