DETROIT (AP) - Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday it will add 4.5
million older-model vehicles to the long list of those recalled
because a defective cruise control switch could cause a fire.
The latest voluntary action pushes Ford's total recall due to
faulty switches to 14.3 million registered vehicles over 10 years,
capping the company's largest cumulative recall in history
involving a single problem.
The recall covers 1.1 million Ford Windstar minivans that had a
small risk of fire due to internal leaking from the switches. Ford
said in a letter to federal regulators that it found a small number
of reported fires linked to the problem during an internal
investigation that began last year, but did not specify how many.
The remaining 3.4 million vehicles are Ford, Lincoln and Mercury
models. Ford said there were no reports of fires with those models,
most of them trucks and sport utility vehicles, but that they were
included in the recall because they use the same switches. All
vehicles covered by the recall are from the 1992 to 2003 model
years.
Ford advised owners of all vehicles covered by the recall to
park them outside until they are mailed instructions by the end of
the month on how to get repairs.
The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker has struggled for a decade
with the problem, which has prompted hundreds of complaints and
dozens of lawsuits over fires allegedly caused by faulty switches.
A small number of injuries have also been linked to the problem,
though none were reported in the latest recall. Previous recalls
included some of Ford's most popular brands, like the popular
F-series of pickup trucks.
Ford began an investigation of Windstar vehicles in February
2008 after receiving a growing number of reports of fires under the
vehicles' hoods, according to a letter the company sent to the
National Highway Transportation Safety Agency late last week
announcing the recall. In June 2008, NHTSA began its own probe of
the problem.
Investigators found that the switches, made by Texas
Instruments, could leak internally, overheat and potentially
ignite. NHTSA also identified four reports of leaking fluid
damaging the antilock brake control module, resulting in a fire.
The module is charged with electrical current and can ignite the
fluid in rare cases, said Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood.
Even some vehicles without cruise control are part of the recall
because they still have the switches with brake fluid routed
through them. To repair the problem, dealers will install a harness
to help prevent the fluid from flowing anywhere it could be
ignited.
Ford stopped using the Texas Instruments switch in 2003,
according to Sherwood. The latest group of vehicles recalled is the
last batch still on the road that had the switch installed.
Texas Instruments said in a statement that it manufactured a
switch "to meet and exceed Ford's specifications" and that it is
only one component of Ford's cruise control deactivation system.
The company cited a 2006 NHTSA investigation that found multiple
factors were to blame for fires. Texas Instruments no longer owns
the division that made the switches.
NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson said Ford "is to be commended for
stepping forward to resolve this issue."
The recall covers the following model years: 1995-2003 Ford
Windstar; 2000-2003 Ford Excursion diesel; 1993-1997 and 1999-2003
Ford F-Super Duty diesel; 1992-2003 Ford Econoline; 1995-2002 Ford
Explorer; 1995-2002 Mercury Mountaineer; 1995-1997 and 2001-2003
Ford Ranger; and 1994 Ford F35 Motorhome vehicles.
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AP Business Writer Stephen Manning reported from Washington.