Ford Recall Cruise Control

Ford Motor Company announced its largest recall in history regarding a single issue over a faulty cruise control switch that can cause fire. Drivers of 4.5 million vehicles were alerted of the hazardous switch which could possibly leak hydraulic fluid, overheat the vehicle and then burn. The cruise control switch could also cause fire when the ignition is off or parked.

Vehicles affected by the recall are: 1995-2003 Windstars, 2000-2003 Excursion diesels, 1993-1997 and 1999-2003 F-Super Duty diesels, 1992-2003 Econolines, 1995-2002 Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers, 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 Rangers and 1994 F35 motorhomes. http://mhlo.me/b58fbb

NHTSA said that warning signs that owners of these vehicles should look for are: "imminent fire, malfunctioning cruise control systems and brake lights and antilock braking system and brake light warnings on the dashboard." Also, difficulty getting the vehicle out of park could signify a problem. http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/

Vehicles without cruise control are still at risk because they may still include the faulty switch.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, stated that this recall is the 8th recall by Ford affecting 16 million Ford Motor vehicles. The faulty switch is manufactured by Texas Instruments.

The vehicles included in the recall are from 1992-2003 models. The Texas Instrument switches were not used in Ford vehicles after 2003.

Ford had begun investigating reported fires in Windstar models last year, which included 1.1 million minivans. The remaining 3.4 million vehicles added to the recall include: Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models where no fires have been reported but which use the same switches made by Texas Instruments.