Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | ||||||
| PE10033 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 08/23/2010 | 07/15/2011 | Engine Stalling | ||
| The subject vehicles suffered from a design issue whereby water could run down onto the cowling under the hood and located in the area of the windshield wipers and then drip onto a computer module, the powertrain control module (pcm), which could be manifested in a variety of symptoms depending on which part of the circuit board became wet or which of the connector pins shorted out.in addition to causing an engine to stall, which may or may not then restart, the water intrusion could also cause the transmission to shift poorly, the vehicle to have erratic power, a malfunction indicator light to come on, or result in an inability to start the vehicle, an inability to shift the vehicle into either forward or reverse. also the problem could cause a higher than normal idle rpm in park, or for the radio to malfunction, or the interior lights to stay on.during this investigation odi was concerned with the effect of the engine stalling or a drastic and sudden loss of power either of which may create a safety risk.in reviewing the actual number of these types of incidents, collectively referred to here as engine stalls, the number was found to be below what would be considered a defect trend.for example, the number of engine stalls identified in ford's warranty claims for the model year (my) 2004 subject vehicles, the my with the most failures, was 200 out of population of 125,865, for a failure rate of 0.16%.the one crash recorded by a complainant to nhtsa, voq 10311522, alleged that the engine stalled, due to water intrusion into the pcm, while the road was turning causing her to go off the road and according to the police report the vehicle then hit an embankment and a tree stump. ford reported in their response that there were three alleged crashes but none of these were validated as being caused by a problem with water intrusion into the pcm causing a stall.accordingly this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will continue to monitor complaints and other information relating to the alleged defect in the subject vehicles and take further action in the future if warranted. | ||||||
| PE10033 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 08/23/2010 | Engine stalling | |||
| This preliminary evaluation (pe) is being opened based on information obtained during the investigation dp09-004, which was specifically related to model year (my) 2004 ford freestar vehicles.the manufacturer's numbers presented on the failure report of the opening of this pe are for my 2004 ford freestar vehicles only, the odi number represents 15 my 2004 complaints and 12 my 2005 complaints; the scope of this pe investigation for my 2004 to 2007 freestars and montereys is based on complaints received to odi and on ford's technical service bulletin tsb 06-14-10. the one crash noted is for a my freestar, voq #10311522.this pe has been opened to assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety-related consequences of the alleged defect. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | |||
| 08/28/2011 | 17000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 mercury monterey. the contact was driving approximately 25 mph when the vehicle suddenly accelerates. the contact depressed the brakes but the vehicle would not respond. after utilizing the parking brake, the vehicle stalled. the vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostics. the technician stated that water had entered the wiring of the computer system and caused the failure. the technician dried the wiring but the failure recurred. the vehicle was towed to the dealer again, where the technicians replaced the computer but the contact continued to experience the failure. there was also a failure with the rear passenger side sliding door, which would sporadically open with the vehicle parked and the key removed from the ignition. in addition, the fuel level gauge displayed an inaccurate amount of fuel and all of the instrument panel lights were illuminated. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 17,000. kmj | |||
| 08/28/2011 | 17000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 mercury monterey. while driving at approximately 25 mph the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own . the contact depressed the brake pedal but stated the brakes would not respond. after applying the parking brake the vehicle stalled. the vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic. the technician stated water had entered the wiring of the computer system causing the failure. the technician dried the wiring. the failure occurred a second time and was towed to the dealer. the technicians replaced the computer but the contact continued to experience the failure. there was also a failure with the rear passenger side sliding door which opened on its own while parked with the key out of the ignition. the contact stated the fuel gauge had displayed the inaccurate amount of fuel and the all of instrument panel lights had illuminated. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 17,000. ds | |||