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 1998 Ford Explorer. The contact received a Ford recall notice for the vehicle speed control: Cruise control switch in August of 2006. She called the dealer in August of 2007 and they stated that the parts would be unavailable until November. She called the dealer every other month and they stated that the parts would be unavailable until August of 2008. The contact refused to have the cruise control switch disconnected. The vehicle has not caught fire and there had been no failure to date. The transmission type, recall number, and powertrain were unknown. The current mileage was 105,000.
The contact owns a 1998 Ford Explorer. The contact received a recall notice in August of 2007 for the vehicle speed cruise control switch. He called to schedule an appointment to have the vehicle repaired and was informed that the parts would be unavailable until October. The contact called again and was informed that the parts would remain unavailable until March of 2008. He filed a formal complaint with the manufacturer. There had been no failure to date. The recall number was unknown. The current mileage was 101,000.
In the middle of the night, my 1998 Ford Explorer spontaneously burst into flames. The fire department determined that this was caused by a defect in the cruise control system that is systematic of Ford vehicles. The fire completely burned down most of my two-story house and caused extensive smoke damage to the remaining areas.
Ford Explorer burst into flames from under the hood in a shopping plaza garage parking. The vehicle was not running at all, had been parked more than a couple hours. Property damage to the shopping plaza.
Our 1998 Ford Explorer XLT was parked in our garage (on the ground floor of our house). It had not been driven since the day before. The cruise control deactivation switch spontaneously combusted and caused extensive fire and smoke damage to the vehicle and to our primary residence. Both the local fire department and a forensic investigator inspected the scene of the fire. We understand that this switch was just recalled by Ford for 1998 Explorer in August 2006. However, our family did not receive mail notification. Out SUV was totaled and the estimated loss to our dwelling and personal belongings alone is $350,000.
- Clemmons, NC, USA
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Ford Explorer 1998 date 8-3-06 I have had this car for three years. I have never had any major or minor problems. I have regular required maintenance done (example) fluid changes and brakes. Early February. I noticed around November 2005, my cruise control stopped working. I didn't take it to be checked; I didn't think it was a big issue. I noticed when starting my car, the battery sounded weak. I took the car to ntb to have the battery checked. The battery was bad and was replaced with the exide 72 month battery. I had never the battery replaced. Ntb installed the new battery on February 5, 2006. I drive this car to and from work regularly, about 12 miles. On February 28, 2006, leaving work heading home, I stopped at the grocery store about 1 mile from my house. I left the store and went home. After turning the engine off approximately 5 minutes later standing on my porch, I noticed heavy white smoke coming from under my hood behind the battery area. I ran to my car and opened the door and released the hood. When I raised the hood, I saw the heavy smoke coming from what appeared to be near the wiring in front of the master cylinder. I ran in the house to call 911 and get a fire extinguisher. When I went back to the car under hood area was fully involved in flames. The fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. After hearing and reading the reports about the cruise control switch, I really think this is exactly what happened to my vehicle.
1998 Ford Explorer parked in garage had spontaneous fire in engine compartment department put out fire. This was a cruise control deactivation switch fire. It may have been reported to you by police, insurance, or fire dept. If so, just let me know you have the information.
Ford Explorer 1998 date 8-3-06 I've had this car for three years. I've never had any major or minor problems. I have regular required maintenance done (example) fluid changes and brakes. Early February. I noticed around November 2005, my cruise control stopped working. I didn't take it to be checked; I didn't think it was a big issue. I noticed when starting my car, the battery sounded weak. I took the car to ntb to have the battery checked. The battery was bad and was replaced with the exide 72 month battery. I had never the battery replaced. Ntb installed the new battery on February 5, 2006. I drive this car to and from work regularly, about 12 miles. On February 28, 2006, leaving work heading home, I stopped at the grocery store about 1 mile from my house. I left the store and went home. After turning the engine off approximately 5 minutes later standing on my porch, I noticed heavy white smoke coming from under my hood behind the battery area. I ran to my car and open the door and released the hood. When I raised the hood, I saw the heavy smoke coming from what appeared to be near are in front of the wiring in front of the master cylinder. I ran in the house to call 911 and get a fire extinguisher. When I went back to the car under hood area was fully involved in flames. The fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. After hearing and reading the reports about the cruise control switch, I really think this is exactly what happened to my vehicle.
On April 4, 2006, my 1998 Ford Explorer caught fire and was totaled. I arrived at work at approximately 3:15 pm. I went in and went to work. At about 3:55, I was paged over the intercom to get to the North entrance immediately. When I got there the security guards told me that my truck was on fire. As I looked out the doors, the front of my truck was engulfed in flames. The fire department had got there and was in the process of putting the fire out. When the fire was put out, all that was left was a big mess. My truck was gone. The vehicle had been running fine. My cruise control had went out about 1 month prior to the fire. I was unaware of any recalls except for a screw in the drivers seat (which was the only recall letter that I had received.) for days that they can't speak to me about the vehicle or incident because I have an insurance claim and my insurance adjuster says that they won't speak to him either. What are we as consumers supposed to do when the products we purchase, and for the amount they ask for their product, are lost due to the manufacturers defects" how are we as consumers protected"
1. my 1998 Ford Explorer XLT burst into flames with absolutely no warning while parked at my daughter's high school parking lot. 2. the vehicle was consumed by flames and is a total loss. The local fire department brought two units to put the fire out. 3. after filing my insurance claim, I researched the problem and found that the Ford Explorer poses a big fire risk. 4. specifically, my cruise control stopped working 3 months ago and just as been documented by the NHTSA, the defective cruise control caused the electrical fire. 5. I thank my lucky stars nobody was hurt....but if my Explorer had been parked inside my apartment building this incident would have burned down my building. Pls let me know if you require additional documentation or photos.
1998 Ford Explorer, 5.0, sn [xxx], speed control after learning about the fires caused by the speed control on other Ford vehicles I check the '98. Voltage is measured at the speed control disengage switch located on master cylinder. Using a voltage meter I measured 12 volts to this switch with the ignition switch in the off position with the key removed. This indicates that the switch is hot 100% of the time. I have not had a failure yet, but am concerned that this represents a possible failure in the future causing the vehicle to urn up. I have noted that there have been 16 failures and fires on 1998 Ford Explorer do to this problem. Updated 07/17/2012 information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
My 1998 Ford Explorer was parked in our attached garage. My wife used the vehicle earlier in the day and parked it in the garage at about 2:30 pm. At about 8:15 pm a smoke detector in the garage alerted us there was smoke in the garage. I opened the door between the laundry room and garage to see the left front tire of the Explorer in flames. I immediately had my wife call 911 and I tried to extinguish the fire with a garden hose. This did not stop the fire. I then had to remove another vehicle parked in the driveway. We both safely escaped the fire. In the time between the call to 911 and when the corpus christi fire department arrived and extinguished the fire, two vehicles were destroyed, extensive damage was caused to the house and much personal property was lost.
1998 Ford Explorer. The consumer parked car in the driveway and five hours later the car was on fire. The car exploded, and that was what alerted the consumer to the fire. There were no prior warning lights on before the fire. The cruise control still worked when consumer parked the car. Also, the brakes worked fine when she parked the vehicle. The car was only used for local activities. The car was inspected in November 2004 and nothing was found to be wrong. The fire department was called, and a report was taken. In addition, a police report an insurance company report were taken. When the vehicle was on fire it caught the consumer daughter's house on fire. There was at least 50% damage to the house. There was damage to other cars that were parked close to vehicle on fire, and damage to other people's property. The consumer contacted Ford costumer service, and they advised her that there was no recall. Since then she received a letter from Ford's legal department stating they will be in touch with her.
The consumer stated that 1998 Ford Explorer caught on fire and burned. The consumer was driving when the fire started. The vehicle was parked overnight, and the consumer had only been in the vehicle for about five minutes. The cruise control was still working. All of the instruments on the dashboard were in working order. The consumer had the air conditioner (A/C) on and noticed that smoke was coming through the vents. The fire was coming out of the dashboard from underneath the hood. The fire department stated that it looked like an electrical fire. The consumer contacted Ford, and they asked what she wanted them to do about it. The consumer did have a fire report and pictures. The consumer only has liability insurance on the truck, which was a total loss. The fire was called in to the police, but the consumer was unsure if a police report was taken.
We have a 1998 Ford Explorer. On January 25th, 2005 O Explorer was parked in the driveway & had been there approximately 2 hours. Consumer's wife had put chidren in the car & noticed smoke coming from the hood. When she opened the hood there was a fire near the brake fluid assembly. Fortunately she was able to get children out and put out the fire. Had the Explorer towed to the Ford dealership for repairs. When I asked the dealer what could have caused a fire in the vehicle when it was not running they seemed to have no idea & said they had never heard of this problem before. The next night while watching the news saw the recall Ford had for later model vehicles due to the engine catching on fire. Iconsumer called Ford, and they told him thiscar did not qualify for the recall since it was a 1998 exlplorer even though the pictures on the news showing were the fire occured looked identical to the engine on this vehicle. Ford did not seem overly concerned & the dealer just told me to keep reciept in case they changed their mind about the recall. I took pictures of my engine if needed. Prior to the fire my cruise control stopped working. Repair cost was over $700 plus rental car fee & towing expense. The cruise control swicth, brake fluid assembly, & hood insulation were replaced. Do not have the old parts.
At about 6:00 pm on Saturday 13 Aug 2005 I went into my garage to get something and noticed it was full of smoke. I saw smoke coming from under the hood of my 1998 Ford Explorer. When I raised the hood, flames rolled from beneath it. I immediately extinguished the fire and then disconnected the negative battery terminal. My wife had already called 911 by this time. The fire fighters determined the source of the electrical fire to be a connector on the brake master cylinder. I was very lucky to have caught the fire in time. If this had happened when we were sleeping we might not be alive now. I have not received a notice of recall for this. I am sending the vehicle to the dealership on Monday, if this is not a recall part I will have to pay for the repairs. I think that people should know about this problem and probably not park their Ford in the garage.
1998 Ford Explorer. The brakes lights failed on the vehicle. Consumer had the brake light fuses changed. They used the fuses that came with the vehicle. As soon as the second fuse was put in the vehicle caught on fire. Another person put the fire out by beating it with a towel. Then, consumer contacted a dealership by phone, they told her that there was a recall on the master cylinder but, he was unsure of the model years included. When the consumer contacted Ford, they told consumer would get back to her. There were no fire or police reports available. The incident occurred on 7-262005 before the hood latch had acted up. Also, cruise control malfunctioned.. it melted the wires for the ABS and the spot for putting in the brake fluid.
My wife had the Ford Explorer parked outside the curves gym where she and her mother work out. When they were finished they were talking outside when her mother noticed smoke coming out othe the SUV. The Explorer then caught on fire and burned.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- La Jolla, CA, USA