All About Japan Autos

It was the largest recall in automotive history — but it may not have been enough.

“About 8.4 million Ford vehicles that can possibly catch fire remain on the road because of lack of owner information,” reports Automotive News (subscription required).

“The vehicles are the remainder of a 14 million-unit recall that covered 1993-2003 F-Series pickups, 1995-2003 Windstars, 1995-2002 Explorers and 1995-2003 Rangers that were built with faulty cruise control units,” writes Autoblog. “The units could leak onto the vehicles’ anti-lock brake system and cause a fire even if the vehicle is off.”

The fact that the fire can occur even though the vehicle is off is key. As we reported on the Ford recall, some consumers assumed their cars were fine because their cruise control worked. But, some cars caught fire while they were parked in their owners’ garages – leading to house fires.

According to Automotive News, “about 60 percent of the 14 million recalled vehicles — or 8.4 million – have not been brought in for repair by owners.” It is common that 30% of recalled vehicles are not fixed.

“Ford says that it has done its best to notify owners of the problem multiple times and NHTSA agrees that the company’s efforts have been adequate,” says Autoblog. “Unfortunately, many of the current owners may have bought the recalled vehicles used and thus may not even know that there’s a potential problem.”

This incident highlights the extra homework that used car buyers need to do. Prior to buying a used car, visit safercar.gov to see if the car you’re considering has been recalled. If it has been recalled, make sure that the problem that lead to the recall has been fixed before you buy.

If you think you may own an affected but unfixed Ford, you need to make sure the cruise control unit has been repaired. The NHTSA recall campaign number is 09V399000 and the Ford recall number is 09S09. You can contact Ford at 1-888-222-2751 or NHTSA at 1-888-327-4236. Even if you are not the original owner of the car, Ford will fix this problem for free. Ford should have a record of cars that have been repaired, so determining if your vehicle is at risk shouldn’t be hard.

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