Cruise Control problems of the 1998 Ford Explorer - part 1

The contact owns a 1998 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked when the engine caught on fire. The fire department appeared on the scene to extinguish the fire. The contact was informed that the fire was electrical and originated near the cruise control switch. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 96,160. The VIN was unavailable.

The contact owns a 1998 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked when it suddenly caught fire. The fire department was called but a neighbor extinguished the fire. The vehicle was still drivable. The vehicle had not been inspected to find the cause of the fire. The contact believed the failure was caused by the cruise control when he researched recall 09v399000 (vehicle speed control) which was related. The contact had not spoken with the dealer nor the manufacturer at the time of the complaint. The current and failure mileages were approximately 113,000.

1998 Ford Explorer. Parked at restaurant, shut off vehicle, went inside. Approximately 10 minutes later someone yelled fire. Went outside to discover smoke and flames coming from the engine compartment. Fire department called and responded quickly. Fire extinguished, but vehicle totaled. No injuries, no other property damage except burned hedges that were in front of the vehicle where it was parked. Tow truck driver remarked that it appeared possible that it was one of those cruise control caused fires as it is evident that the fire originated on or near the brake master cylinder. I am the original owner, my son was using the truck when the fire occurred and I am relating his recollection of the events. Vehicle was towed immediately afterwards to a holding yard and subsequently to my home where it is presently.

After sitting in the driveway for aprox 9 hours, the engine area caught on fire at 4am. Speculation is the cruise control switch ignited and caused the fire. The front end of the vehicle is completely destroyed, as is the interior with smoke damage.

The contact owns a 1998 Ford Explorer. The contact received a recall notice for NHTSA campaign id number 06v286000 (vehicle speed control), but did not take the vehicle to the dealer for repair. She was awakened by a neighbor informing her that the vehicle was on fire. The entire front wiring system was melted. An investigator from the fire department speculated that the cruise control was the cause of the failure. The contact has pictures of the failed incident and she is in the process of notifying the manufacturer. The failure and current mileages were unknown.

1998 Ford Explorer spontaneously caught fire in engine compartment 8am, 12/02/08. Car was previously driven 12 hours prior to incident. Engine was not running. Doors were locked. No signs of entry prior to incident. Fire engulfed engine and spread to passenger compartment before alameda fire department extinguished vehicle. Insurance company has claimed vehicle as totaled and is investigating. Suspected cause is cruise control shutoff switch, subject to Ford recall 05s28.

Fire in engine bay originating at the cruise control deactivation switch.

My wife's 1998 Ford Explorer XLT caught on fire while parked right in front of my kid's school, she drove for 1 mile from our house to the school to pick up my kid, luckily it didn't burn in the garage. The fire according to the fire department looks like it started around the brakes master cylinder under the hood directly in front of the driver and according to the burn marks on the hood looks like it was there where it burned the hottest, the whole engine compartment burned and luckily the fire dptm is real close so it didn't burn completely. Upon investigation on the internet I came to know about a safety recall for these vehicles involving the cruise control switch that is located by the brake master cylinder and that can result on fire, so I strongly believe that this incident is a consequence of this recall that I had no idea of. The vehicle is totaled and now we are struggling without our primary family vehicle, I'm just thankful that my family and my house are safe.

In the middle of the night, my 1998 Ford Explorer spontaneously burst into flames. The fire department determined that this was caused by a defect in the cruise control system that is systematic of Ford vehicles. The fire completely burned down most of my two-story house and caused extensive smoke damage to the remaining areas.

The contact owns a 1998 Ford Explorer. The contact received a recall notice in August of 2007 for the vehicle speed cruise control switch. He called to schedule an appointment to have the vehicle repaired and was informed that the parts would be unavailable until October. The contact called again and was informed that the parts would remain unavailable until March of 2008. He filed a formal complaint with the manufacturer. There had been no failure to date. The recall number was unknown. The current mileage was 101,000.

Ford Explorer burst into flames from under the hood in a shopping plaza garage parking. The vehicle was not running at all, had been parked more than a couple hours. Property damage to the shopping plaza.

On March 29, 2007, my wife drove our 1998 Ford Explorer XLT to a doctors appointment at 9:00 a. M. And then to her work location. At 9:36 a. M. , my wife parked the Explorer, turned the engine off and went into work. At 10:50 a. M, my wife was notified by an employee from another business that the Explorer was smoking. At that time, my wife noticed that the engine compartment started burning on the driver's side. The firefighters were summoned to the scene. Upon their arrival, my wife noticed that the entire engine compartment was on fire and there was a cloud of dark heavy smoke. The firefighters were able to extinguish the fire and confine the fire damage to the engine compartment. The interior compartment was saturated with smoke. The county fire marshall was contacted and advised us that similar spontaneous engine compartment fires in Ford trucks and suvs have been linked to a defective cruise control deactivation switch and that Ford is currently recalling vehicles with those defective switches. The fire marshall indicated that this engine fire may have potentially been attributable to a defective or faulty cruise control deactivation switch. The firefighters documented the incident. Upon being apprised of the recall. We researched the issue and confirmed that Ford is conducting a recall of vehicles with defective and faulty cruise control switches and that the vehicles being recalled include the 1998 Ford Explorers. However, we have not received any notification of the recall from Ford motor company and/or its affiliated dealerships. We contacted Ford motor company customer relations to register a complaint and inform them of the engine fire. We also contacted our insurance company to file a claim. To clarify the questions following this narrative, the county sheriff's office was contacted they did not need to generate a report in light of the firefighters incident report. Additionally, the only property damage was to the vehicle itself.

1998 Ford Explorer engine fire total loss wile parked overnight in the garage.

Our 1998 Ford Explorer XLT was parked in our garage (on the ground floor of our house). It had not been driven since the day before. The cruise control deactivation switch spontaneously combusted and caused extensive fire and smoke damage to the vehicle and to our primary residence. Both the local fire department and a forensic investigator inspected the scene of the fire. We understand that this switch was just recalled by Ford for 1998 Explorers in August 2006. However, our family did not receive mail notification. Out SUV was totaled and the estimated loss to our dwelling and personal belongings alone is $350,000.

The contact owns a 1998 Ford Explorer. The contact received a Ford recall notice for the vehicle speed control: cruise control switch in August of 2006. She called the dealer in August of 2007 and they stated that the parts would be unavailable until November. She called the dealer every other month and they stated that the parts would be unavailable until August of 2008. The contact refused to have the cruise control switch disconnected. The vehicle has not caught fire and there had been no failure to date. The transmission type, recall number, and powertrain were unknown. The current mileage was 105,000.

1998 Ford Explorer cruise control switch caught on fire. ** answer required***.

My 1998 Ford Explorer was parked in our attached garage. My wife used the vehicle earlier in the day and parked it in the garage at about 2:30 pm. At about 8:15 pm a smoke detector in the garage alerted us there was smoke in the garage. I opened the door between the laundry room and garage to see the left front tire of the Explorer in flames. I immediately had my wife call 911 and I tried to extinguish the fire with a garden hose. This did not stop the fire. I then had to remove another vehicle parked in the driveway. We both safely escaped the fire. In the time between the call to 911 and when the corpus christi fire department arrived and extinguished the fire, two vehicles were destroyed, extensive damage was caused to the house and much personal property was lost.

1998 Ford Explorer. The consumer parked car in the driveway and five hours later the car was on fire. The car exploded, and that was what alerted the consumer to the fire. There were no prior warning lights on before the fire. The cruise control still worked when consumer parked the car. Also, the brakes worked fine when she parked the vehicle. The car was only used for local activities. The car was inspected in November 2004 and nothing was found to be wrong . The fire department was called , and a report was taken. In addition, a police report an insurance company report were taken. When the vehicle was on fire it caught the consumer daughter's house on fire. There was at least 50% damage to the house. There was damage to other cars that were parked close to vehicle on fire, and damage to other people's property. The consumer contacted Ford costumer service, and they advised her that there was no recall. Since then she received a letter from Ford's legal department stating they will be in touch with her.

The consumer stated that 1998 Ford Explorer caught on fire and burned. The consumer was driving when the fire started. The vehicle was parked overnight, and the consumer had only been in the vehicle for about five minutes. The cruise control was still working. All of the instruments on the dashboard were in working order. The consumer had the air conditioner (a/c) on and noticed that smoke was coming through the vents. The fire was coming out of the dashboard from underneath the hood. The fire department stated that it looked like an electrical fire. The consumer contacted Ford, and they asked what she wanted them to do about it. The consumer did have a fire report and pictures . The consumer only has liability insurance on the truck, which was a total loss. The fire was called in to the police, but the consumer was unsure if a police report was taken.

Contact states while vehicle was parked it started smoking from underneath the hood. Upon inspection it was noticed that the cruise control switch was burned up. This vehicle was not covered under the recall due to VIN.

1998 Ford Explorer, one afternoon while at work her vehicle caught on fire. The vehicle was turned off and had sitting for hours. There were lots and lots of smoke. The fire dept. Put out the fire and the engine and spread to the dash area. The vehicle was totaled out. The recall letters had not gone out yet, and the day after the fire, the recall was extended to her vehicle year. The dealer told the consumer that is was obvious that the started from the cruise control mechanism. Have been in touch with the local dealership and the Ford manufacturer and Ford keeps putting her off. Because they keep saying that they will call her back in two days, so far it's been 3 weeks and no call from Ford. The were no sign of any problems before this incident.

Vehicle was parked for about 15 minutes when all of a sudden it caught fire on its own. Results showed that there was an electrical short with the cruise control switch.

1998 Ford Explorer caught on fire while parked. The vehicle fire caused damage to another vehicle as well as the consumer's home.

We have a 1998 Ford Explorer. On January 25th, 2005 o Explorer was parked in the driveway & had been there approximately 2 hours. Consumer's wife had put chidren in the car & noticed smoke coming from the hood. When she opened the hood there was a fire near the brake fluid assembly. Fortunately she was able to get children out and put out the fire. Had the Explorer towed to the Ford dealership for repairs. When I asked the dealer what could have caused a fire in the vehicle when it was not running they seemed to have no idea & said they had never heard of this problem before. The next night while watching the news saw the recall Ford had for later model vehicles due to the engine catching on fire. Iconsumer called Ford, and they told him thiscar did not qualify for the recall since it was a 1998 exlplorer even though the pictures on the news showing were the fire occured looked identical to the engine on this vehicle. Ford did not seem overly concerned & the dealer just told me to keep reciept in case they changed their mind about the recall. I took pictures of my engine if needed. Prior to the fire my cruise control stopped working. Repair cost was over $700. 00 plus rental car fee & towing expense. The cruise control swicth, brake fluid assembly, & hood insulation were replaced. Do not have the old parts.

While vehicle was parked for 2 hours, a fire started in the engine. The vehicle was totaled. The dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. Six to nine months prior to fire the cruise control stopped working. The insurance fire investigator determined the fire started in the cruise control.

Consumer had a 1998 Ford Explorer. It caught on fire under the hood. The only damage was to the cruise control sensor, and to the brake reservoir. A bystander saw the fire and was able to extinguish the fire. The local dealership said they had never seen this problem before. Consumer had contacted Ford, and was told because it was used and out of warranty that there was nothing they could do. The car was parked at approximately 7:30am ,and the fire started at approximately 11:45am. Consumer statesdthat they have only used the cruise control approximately three times since owning vehicle.

Consumer received recall 00v422000 notice concerning vehicle speed control. While cruise control is engaged at any speed and the brakes are depress vehicle will surge forward. The only way this problem won't occur is if the consumer puts the gear in neutral. This problem happened three times in the last eighteen months.

Consumer states that the electronic module attached to the cruise control assembly is defective. This causes the cruise control to engage at very low speeds when brakes are applied. Ph.

Problem with idle. Caused vehicle to stall 3 times in heavy traffic. Potential for accident.

Consumer was traveling about 75mph on highway and cruise control was set on 75. Mph. Was climbing up a hill, and cruise control continued to speed up. Consumer applied brakes and vehicle continued to speed up. Dealership was aware of problem. There were no injuries reported.

Received recall 99v062001 & contacted dealer. Took vehicle in for speed control repairs & had it done. Picked vehicle up & noticed cruise control failed to work like it should. Contacted dealer & was refused to correct problem.

Accelerator sticks. Went out of cruise control, vehicle just kept going and did not slow down. Throttle replaced. Dealer cannot remedy problem. Problem still exists. Provide further information.

Cruise control.

After cruise control shuts off from brake pedal or pushing the off button on steering column the accelerator pedal becomes stiff and difficult to depress it smoothly. This happens until the motor is turned off. I reported this problem, which seems very obvious to me, to freehold Ford. Their technician can't identify the problem.

Cruise control failed resulting in it not disengaging while braking causing a vehicle collision.