Ford Expedition spontaneously catches on fire!!

[TheHuntbear]

My daughters 1998 Ford Expedition caught on fire last night(01/12/12)while parked unattended within a few feet of her home and within 10 feet of a propane tank! The fire melted the bottom of

the steering wheel,burned the drivers side of the front seat and also burned wiring around and under the dash.The fire went out before consuming the Expedition.My grand daughter's

bed room was located within a few feet of the burned SUV.Thank God is the only answer I

can thank of.

[sneezabonk]

The funny thing is alot of the fire departments around me use these exact same vehicle

[iTrollA]

Ahhhhhh, The Smell Of Carcinogens In The Morning...

[NBSV1]

The problem is there's a pressure switch in the brake line under the hood so when you press the brakes it turns off cruise control. That switch always has 12v on it from the battery. The plastic that separates the brake fluid from the switch internally can fail and allow the brake fluid to short out the switch. I believe the fix is basically just installing an inline fuse so if the switch does short is just pops the fuse and the cruise quits working.

[Motorfordtoyota]

Notice how NO one made a big deal of this problem, I have seen ford vehicles with this problem as old as 85, and as new as 07. Sorry Ford, you fail. In fact, my sister's ex-boyfriend's taurus caught on fire cause of this problem while driving it.

[starr101010]

its somthing in the cruise control module. i think its the deactivation switch

[fordwindsor351]

The dumb person here was the owner for he/she didnt go in and get the free work done for this was fixed through the recall

[Karnydoc]

Learning how to handle a camera would be a good start. The video was otherwise inwatchable.

[the454engine2009]

Fix

Or

Repair

Daily

[kittengirl25]

yeah that does look like it was because of the cruise control recall ford had. Has anyone had this happen, and if yes, what was the outcome with ford? I'm sure they would fight it to the end.

[Carlos6561]

This happened to my dads 2009 ford expedition it caught on fire at 2 in the morning lucky he parked it our side and not in our garage or I would have lost my house. We didnt even have the car for 5 months:(

[kittengirl25]

@Carlos6561 Did you ever call ford, if yes what was the outcome?

[Carlos6561]

@kittengirl25 well our insurance company is going to handle what happend and I believe the insurance is going to go after Ford

[kittengirl25]

@Carlos6561 well I wish you the best, cause the same thing happen to me and Ford motors has not replied to me or has helped me at all. I think it's time to hire a lawyer for us. I'm glad your insurance is going to handle it because I had only liability.

[ladyp414]

Did ford replace ur truck? I have a 1998 ford expedition that just caught on fire spontaneously on Friday don't kw what the cause of it was yet!

[kittengirl25]

@ladyp414 Now that time has past, Did Ford motors ever help you with your situation? The same thing has happened to me.

[DudeWithaPage]

thats that cruise control stuff

[racingchamp101]

expedition ,taruses and thunderbirds on fords recall list.

[xbox360rox67]

this is the same thing that happpen to my dads 97 ford expedition it calght fire in a parkiing lot and brned pretty good and it calght fire by a wire that they pt in years ago for a recall

[Restaurant25]

The switch is located on the brake master cylinder. Disconnect it if you havea a F150, F250, Explorer, E-150 then stuff like this won't happen. Been a Ford mechanic for years

[jcomm333]

It was a recall that occured a few years ago having something to do with the cruise control....

[604nongrunt]

hes pointing at the ground half the time

[das17734]

coz it was kind of a panic situation. he was not making a movie out there...

[Rali272]

My Instrument cluster/Gauges don't work at all! What do u think i could be? i got a 1999 Eddie Bauer

[madhive2408]

...this is what burned down my friends entire house thise wekend

[TheCubanMan728]

Its a recall on the cruise controll switch, and it casues underhood fire...

[pcmacp719c1]

I believe this is a fire caused by the cruise control deactivation switch recall. My brother's '97 crown victoria had that same problem. Luckily, he got it fixed in time.

In my opinion, Ford does not suck because of this recall. I mean hey, Chevys and Hondas have had recalls before and that does not make them crappy cars. Those are all good quality cars. No car company is exempt from recalls and defects. Automobiles are made by imperfect people and machinery. Sooner or later, problems arise.

[mexicosta14]

yea i know of a truck that same thing happend to because of the switch

[CarboyX]

Wasn't there a recall about the heated winshield fluid option on Escalade that causes them to "spontaneously catch on fire"?

[Seirei0417]

@pcmacp719c1 Right on! Even Mercedes Benz and BMW have recalls and they are expensive cars. 99% of the time they sweep there recalls under the rug and fix them when you take them in for service.

[kcam04]

hmm,I see a fire, wait shrubs, oh fire again, wait no I see shoes, oh look there is a fire truck, more shoes, a power pole more shoes not much fire.

[mazeratixbox]

i don't think the firemen could move any slow i mean jesus i saw a snail crawl faster then them

[fahrer4184]

I don't know how ANYONE can buy a Ford and think they're getting a quality vehicle.

[elementfreak1344]

hey. FUCK YOU

[JacobLee0123]

Only good thing about ford is it shows how much worse a vehicle could be, and it also makes and good firestarter. FORD SUCK!!!

[elementfreak1344]

fords are nice cars. and something that sucks is your god damn spelling bitch

[nch556]

I think the same way dude. I used to have one, biggest mistake of my life! Ford sucks Saturn rules!

[xAlSharptonx]

SATURN!!!!!!!!!!!!! id take almost anything over one of those plastic bodied peices of shit

[hitthelights9154]

psh its a ford let it burn

[wowlol2006]

cruise control deactivation switch

[bob199061]

well the firefighters heat camera tells them where it was the hottest so that only works in certain fires so if you has cruse control it started there but if not that was where the fire was hottest

[bob199061]

there was a recall on fords cruse control computer not to long ago for that time

[Andrew12]

There was a massive recall about 6months ago on most 1997 or so expeditions and F150s to 2002 models, they had some faulty engine wire that caused a fire. we had about three or four of our friends that it happened to.

[steeltown98]

could be you did a crappy aftermarket wire job for your thumpers...just a thought.

[realdivaintx]

My 2001 Expedition burned after sitting in the hoapital parking lot for 10 hours. I only had a couple of hours left in my 12 hour nuses shift, when a coworker told me that my truck was smoking. By the time I made it to the parking lot, the whole truck was engulfed in flames. Ford will not accept responsibility or reimburse me for my loss. I will never buy another ford. I am grateful that me or my children were not injured. Shame on Ford.

[kuhlraum]

And to the people who say they drive a dodge....Some Rams have a problem with the airbag that shorts out and catches on fire, but I don't think it is as big of a deal as the ford problem.

[kuhlraum]

Yep, that happened to my 95 f150 a couple years ago. I got the recall notice, but I didn't know anything about a fire risk, I thought the cruise control switches wouldn't deactivate or something. Plus I was working out of town and was only home like one day every two weeks, so I forgot about it. A few months later it was parked in my driveway and just burst into flames. I only had liability, but I sold the motor and tranny and made the bed into a trailer, so it's not a total loss.

[JAGXJ401]

Mercury Cougars 1989-2002 THEY HAVE CRUISE CONTROL is there a recall for them too.

[marine9681]

it more than like was the cruise control. they been recalling. i had to take mines in to get serviced

[purpbuydapound]

so your fuse pops then what god i hate fords iv had 3 already they all broke

[03duramaxdslguy]

thats a piece of shit ford for ya

[537airsofter]

Thats a recall not responded to for ya....

[Snowmanx711]

hah stupid cops... "Give me that camera" like there cool or something....sucks about your car tho...

[SternLX]

Guess the owner of that one didn't get the Recall notice about the cruise control.

[nathandryden123]

The cruise control switch/fuse in the engine compartment prolly caused the fire

[DBR00]

weird that the Police actually got there before the Fire Dept.

[punkmonkey123]

Was the horn the car on fire or some other car? XD

[Xeterra]

A few years ago, there had been engine trouble with ford, id say about 2004, there was a recall after about 5 of em happend, some were to late

[mr3vil]

More than likely it was the faulty cruise control switch. It's mounted on the brake master cylinder rather than on the pedal. Brake fluid gets into the switch, shorts out the electrics and instant BBQ.

The only trucks that didn't get recalled were the Diesel Superduties and Excursions. They have a different cruise control switch that's on the brake pedal (where it should be)

[rayMacy]

Yea definatly cruise control harness probably. My friends family has 2 newer Ford Rangers that both had this problem. While they havent caught fire yet....Ford sent them a nice letter telling them not to park in any garages or by other vehicles....derderder

[Perspective49]

a vehicle is on fine and you instantaneously know why? wow you should work in medicine.

[D0323]

No, you should work in arson investigation or be a mechanic.

[cabuco2006]

how bout 07 ford ranger..did they put the sensor on the pedal or near the master cylinder

[Apatamwa]

you know ford, always one for quality

[alderaforall]

I bet it was the cruise control wire harness, ford had a huge recall because of this problem. The common result of the bad harness is a bbq vehicle. You could probably sue the hell out of ford and get a new vehicle.

[danwat1234]

How long did it take for the gas tank to explode? How large was the explosion? Did it happen before or after the end of the video?

[benjamin2838]

Next time when you film any movie please try to hold the camera still, so people can see what are you doing.

[rmls34]

crappy camera work....hold the damn thing still

[jorgetheleader]

that guy that answers no is my cousin jonathan aka jon

[jorgetheleader]

that was my cousins expo hahahaha

[UpcomingJedi]

Whats the problem with the thin membrane, intersoun? Does brake fluid catch fire? I never heard of that before. Oil pressure switches work the same way as that one as I have taken and old one apart just to see.

[Yocuzz828]

Fuck Wholly Shit I Rather Do Porn Then Burn My Car!

[bowlinking89]

cruise control

[harkino]

It's the cruise control same thing happened to my 95 F-150. All Fords V8 engines have this problem. They sent my recall letter to the old owner also. Ford called me as soon as I e-mailed them, their response was "your truck is too burned out to prove it was our defective truck", so too bad because at Ford "we screw you" and "BTW we do have your address is in our DBase as the current owner but we sent it to the old owner". Don't buy Ford! Sue them in small calims court.

[bowlinking89]

i got 4 v6 ford explorers and i got the recall letters for the cruise control for all four of them, they range from 98 to 99 2 98 and one 99 and all four got the recall....lol (i drive a dodge ram now) :D

[UpcomingJedi]

First of all, I would like to mention that you have great taste in shoes. Nice and clean. Who told you to get back? A cop? You werent going to steal that burning car, now were you? Oh, wait. It could explode eh? Dumb cop. Thats what happens when you watch too much tv as you won't be near it if the fire actually gets to the gas. It'll just burn really hot.

[InnovatedAudio]

Yep it was a cop. He actually grabbed me. I didn't see him come up.

[USMC3531tsd]

@InnovatedAudio < Stop pointing the camera at the damn ground, shit.

You could have arrested that car for battery. He cannot just grab you like that and you are a pussy for not standing up for yourself. You were 20 feet away and car just don't explode like in the movies so you were not in any danger. Basically a man grabbed you and like a vagina bitch you just pussied out and followed like a queer. Grow some balls.

[Valkyrie761]

Stay away from Fords.. They're poison...

[Skandocious]

You can't blame Ford because recalls and technical service bulletins occur for ALL MAKES AND MODELS of cars. I took care of this recall RIGHT AWAY when I bought my 95 F150. If you friend doesn't want his new care to kill him from a manufacturing defect then he will look into any recalls or TSBs for his car right away. Be mad at Ford if you want but your friend and his ignorance are at fault here.

[Intersonus903]

Maybe, maybe not.

While I can see the reasoning behind your post, the blame also falls on Texas Instruments for not designing a good deactivation switch and to Ford for not identifying a possible problem in the design.

A thin film membrane is all that separates brake fluid from a live electrical switch on the deactivation switch on the brake master cylinder.

And, what if the problem had occurred for people BEFORE the recall. You're still going to fault them?

[InnovatedAudio]

It's not that I was tryin to blame Ford. I did say shit happens. I've had plenty of problems with ford before and so has a lot of people. I've said fuck ford many times not just because of this.

[Intersonus903]

Fair enough. My family rarely has good luck with Ford. We did have some decent luck with a 2000 Escort ZX2 and a 1990 Crown Victoria LTD. But, we didn't have such luck with a 1993 Taurus.

[EVIL80Z28]

hold on, his friend shouldnt HAVE TO GET IT FIXED, youd think after it started in 1980 something theyd change the design, but here proof ford doesnt redesign nething, THE PINOT! 4 FUCKING BOLTS!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOULD PUNCTURE THE GAS TANK UPON IMPACT. the only idiots who buy these death traps and time bombs deserve what they get, STUPIDTY SHOULD BE PAINFUL AND EVERYBODY HAS TO LEARN THE HARD WAY! oh well maybe he learned his lesson.

[jennifer0we]

its not a ford pinot its called a ford pinto XD

[EVIL80Z28]

ok, pinTO. still a p.o.s

[1982359PETERBILT]

@Skandocious no hes not the older computer controled models have a problem with catching fire

[rayjustin12]

@Skandocious Don't buy ford. Problem solved, that's a lot easier then checking for recalls all the time. I can and will blame ford because they can't build trucks, and they are still catching fire even in 2011, but they keep trying anyway. Ford didn't recall the turbo lines on the new f250 and 350 they catch fire. So do a lot the 5.4 liter Triton engines they blow a spark plug through the roof of the truck that wasn't recalled either. People get killed and sometimes burn to death.

[InnovatedAudio]

well My friend wasn't the original owner and He was never notified about that problem. I guess it just comes down to shit happens and there's nothing that can be done about it now. I know he's be going thought BS with his insurance company. Anyways he just bought a Mazda CX-9 to replace it. It's to bad that American cars haven't shown the greatest reliability. There goes another customer to imports. Just like I did a year ago. Fuck ford!!

[Intersonus903]

Of course, the irony here is that Mazda is owned by Ford Motor Company.

[InnovatedAudio]

lol, ya I figured that out later. Didn't want to tell him though. I'm not a big car person so I did realize that.

[06RedfireGT]

dude its the cruise control deactivation switch. if you would have taken it to the dealer, they fix it for free and it takes like 10 minutes.

[crazy35752]

some expeditions had a recall because the cruise would stay hot and sometimes would have brake fluid leak on the switch and catch fire

[youdragon]

damn man that must have sucked

[screename2123]

maybe the catylitic converter overheated

[InnovatedAudio]

I'm pretty sure it was what HOCtech described.

[screename2123]

okay

[trinitonv8]

its gonna blow!!!

[mssbutts]

lol! Ill pass on that one.

[mssbutts]

Next time dont look at the ground so much.

[InnovatedAudio]

Ok bring your car over here and we'll try it again.

[HOCtech]

i believe what may have happend is that the cruise control deactivation switch spontaneously combusted. Ford issued a recall for 1997 to 2002 expeditions in 2005. what happens is the cicuit for the deactivation switch is not protected by a fuse, so if any water, coolant, or persperation from the A/C system shorts the circuit the wires burn the plastic casing with enough intensity to start a fire.

[InnovatedAudio]

Sorry bout the ground shots. I kept getting distracted.