Ford Is Recalling More Vehicles Over Fire Problem

The Ford Windstar

Addressing concerns over fires, Ford is conducting a recall of 4.5 million vehicles in the United States equipped with speed control deactivation switches from Texas Instruments. The switches have already been the subject of six recalls.

Recalls began in 1999 and covered some 10 million Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles from 1992 to 2004.

This means that more than 14 million Ford vehicles have been recalled for this problem, a record number for a single problem, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The earlier recalls involved the Texas Instruments cruise-control deactivation switch, which was powered at all times and could develop a short circuit. That could cause a vehicle to catch fire even while it was parked and the ignition was off.

The agency issued a consumer advisory in February 2008 because vehicles were continuing to catch fire and in some cases were burning down garages.

These 4.5 million vehicles with the same switch were not part of those recalls because the switch wasn’t powered at all times. At the time, Ford and the agency said there was no evidence of a problem in those vehicles. The Center for Auto Safety was critical of both the automaker and the agency for not including them anyway.