Recalls


CampaignManufacturerManufacturing dateType# of units affectedDate Owner notified MfgRecall Initiated byManufacturers of recalled vehicles/productsReport Recieved DateRecord Creation DateRegulation Part NumberFMVSS Number
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION
96V071000FORD MOTOR COMPANYfrom 08/01/1987 to 09/30/1992V (Vehicle)790000006/07/1996ODIFORD MOTOR COMPANY04/25/199605/01/1996
Defect SummaryThe ignition switch could experience an internal short circuit.
Consequence SummaryThis condition could cause overheating, smoke, and possibly fire in the steering column area of the vehicle.
Corrective SummaryDealers will replace the ignition switch.
NotesSystem: electrical; ignition switch. vehicle description: passenger and multi-purpose vehicles and light duty trucks. note: owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time, should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673. also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-800-424-9393.

Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
9824612/07/1998604059Ford motor company has released a new electrical grease ( f8az - 19g208-aa ) to reduce the possibility of moisture corrosion at the terminals. *yc03/16/1999
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY
9591205/01/199542085Unknown11/01/1995
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING
9922210/18/19996089681Subject on a wire harness terminal repair kit available for repairing electrical wiring harnesses. *tt02/11/2000
9624611/18/199650905Wiring - electrical diode identification and service replacements. *tw06/17/1997

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
11/23/20041
 While the vehicle was parked it caught on fire. the fire department extinguished the fire, and the vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection. the cause has not been determined.*ak
04/14/20031
 The fuse box melted over the battery cable, which almost caused a fire. *jb
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR
05/02/2002
 Vehicle has had four alternators replaced, and twice alternator had caught on fire. contacted dealer, and the dealer will be replaced, but remedy was not working.*aki
07/12/2001404/01/1990
 For over 20 years i have been an niase & ase master auto and master medium & heavy duty truck mechanic. as i am sure you are aware, ford has a serious design problem with alternators such as the one used on the model year mentioned in this complaint. starting just after my original manufacturer warranty ran out, my alternator caught fire. i was able to extinguish the fire before extensive damage occurred. i carry a fire extinguisher on board. i repaired the fire damage and replaced the alternator with a rebuilt unit. between then and now, i have had three more alternator fires. each time i was able to extinguish the fire before extensive damage resulted. each time i made repairs bringing the vehicle back to oem condition and installed another rebuilt alternator. two of the four fires, i was able to determine without doubt that the fire started inside the alternator and not in the wiring harness plug. in addition, i have seen numerous other ford alternator fires. i guess this time was the straw that broke the camels back and compelled me to make this report to you. ford really needs to take responsibility and come out with a recall to rectify this hazard to motorists. as i said before, i'm sure you are aware of this issue. however, if you are not, contact any parts house or ford mechanic and i'm sure you will get an earful. i can't imagine how many burn jobs the insurance industry has to absorb not to mention the poor guy without full coverage. i hope this information proves to be useful to you in obtaining a beneficial resolution for the consumer. please feel free to contact me if you desire additional information.*ak
08/24/1996101/01/1993
 Alternator shorted, causing fire.
08/28/1991
 The wire connected to the alternator had melted. smoke was noticed, coming from under the hood. four alternators have been replaced.
07/02/1996109/30/1998
 While driving, the alternator harness plug overheated and caused the alternator to catch on fire.*ak consumer states as he was drivi8ng he smelled something burning, he pulled over and raised the hood and saw smoke coming from tha alternator, consumer put out the fire and disconnected the battery cable, the harness plug was melted, consumer also had alternator replaced and also purchased a harness plug.*jb
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS
03/15/2001102/01/1997
 Back in late march'01 i lost my turn signals/ back brake lights,and when i would put on my brakes, the instrument panel would light up and outside marker lights would come on.then in march '01 i kept blowing fuses for my turn signals,lost brake lights,turn signal on driverside rear wont work and then smoke came out of my steering column, and now dont have cruise control. never received recall notice .somebody told me to check to see about a recall,they had heard about thank you for your time . hope we can resolve problem. steve. *ak
06/06/199905/25/1999
 A short circuit within the wiring harness has caused the horn to become inoperable. the parking brake cable wore through the wiring harness and shorted out the horn/speed control/cigarette lighter circuit. short located and repaired by local repair shop. *ak *ml
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION
05/23/20011
 Vehicle was taken to dealer for recall repair 96v071, consumer had not received the notice until now due to it being sent to an incorrect address, during recall repair a mechanic broke an actuator rod in the steering column and locked up the shifting of the transmission, consumer was charged for the labor costs and is requesting reimbursement. *slc
02/10/199012/01/1988
 After about two years of ownership, vehicle started dying for no apparent reason while slowing down, like coming into a stop sign. this caused loss of control ( steering and brakes) and as this is a heavy vehicle, i won't allow my wife to drive it. have tried tuneups, etc. to no avail. *ak
2
 Tfi module failed causing vehicle stalling.
12/26/199706/23/1997
 Ignition switch shorted and created a fire that burned the interior of the vehicle. vehicle was parked and not running at time.
05/26/19971
 Ignition wiring caught fire.
1
 Ignition switch failed.
09/05/19951
 Ignition switch failed prior to recall notice.
02/18/1997
 Owner received recall notice (#96v071000); problem not ignition but w/rod which a screwdriver can be used to push & start vehicle & also not very stable & can break w/pressure. wants rod fixed, not ignition. *ak
 After having the recall work done,the vehicle sometimes will not start. recall#96vo71000. please describe. *ak
 Ignition when turned on starts, truck continuously not stopping when is started. solenoids and several starters burned out. please describe details.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - MODULE
107/01/1995
 Electronic engine control processor failed, causing vehicle to stall.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - SWITCH
01/04/2000106/01/1989
 We replaced engine on 5/13/98 ,ign.cyl1/04steering col1/04/00fueltank&seng unit1/10/00 we did not know these items were onrecall what can we do to get our money back? safty was our concern with our kids can you help us pep boys did all the work for us. i have receipts for all work done. thank you
10/10/1998
 Manufacturer's recall repairs done on ignition switch on 27 jul 97 and 10 oct 98, vehicle had under hood fire. consumer believed this was caused by mfr. recall failure. asking nhtsa help in this matter. *ak *yc
09/06/19962
 Ignition switch wiring shorted out and burned.
 Recall 96v071000; ford manufacturer did not sent recall notice to owner and have not responded to the vehicle catching fire because of recall. *ak
01/20/19941
 Vehicle fire due to short circuit in the ignition switch prior to recall.
11/08/19941
 The truck started to smoke behind steering wheel and caught fire, destroying vehicle. the owners were not aware of the recall on this vehicle's ignition switch which was the cause of fires. the owner wants to be reimbursed for loss.
01/11/1997
 Took vehicle to dealer, they replaced ignition switch. took vehicle home and the ignition was broken. dealer said that this is what happens when one replaces new parts with old ones. *ak
10/04/1996102/10/1989
 Ignition switch fire.
07/12/1996110/28/1988
 Ignition switch shorted, causing fire. *dh
109/01/1988
 Made an appointment ten days before, on that day consumer took vehicle to dealer, dealer couldn't fix truck beacuse other people came in, recall # 96v071000, the eletrical ignition switch . *ak *slc
03/03/19963
 Ignition switch shorted, causing fire. *dsh
12/13/1995
 Vehicle was parked, electrical short, fire started under the dash around the steering column. *ak
04/28/1996
 Drove vehicle to sister's, got back inside of vehicle and started it, smelled smoke, pulled off road, smoke came from dash and burst into flames. *ak
02/26/1996
 Driving the vehicle, lost control of vehicle, under the hood fire, electrical short . *ak
04/19/1996
 While driving, vehicle caught on fire under the truck. please describe. *ak
01/14/19954
 Ignition switch caught fire. *skd
01/01/19941
 Ignition switch failure, causing vehicle to stall/starting problems. *ak
01/14/19951
 Electrical fire caused by ignition switch overheating. *ak
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING
03/17/1996
 Electrical system compartment fire caused by a short in the wiring harness. 8ak
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - FRONT UNDERHOOD
09/11/2001201/01/2092
 I am afraid to fix the truck this time because it could burn down my house or cause a accident. mr
03/11/2000
 While driving on the highway, traveling 65mph, heard a loud bang that shook the vehicle. pulled over, could see smoke coming out of the hood. opened the hood, and saw the wires coming out of the alternator were on fire. contacted the dealer. *ak
12/16/19981
 While getting into the vehicle and starting it up, the vehicle caught on fire under the hood. the consumer put out the fire, and the fire kept starting back up until the consumer was able to put out the fire. battery had to be disconnected to keep wiring harness from reigniting. this fire was a result of a very poorly designed quick disconnect type connection between harness and alternator. *ak
01/10/1997
 Vehicle fire originated under the hood due to an electrical short, vehicle was parked for a period of months. *ak
12/27/1995
 Vehicle was parked, under the hood engine compartment fire, had driven the vehcile and refueled. *ak
12/27/19951
 Vehicle was parked, under the hood engine compartment fire, had driven the vehicle and refueled. *ak *jb
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - INTERIOR/UNDER DASH
03/15/2001102/01/1997
 Back in late march'01 i lost my turn signals/ back brake lights,and when i would put on my brakes, the instrument panel would light up and outside marker lights would come on.then in march '01 i kept blowing fuses for my turn signals,lost brake lights,turn signal on driverside rear wont work and then smoke came out of my steering column, and now dont have cruise control. never received recall notice .somebody told me to check to see about a recall,they had heard about thank you for your time . hope we can resolve problem. steve. *ak
10/22/1996
 While parked an electrical short caused the vehicle to catch on fire in the dash area. *ak
10/18/1996
 Driving down highway approximately 55 mph hit bump in highway, saw flames coming from dash, pulled off highway and cut wires to keep truck from totally catching fire. *ak
11/01/19881
 Wiring under dash caused fire. *dsh
 Fire started in dashboard while parked overnight. please describe details. *ak
02/18/19951
 Electrical fire in the dash board. tt