Ford Recalls Another 4.5M Vehicles Over Fire Hazard

Faulty switch linked to decade-long problems

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 13, 2009 4:33 PM CDT

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Ford Recalls Another 4.5M Vehicles Over Fire Hazard — FILE - In this April 25, 2007 file photo, the Ford oval is seen on the grille of a new truck for sale in Hayward, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, file)

Ford today made 4.5 million vehicles eligible for what is already its biggest recall ever. The move involves a faulty switch, an automatic cruise control deactivator made by Texas Instruments, that has been linked to at least 550 fires, mostly while the vehicles were turned off. Ford has now recalled 14 million vehicles over the last 10 years because of the problem.

The 4.5 million vehicles added today include 1.1 million 1995-2003 Windstars, along with Explorers, Econoline vans, and Super Duty Trucks. Ford’s safety analysis decided that only the Windstars were at risk for fires, but the company decided to include the other vehicles to head off consumer concerns, the Detroit News reports.
(More Ford stories.)

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