As the reports in these pages reveal, various Ford models are prone to ignite while parked, hours after being driven. Most fires start on the left front side of the engine compartment.
Fortunately, many of the fires occur when the vehicles are parked outside, but this is not always the case, as the following complaint reminds us.
"L" of Murfreesoro TN (7/21/03): My parents died in a fire caused by a Ford 10 years ago. The point of origin was traced by the Fire Marshall's office to the engine in the car. This product flaw is acknowledged to the dealers in what is known as a "silent recall." The consumer is never given this information, only the dealer. Why is this allowed? Silent recalls should be banned. Editors Note: These are actually called "secret warranties").
We eventually settled out of court after years of agony, and my brother's subsequent death due to cancer (I believe exasperated due to the Ford case) rather than go thru even more years of endless Ford appeals. Ford could care less about this design flaw and continues to manufacture death traps.
Eris of Mt.Olive , NC May 17, 2009
While at work as a paramedic I was in another county other than where I live , I recieved a call at 3:30 on the morning of May 17,2009 that My 2001 Ford f150 SuperCab 4X4 had burned to the ground. It also caused damage to my Hydra-Sports center console that was about 15ft away from it ,,,,,, This truck had not been driven for 3 days and had no previous problems .....
Steven of Springdale, AR May 16, 2009
1999 ford F150 pick up parked in driveway for over 48 hours ignited brake fluid from sensor on master cylinder according to local fire department. waiting on word from Ford to see if they will assume all or part of responsibility. Truck is very damaged
Manny of Litle Elm, TX April 17, 2009
On April 10, 2009, just before i went to bed, i heard a popping sound and looked out the front door. i saw what appreared to be flashes of light. immediatly after opening the front door, the smell of burning rubber hit me. i looked in the driveway and saw that my 2001 ford f-150 was on fire. thankfully the fire department responded in only 3 minutes. but by that time the damage was done. nothing that is rubber or plastic remains and my insurance has totaled my truck. thankfully no one was hurt.
i was told by my insurance that the damage to the house will have to be a seperate claim, leading me to not be so optomistic of the outcome. i spoke with for customer service and was told that there was a recall on that particular vehicle. also, the fire marshall said he had seen this before and thought it was caused by a faulty speed control. my insurance also said due to the age of my vehicle that there was no way to know the real cause of the fire. why is ford beyond reproach? why was this not announced on the world news? does it seem to anyone else that ford's secrecy should be punished? ford cannot enjoy continued impunity.
Amber of Bakersfield, CA April 13, 2009
I arrived home at 9pm on Monday April 6 2009. I parked my 2000 Ford F150 in our driveway up against the garage about 4 feet from our front door. I was having trouble sleeping and I heard a noise outside. I looked out my bedroom window and saw nothing. About 30 minutes later I heard a noise that sounded like a pop so I got up again and looked out my window expecting it to be nothing, only this time my truck was on fire. Thank God I wasn't asleep. I yelled at my husband to wake up. I called 911 and grabbed up our children and pets as he tried to put the fire out. It was already to big and unmanageable.
We had to evacuate through the back of our house because the truck was parked right in front of the front door with flames taller than the house. My childrn were hysterical, just as the two of us probably were. As we waited 9 plus minutes for the fire department to arrive all we could do was listen to the horn blow spuratically along with the sounds of shattering glass and signs of explosions. All I could do was wait and wouder if the flames I saw above the roof had burned down the front of our home. Finally neighbors came down the ally along with the police to heelp us out of our back yard.
Our neighbors had to evacuate too. This happened around 2am. The fire department said we are lucky to be alive. They said our house should have been burned to the ground. Our neighbors said they saw our house on fire. Nobody can really explain why our home was still standing after the flames were extinguished. Our truck is atotal loss, our home needs repair, and my children have nightmares about housefires. Ford never sent us a recall notice. We didn't have a clue. How can anyone allow this to go on?
2000 Ford F150= total loss,electronic devices in truck i.e personal property burned; damage to garage and front porch
David of Hamlin, NY April 7, 2009
I have a 2001 Ford F150 that has 84,000 miles on it. Last night it blew a spark plug out of the right rear cylinder.It left no threads in the head and I was told it would cost 3000 to replace the head. It made a loud poping noise that scared the hell out of me and when I looked under the hood the plug blew out of the hole riping the coil out also. Why? I still owe 8000 on this truck and spark plugs fly out?
I had my mechanic install a heli coil for now but he says it won't last but it still cost 200 to install. Long term he said spend 3000 or sell the truck
Christy of Linden, TX March 19, 2009
My husband parked his 2007 Ford F150 Harley Davidson truck and when he returned 15 to 20 minutes later it was on fire. By the time the fire department got to it, it was a burnt from bumper to bumper. It appears the fire started in the front of the truck. We are not sure what happened because there isn't anything left to determine where it started. We are very grateful that it was not in our carport.
Delicia of Flint, TX February 28, 2009
My son was burned to death while driving a Lincoln Mark VIII, The Car was recalled 7 months after his death. The cruise control switch was recovered and found to have internally failed.
Troy William Stone of Vidor, TX February 24, 2009
On March 3, 2008, while my family and I were going to sleep at approximately 10:30 pm, one of my sons heard a loud pop and looked out a bedroom window to see that our front yard was lit up. My 2001 F-150 was totally engulfed in flames. It had been parked for 6 hours. That night was a very windy night and we fought hard to keep our house from catching fire. It burnt the eaves of our house and melted the inside of the garage door, but luckily the fire department was able to contain the fire. The bumper of my toyota was ruined while I tried to pull the vehicle away from the house. That was definitely a very trying and dramatic experience!!!!!
State Farm Insurance did pay for the truck, but not the damage to our home. They said that the damage to the house would have to be a seperate claim. The repairs still have not been done. Our truck was paid for and we did not receive notice of the faulty cruise control until after it burned down. We did receive one a few weeks later and my wife sent it back to them telling them that it was too late.
Thanks to Ford Motor Company we now have another note with Toyota Financial (definitely not FORD). We absolutely did not want another note. Our goal was to pay off bills, but again thanks to FORD, that is impossible (at least for another 4 years). I have been unemployed for 2 months (like a lot of other people that live in Southeast Texas) and this extra major bill is causing a tremendous hardship and was totally uncalled for.
Ford should have to pay to the hardworking consumers of our great country for such irresponsible actions on their part. We were told that since our truck was more than 4 years old, they were not responsible. That truck had never given us a single minutes trouble at all, and still had many years left before it would have needed major repairs. A motor or transmission would have been minor things compared to the 5 year note that we acquired. If the companies in our country would be held more responsible to the consumers, we would not have to stay in debt nearly as bad, and the economy might would see daylight.
Nathaniel E Brewer of Petal, MS February 22, 2009
my 2001 ford f 150 truck caught on fire while parked and was completely distroyed along with all my tools and business and personal belongings
Tina of Addison, IL February 9, 2009
while my mothers ford escape was parked in the garage the neighbor came over screaming call 911 your garage is on fire. well in burnt the the garage that's only 1 year old. burnt the 2001 which is now totaled. the insurance company told her that they won't cover it because it only had liabilty on it. house insurance covered the garage. now she doesn't have a vehicle. lemon law lawyer said there is no case. i don't have any idea what else to do
she's a senior citizen and now doesn't have a vehicle to take herself and my elderly grandmother to all their appointments. or just the freedom that they wait to get when you have raised your family and it's finally your turn in life to do what you please. i really believe that this is ford's fault. so i need to know what else is left for me to do for her. please help me. thank you
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