Ford Fire Recall: Cruise Control Fires - Free Case Review

October 2009 Update: Largest Single Recall in Ford History

On October 13, 2009, Ford Motor Co. announced an expansion to its largest-ever automotive recall by adding about 4.5 million vehicles to the recall over a faulty switch linked to hundreds of vehicle fires.

The action, which comes in the face of an 18-month federal investigation, means the company has now called back more than 14 million vehicles in eight separate recalls over a 10-year period because of the problem.

The cruise-control deactivation switches, made by Texas Instruments and sold for about $21, were installed in 16 million Ford vehicles over a decade before the automaker stopped using them in early 2003. The switches have been linked to at least 550 vehicle fires and 1,500 complaints.

The new recall includes:

NHTSA Issues Second Recall Notice

On September 9, 2008, the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration recalled millions of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury SUV's pickup trucks, vans and cars. This advisory was the second recall warning in 2008 regarding what NHTSA calls a "defective cruise control switch that could lead to a fire at any time, even while the vehicle is turned off, parked and unattended." Of the 12 million vehicles recalled in the earlier February recall, nearly 5 million still have not been brought in for repair. The agency has received nearly 60 complaints of fires that occurred in the affected vehicles. It is also currently investigating a similar problem in Ford Windstar vans. The agency has received more than 130 complaints of alleged fires in those vehicles.

Ford Issues Additional Recall of Vehicles:

On August 3, 2007, Ford recalled an additional 3.6 million Ford trucks, cars and SUVs from due to the faulty cruise control switch issue. An additional 177,000 vehicles in Mexico, Canada and Europe were covered by this recall.

Millions of Recalled Ford Vehicles Remain On The Road:

In August 2006, a Ford spokesperson stated that only about 40% of the vehicles, or almost 3.3 million Fords, covered under earlier the Ford Fire recalls have yet to be fixed.

Millions of Ford Vehicles With The Same Or Similar Defective Switch Have Not Been Recalled:

Ford’s recall is under inclusive and many persons have reported fires in vehicles not included in the recall. Last year CNN reported that a Ford document it obtained showed that the same or similar switch was installed in a total of 16 million Ford vehicles. A comprehensive list of these vehicles can be seen here.

Vehicle Fire Attorneys | Lawyers

Owners of the Ford vehicles who lost their vehicle due to fire and also suffered other significant property damage (such as the loss of their house) or were personally injured, are welcome to contact an attorney at Lieff Cabraser experienced in handling fire recall claims against Ford by clicking here. There is no charge or obligation for our review of your case.

You may also contact us by telephone toll free at 1-866-313-1973 and request to speak to Ford fire recall attorney Mark Chalos. We will also investigate vehicles made by other manufacturers that caught fire and led to an injury or significant property damage.