general problems of the 2001 Ford Expedition - part 1

Vehical burst into flames seems on passenger side under the hood. . . Had been parked all day. No one around or injured. Vehical is a total loss.

Vehicle caught on fire due to an incorrectly installed head light due to a cracked plug assembly. Vehicle was in a fast-food drive through when the smoke and subsequent flames were seen. Due to age of the vehicle the task of changing the light bulb was farmed out to local oil change shop. While changing the placing the new bulb into the plug assembly the thin plastic broke keeping the bulb from seating properly. Tested okay on reassembly but once night came the light was on for only 15 minutes and ignited the inner head lamp assembly and subsequently more of the engine compartment. Fortunately, the fast-food restaurant came out with an extinguisher and put out the fire. Thankfully, no one was hurt however, had the fire occurred on the highway, in a parking lot unattended, or in the homes garage, the outcome would have been far worse.

Fuses blowing as soon as put in box. Smoke coming from cruise control switch.

The check suspension light is on and I noticed every Expedition in this year range has suspension problems and the wireing sometimes the radio will go off and the lights on dash and speedometer lights will shut off.

Nhtsa action number: ea05015 component(s): electrical system , exterior lighting , visibility I'm having issues with my vehicle similar to the issues described in NHTSA action number: ea05015. This is the second occurrence I've had with this vehicle. The first time the unit was replaced, not covered by warranty. Now it's happening again. I'm getting "door ajar" notifications and the interior lights are staying on. Vehicle is surging (feels like someone stepped on the gas pedal). Vehicle has stalled in traffic. This is a safety issue.

The contact owned a 2001 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked and later became engulfed in flames. The fire and police departments were notified of the incident. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The fire department chief determined that the fire was started by a faulty ignition wire insulation. The approximate failure mileage was 103,000.

Wipers fail, came within inches of major crash several times, due to poor or no visibility from rain or snow because of wipers complete failure. Also, power windows fail, interior lights fail, radio fails, 4 wheel drive fail and it was stated on line that air bag failure is also a problem. Can not drive in rain or snow! when looking up the gem module part (generic electronic module) it was stated in several online parts sources that the 2001 Ford Expedition had a windshield improperley sealed at the factory on the assembly line. Thus water leaks on the gem module shorting it out; and it was stated that in several of the same vehicles that their entire fuse box fails which is located directly under the gem module which is mounted on top of the fuse box causing entire electrical failure. I feel it is the responsibility of Ford to recall these vehicles and fix the problem. It is an assembly line failure, I can not renew my licence due to safety standards until this issue is addressed and Ford corrects the problem.

The contact owns a 2001 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while parked, the vehicle caught on fire where the fire department was reported. The fire department stated that the fire started from under the hood of the vehicle. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was destroyed. The approximate failure and current mileage was 208,000.

This has been an issue since acquiring this vehicle. The brakes are very soft, they will pump up but when a quicker slow down or stop is needed an individual doesn't have a lot of time to remember that. There have been no injuries or crashes as of this date. Master cylinder was replaced on mechanic's advice however this did not improve this issue. As well the vehicle seems to need the lower ball joints wear out quickly. Also please note that each time it rains there is water coming in from somewhere on the top driver's side of the windshield and post. It drips from that hand grip down to light switch and into vent on driver's side as well. There have been times where there is an electrical smell which causes concern of a vehicle fire possibility.

I am having various electrical issues ranging from check engine light going on periodically with codes not stored when checked, on, dome light in the car not turn on when driver door opened, radio not working when key is in on position, dash lights go off intermittently. One night during a very heavy rain storm the alarm went off and we were unable to disable for over 30 mins. Had to remove the battery for the beeping to stop. When we checked the next day, inside the vehicle was a puddle of water on the dashboard & droplets were coming from the top drivers side of the windshield. Also noticed that water was streaming down from inside a handle on the frame by side of the windshield on driver side. Unaware of global windshield/seal issues with Ford we proceeded to have the windshield replaced. At the time we were unaware of any additional damage. Shortly after while driving we began to experience various episodes of the car revving itself up, as if it was in control of its own speed, making it difficult to control the car. During these episodes of acceleration the car temperature & oil gauges registered at overheated levels & many times the dash lights would go off. In this case I pulled over and turned the car off. After a couple of minutes when I turned the car on, the car was back to normal as if nothing had happened. Typically when this happened although the check engine light was lit, when I took the car in to be serviced by the dealer I was told no error codes were stored in the vehicle. This vehicle continues to self accelerate and rev up intermittently. At present I need to have the car smogged for renewal but the vehicle system readiness test register incomplete and there are no faulty codes listed. I have read that various owners experience these conditions which has been caused by water leak into the fuse box and the gem due to the windshield seal failure.

On the morning of January 26, 2012 I parked may car at my employee parking lot at approximately 5:50am. I head to work like any ordinary day, and at approximately 8:30 am, I had CO-workers informing me that my car was on fire. I ran out to the parking lot and found my car in flames. My 2001 Ford Expedition eddie bauer caused the two cars on my sides to catch on fire as well. When the fire department arrived it was too late to save anything from the car. It was a total loss, everything inside was destroyed into ashes, my personal belongings were unrecognizable. I only had liability insurance on my car, and will have to pay for the damages that my car caused to the other people. . I am now left with no car, and having the blame of the fire when I did absolutely nothing wrong. My Ford Expedition was in perfect conditions and up to date with all of the services; now that it was the family car and we traveled all around the country with it. We were the only owners and bought it brand new for a reason. The cruise control recall was taken care of immediately after receiving the letter in the year 2004, and was never re-installed. The causes of the fire are still unknown, and I will like to let Ford know of the situation so they can do something about it. It is such a traumatizing situation that I would not like anyone else to experience. I have lost all of my trust on Ford. Be aware people, do not park next to a Ford, you never know when they might catch on fire.

Vehicle was parked at my house, and all of a sudden the motor went on fire. Do not know why. The front laft side.

The contact owns a 2001 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that the vehicle ignited and became engulfed in flames while the vehicle was parked. The fire and police department reported to the scene and a report was filed. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire. There was also damage to two additional vehicles parked in close proximity to the contact's vehicle. The vehicle was destroyed and not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was unknown.

The multifunction switch is failing when the steering wheel/column is put into a lower position. The left turn signal fails and goes to a rapid pulse unless the steering wheel is in the highest position. This is the exact same issue with the multifunction switch affecting the turn signals on my 2001 eb Expedition that I see all over the internet and as is being addressed in an announced recall for other Ford vehicles. . Read more...

My 2001 Ford Expedition caught fire in my driveway soon after my cruise control quit working. It burned and caused my 2004 Ford f-250 to burn and subsoquently caught my house on fire.

This vehicle was sitting in the service department of our dealership and had been idle since 5:00pm on 5/6/2011. At approximately 1:15pm on 5/7/2011, the vehicle spontaneously caught fire and subsequently caught a large portion of the service department on fire. The total damage is still untold, but the fire has shut the dealership down until it is deemed safe to open again. After speaking with fire officials and hearing this is a common problem among this make and model vehicle I did research and found that the cruise control switch has been found to be the culprit of many fires just like this one.

In the last 6 months, I have noticed that when it rains, my blower motor will run on high-speed and my lights will flicker after I turn the vehicle off. At first it would stop after a few seconds, however this last time, it ran for about 10 minutes and finally shut off. I called Ford motor CO to inquire about a recall. They have no record nor keep any data on anything . So I called the local dealer and they were 'familiar' with my problem and had a 'few' fixed. Well, after doing some research on the internet, it turns out there's more than just a 'few' incidents. . There are several!!! the problem appears too start with a water leak in the windshield, going to the fuse box and gemodule which in turn sends electrical currents to the abs module which cause all sorts of problems. This is a Ford manufacturers defect.

The contact owns a 2001 Ford Expedition eddie bauer edition. While the vehicle was parked, the contact was informed that the vehicle was on fire which originated from under the hood. The contacts family was able to extinguish the fire. A police report was filed. The vehicel was destroyed. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

Leaking windshield causing different systems to act unpredictably. Currently ac blower fan circuit blown (fixed 4x), cruise control dead after intermittently working (high potential of fatality if acceleration out of control). Radio comes on an off. Check engine light on continuously. Numerous codes showing up even after deleting. This problem has been occurring for years ( at least 4 years). The windshield has to be replaced as per technician but I strongly feel that Ford should just plug the leak for all the Expeditions and navigators being affected by this. Others have had more serious problem - windows opening and closing automatically (no user action).

For the past month I have been experience electrical issues with my 2001 Ford Expedition after heavy rainfalls. On two separate occasions I have had to get a jump to start my truck after it rains and once it starts the electrical system seems to go haywire. The radio turns on and off and there are clicking noises. The vent turns on and off by itself etc. The most important of these malfunctions includes the windshield wipers. On two occasions I have been driving on the highway during these electrical events (while raining) and my windshield wipers have stopped working. Each time I could not see a thing but was able to safely pull over to the shoulder of the road and eventually they start working again. To me this is a safety hazard and by doing research on the web I can see that I am not the only one that has had this issue with an Expedition between 1998-2001. Many have experienced the same thing. Apparently water leaks through the windshield and into the fuse box or gem module. What does it take for a recall loss of life? I am really disappointed that so many safety issues have come up surrounding the electrical malfunctions on these trucks and nothing has been done about it. Please let me know if I can get assistance with getting this repaired as well as others who are going through the same things. If Ford is willing to risk a life prior to helping fix a known issue I do not think I will be purchasing another Ford again.

Leaking windshield and electrical problems on our 2001 Expedition, worried about a possible fire.

There seems to be electrical problems caused by a leaking windshield. This causes erratic behavior in the electrical system and I experience electrical shock when I touched the vehicle. I will cause accidents if it interfere with the power steering. This is a common problem in this vehicle according to the dealership - they should be responsible for there mistake - not slam the consumer with a $1000 repair bill.

My husband was driving his 2001 fore Expedition on 78west , he heard a pop sound and smoke came in the truck , he pulled over on the shoulder and the truck caught of fire, totaling the truck. This was first occurrence. We only owed 2000 left to pay, and now my husband is without a vehicle to get to work.

Day before fire, noticed smoke under the hood. Could not figure out where problem was. Friday,July 31, 2009 drove to work by 8:00am . Entered bldg and someone shouted fire!fire! it was under my hood of truck and the truck burned from motor to dashboard,steeringwheel,front driver tire w/extensive smoke damage to cabin. Total loss.

Driving along interstate,heard a horrible noise. Stopped, lifted hood and realized factory installed spark plug on my 2001 Ford Expedition with 5. 4 triton motor had blown out. Mechanic replaced coil,heli=coil and spark plug.

Vehicle caught fire after being off & parked for 3 1/2 hours.

My 2001 Ford Expedition caught on fire and burned in the parking lot at the va regional office. I learned later that there have been issues with the cruise control feature that could potentially be the cause of the occurrence.

Safety related electrical problems during rainy conditions, including failure of windshield wipers.

The contact owns a 2001 Ford Expedition. When shifting into the reverse gear, the rear parking sensor was inoperative. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for inspection. The technician was unable to determine the cause of the failure related to the parking sensor. The vehicle has not been repaired at this time. The failure mileage 78,000. The current mileage was 90,000.

Electrical: windshield leaking for a few years. First a small leak and did not think much about it. Now it seems to be greater leaks into the car when it rains- leading to electrical issues such as dash lights go out, blower stays on, fuel gauge does not read right. Radio sometimes will not work right and the lights go out. Fuel tank: issues from day one - floats did not work right, now gauge does not read right, one point I could not fill the car - mechanic did something to try and correct it. Hood/windshield leak: must be careful not to go to an automatic car wash. Water into the engine area. Must park at a certain angle during the rain. Coil packs go out.

Car was parked caught on fire in the middle of the night. Had city of seattle fire department and fire marshal investigator showed up also he determined fire was electrical. He gave me a report number I also reported incident to my insurance company. My car is a 2001 Ford Expedition. After reading on the internet all the other reports I have no doubt it was because of problems with the cruise control mentioned on many, many other sites. I am now stuck in a position where I have to buy another car, I have lost all the money I have invested into this vehicle. If I was aware of this problem when I brought it in 05 I could have had it turned around. The thing that really sticks out is that the recall was in 05 and makes me question why wasn't this fixed before I purchased the vehicle.

I am having the same water leak problems that I've seen on here before. Water is getting into my fusebox every time it rains. I don't have the money to repair this so it is an ongoing safety hazard for me. I cannot believe this has not already been recalled after viewing all the complaints on the internet.

According to Ford is the gem/cjb that fails because windshield leaking. Any electrical component inside the vehicle not working (locks, windows, odometer, and misfiring) transmission not working ok.

Windshield wipers, rear window wiper, windows, interior lights and moon roof quit working, apparent cause was gem module due to leaking windshield?.

Windshield leaking - causing electrical box to short out and therefore everything electrial malfunction - items come on going down the road while you are driving - dangerous.