Ford's recall of 3.6 million vehicles takes effect

Ford's recall of 3.6 million vehicles to fix faulty speed control deactivation switches begins today. The carmaker and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced the recall August 3 to alert owners that the switches could leak, overheat and cause fires under the hood.

The recall affects a number of models of cars and trucks built between 1992 and 2003 including the Town Car, Crown Victoria, Explorer and Grand Marquis, among others.

The switch is designed to turn off the cruise control when the driver steps on the brake. Even drivers who do not use the cruise control feature should have the part replaced.

Owner notification is slated to begin today and be completed by Sept. 19. In the notice, Ford advises owners of the trucks and sport utility vehicles to take their vehicle to a dealer immediately for installation of a replacement system.

Because there are not yet enough parts to repair all the cars, owners of those vehicles are being advised to go to the dealer immediately to have the switches disconnected. In October, when the replacement parts become available, car owners will be asked to return to the dealer for the repair.

A full list of the vehicles follows:

• 1993 Ford Bronco
• 1992-1997 Ford Crown Victoria
• 1992-1993 Ford E-150 - E-350
• 1997-2003 Ford E-150 - E-350
• 1999-2001 Ford Explorer
• 2001-2002 Ford Explorer Sport
• 2001-2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac
• 2003-2004 Ford F-150 Lightning
• 1995-2002 Ford F-53 Motorhome
• 1993 Ford F-Series
• 1998-2002 Ford Ranger
• 1993-1995 Ford Taurus SHO (automatic)
• 1993-1998 Lincoln Mark VIII
• 1992-1997 Lincoln Town Car
• 1994 Mercury Capri
• 1992-1997 Mercury Grand Marquis
• 1999-2001 Mercury Mountaineer

You can find more information on Ford's web site or NHTSA's site. Owners can also contact Ford at 800-392-3673.

For more news about cars and trucks, read our cars blog.

Comments

[Shirley Diggs]

My husband and I have a 2000 Lincoln Town Car. We traveled to Maryland and it was raining. All at once our windshield wipers quit and stood straight up. They would not come down and would not clear the rain off the windshield. We thought it was a fuse, but it wasn't. We had to drive all the way back to Virginia because it was on a holiday and we couldn't find anyone to look at it. I checked the internet for recalls on this vehicle and was told there was a recall with the same problem we had. We called the Ford service dealer in our area and he wanted the VIN number and said it didn't apply to our car, even though the recall said 2000-2004 Lincoln Town Cars. I called the Ford Motor Company and they told me the same thing. We put a new windshield wiper motor and it started working again. However, it didn't last long and again we have the same problem and the windshield wipers have done the same thing. Why would Ford Motor Company not cover all vehicles in these years that have the same problem when they do a recall? I think it is very poor customer service not to include all vehicles.

[Harold Graham]

Have a 1997 Lincoln Town Car which was recalled in July 07 with parts due in Nov. to fix to prevent possible fire. Dealerships of Ford are left with no harnesses to fix such. The small dealership I visited seemed good enough disconecting the Town Car speed control untill the harness in delivered. My Mother's neighbor brought in a Grand Maruis and they had to also disconnect horn.

THE PROBLEM: Cust. Sevice agents with the Motor Co. can only repeat what is on the recall web site. They "say" now the parts due last Nov. will be in during Feb. 08. Calling and talking to Rory of the Customer Care and finally to Guy Lyons the team leader, they know nothing more and can not get info to those who should be able to order and have parts delivered post haste. No disrepect, but FORD stock is lucky to be above $5/share. My wife has had a Town Car, Continental, and I an F-150. The wife now has a Lexis and I a Tahoe. AND WE ARE CURIOUS AS TO WHY THE AMERICAN CAR MAKERS ARE DYING.

[kenneth hughes]

ford cutomer service is a farce. they can not help and or worse yet they will not help... they say it is independent dealers and they have no control over the service or lack of service a dealership gives or doesn't give in recalls or anything else. buy toyota or nissan or mazda or chevy or dodge or anything but a ford product.

[kenneth hughes]

i got a recall because of the faulty speed control on my 2002 ford ranger. and so called the closest ford dealer quality motors in independence ks. on monday 8/20/07 asnd they said they could do it today and had the parts in stock. so i go to their dealership 94 miles round trip guess what? they did not have the part and even tho i had taken off work and driven the 94 miles they didn't kno when they would have it in. so i called ford service on the recall leter told them the same thing that had happened to me and they said that the service department should have at least discxonnected the cruise control to elinate the potential problem which they did not even do that. terrrible service terrible customer relations unscrupulous dealer.

[everett]

We bought a huffy bike made in china for our granddaughter. It was a little pink one with training wheels. Both tires went flat, I took them apart and both innertubes had holes in them. The holes were on the rim part, so it had to be bad rubber or something. I called Wal-Mart, where we bought it, and they say they are sending us two new innertubes. I patched the other tubes for 1.99 dollars and they seem to be holding up after about a week. We need to bring production back home to America, look at all the problems we are having with other countries making our things. They don't care about us and neither do the corporate American's who have this cheap labor make and sell us junk. Thank you.