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Feds Probe More Ford Fires

Ford Escape, Maza Tribute Owners Report Blazes

November 3, 2006

Flaming Fords • 1.6 Million Ford Windstars Investigated for Fire Hazard • NHTSA Issues Second Fire Warning for Ford Cars, Trucks, and SUVs • Report: Millions of Fire-Prone Fords Still on the Roads • Ford: Parts Now Available to Fix Faulty Cruise Control • Ford Trucks Burn in Virginia, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina • Feds Probe Ford Windstar for Fire Hazard • Ford Truck Suspected in North Texas House Fire • Ford Cruise Control Fire Strikes Florida Car Dealership • Ford Hopes to Wind Down Recall of Fire-Prone Vehicles • Ford Expedition Suspected in Fatal Ohio Home Fire • Ford Fires Continue Despite Long-Delayed Federal Warning • Feds Warn Some Ford Trucks and Cars Can Erupt in Flames • Ford Fire Lawsuits Spread • Ford Recalls 57,000 More Trucks, SUVS for Fire Hazard • Ford Fires Strike in Minnesota, California • Ford Plans Another Recall to Fix Fire Hazard • Ford Fire Hazard Recall Creeps Along • Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute Continue Ford Fire Tradition • Ford Fires Kill Pets and Spread Despair as Year Ends • Ford Lacks Parts for Fire Recall Repair • New F150 Erupts in Flames as Ford Truck Fires Rage On • Red Hot Texas Car-B-Que • Kerry Vows Action to Get Flaming Fords Off the Road • Flaming Ford Scandal Disgraces Ford, Feds • Ford Tries Again to Fix Fire Problem with Massive Recall • One Ford the Recall Missed • Ford Stops Sales of Big Super Duty, Recalls 2008 Trucks • Ford Recalls 155,000 More Trucks to Fix Fire Hazard • Feds Probe Fires in Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute • Feds Wind Up Ford Engine Fire Probe with Massive Recall • Ford Truck Fires Mount as Recall Rolls Slowly • Ford Trucks Burn As Recall Fiddles • Ford Truck Fire Fix Delayed by Parts Shortage • Ford Recalls 4 Million Trucks to Fix Fire Risk • Nader Demands NHTSA Warn Ford Truck Owners • Wrongful Death Suit Charges House Fire Started in F-150 • Feds Look Deeper for Ford Fire Causes • Recall Leaves Many Questions Unanswered • Houston Lawyers Sue Ford • Ford Recalls Some Fire-Prone Models • Feds Probe Ford F-150 Engine Fires • Ford Recall Was Biggest Ever --- • Bronco • Crown Victoria • Dump truck • Expedition • Explorer • F-150 • Other F-Series Trucks • Focus • Mustang • Ranger Pickup • Taurus • Windstar

Federal regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are investigating complaints that some Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute SUVs have inexplicably caught fire.

The investigation involves more than 600,000 SUVs from the 2001-2003 model years.

NHTSA has received eight complaints of engine fires around the antilock braking system's electronic control module.

The control module is an on-board diagnostic and control computer that monitors the braking system during normal driving conditions and when the antilock brakes are being used. The module is located in a circuit that is always powered regardless of whether the ignition is on or off.

Donna of Wake Forest, North Carolina, told the story of her Ford Escape catching fire to ConsumerAffairs.com earlier this year.

"My family and I were awakened at about 5 in the morning to the smoke alarms in the house going off. We quickly looked for the cause and saw smoke coming from the downstairs," she wrote. Donna grabbed her two small children and ran outside to see her garage door popped open and her 2001 Ford Escape on fire.

"I yelled to my husband it was the car on fire. Earlier I had heard a boom but fell back asleep assuming it was lightning or a car backfiring. The fire department came and put the fire out but not before the damage was done to our home."

"The car had not been driven in 2 days," Donna wrote us.

Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley said there have been no reports of injuries linked to the fires and the automaker was cooperating with the agency's investigation.

"At this time it's too early in the investigation to speculate on the outcome," she said.

Donna's Ford Escape was destroyed along with the contents of her garage, a refrigerator, mattress, lawn mower, and other lawn equipment as well as her children's outdoor toys.

NHTSA reports that in five of the eight complaints the fires occurred in circumstances similar to the Wake Forest fire, with the vehicles parked and unattended. In two other cases, the agency received reports of smoke or melted electrical connectors and wiring near the antilock braking system in Escapes.

The Escape and Tribute SUVs are similar vehicles known as "twins" in the automobile industry.

The NHTSA investigation does not involve the Ford Escape Hybrid, which was first introduced in 2004 and is not connected to a two-year investigation of engine fires linked to the cruise control systems in Ford trucks, SUVs and vans. That investigation led to the recall of about 5.8 million Ford vehicles in 2005 and 2006.

The preliminary evaluation will review the frequency, scope and safety consequences of the alleged defect. Defect investigations can sometimes lead to vehicle recalls.

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