Consumer Complaint Detail

FORD / EXPLORER / 1998

Recalls
0 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
Yes Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 006074292 Incident Date: Feb, 27 2006
Consumer's City: Consumer's State: MO
Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO Manufacturers Name: Ford Motor Company
Model Name: EXPLORER Model Year: 1998
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Component's Description: Vehicle speed control:cruise control
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: Yes Persons Injured: 0
Vehicle's VIN#: 1FMZU35P8WU Date added to File: May, 23 2021
Date Complaint Received: Aug, 05 2006 Complaint Type: IVOQ
Incident Reported To Police: Yes Purchase Date: Apr, 23 2002
Was Original Owner: No Anti-lock Brakes: Yes
Number of Cylinders: 0 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: Ford explorer 1998 date 8-3-06 i have had this car for three years. i have never had any major or minor problems. i have regular required maintenance done (example) fluid changes and brakes. early february. i noticed around november 2005, my cruise control stopped working. i didn't take it to be checked; i didn't think it was a big issue. i noticed when starting my car, the battery sounded weak. i took the car to ntb to have the battery checked. the battery was bad and was replaced with the exide 72 month battery. i had never the battery replaced. ntb installed the new battery on february 5, 2006. i drive this car to and from work regularly, about 12 miles. on february 28, 2006, leaving work heading home, i stopped at the grocery store about 1 mile from my house. i left the store and went home. after turning the engine off approximately 5 minutes later standing on my porch, i noticed heavy white smoke coming from under my hood behind the battery area. i ran to my car and opened the door and released the hood. when i raised the hood, i saw the heavy smoke coming from what appeared to be near the wiring in front of the master cylinder. i ran in the house to call 911 and get a fire extinguisher. when i went back to the car under hood area was fully involved in flames. the fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. after hearing and reading the reports about the cruise control switch, i really think this is exactly what happened to my vehicle. *jb