Cruise control switches in Ford Motor Company vehicles are continuing to cause problems. Specifically, they’re heating up and causing the vehicle to burn. Nearly 1,500 fires are alleged to be due to a faulty switch that was installed in millions of Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln vehicles from 1999 to 2004. However, the problem is still so worrisome that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued an advisory in February to customers who have still not fixed the switches. They are asking that owners disconnect the switches immediately. So far very few owners of the vehicles have brought them in to be repaired.
Ford alleges that the recall was done in stages because it wasn’t clear in the beginning what was causing the problem. It is now believed that applying the brakes causes a vacuum which causes a seal in the switch to fail. Brake fluid then leaks in and corrodes the seal. Because the switch has power all the time, the corrosion causes the seal to overheat and ignite. This means that the fires can start even when the ignition is turned off and the vehicle is sitting in the driveway. This has caused not only vehicles, but buildings to burn.
Before the investigation was closed in August 2006, the NHTSA linked 65 fires directly to the faulty cruise control switch, but a further 1,472 complaints were made which allegedly began in these vehicles engine compartments. Sixty further complaints were registered after the investigation was closed.
Though Ford stopped making the switches in 2002, it is believed that many of the 2003 F-150 Lightning models were installed with the faulty switch. And, in what may be even more embarrassing for Ford, there was a recall of the recall.
Recall of the Recall
A wiring harness was fitted between the deactivation switch and speed control unit. This was done to cut the electrical current which ran to the switch in case it overheated. However, in most of the vehicles it was installed in, the harness didn’t work because the fuse was installed on the wrong side. In some cases, the device was installed on the wrong vehicles.
Consumer auto safety advocate, Clarence Ditlow, believes that the NHTSA’s notice was “too little too late” and should have been made as soon as the recall was announced. He also believes that the way this was drawn out over ten years is inexcusable. If there is a design flaw, he says, all vehicles with that design should be recalled.
Though no deaths are linked to the fires, three wrongful death claims have been filed against Ford.
If you believe that your Ford burned due to a faulty cruise control switch, you may have a defective product claim. Please contact an experienced injury lawyer in your area. Then go buy a Toyota.
