2008 Ford Escape: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Sep 6, 2013 · Electrical · 123,543 miles · AZ · fire

I was awake sitting at my dinning room table, I smelt something (burnt rubber) so I check all room in the house. I walk outside and saw smoke coming out from my ford escape that was park. I woke my kids, called the fire department and grabbed the water hose. Once the fire fighters were on the scene, they opened the driver door, smoke exited the doors exposing oxygen causing some flickering of the flame to start. Water was discharged onto the smoldering interior of the vehicle & cooling down ignition of dash area (radio is located). The heat was so hot that it cracked front windshield, melted all plastic frame inside the vehicle (middle area near radio & shift gear) and blacken all the windows. Once fire was under control, fire fighter stated it was an electrical wire. Battery cable was also cut to prevent any deployment of the air bags. But then I was in shock just thinking omg! I was driving the vehicle to work all week and park it later that night. Today I still don't know the electrical fire started, very puzzling because the vehicle was not running and there are no recalls from ford dealer on this model. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough money to pay for my vehicle insurance for another month so there fore am stuck with the bill. I bought the use vehicle at drive time in phoenix arizona and the finance company has nothing to do with my situation but for me to pay the vehicle off. Like I said I still don't know the exact cause of the fire expect it was cause by wiring. I could see the v shape outline of where the fire started. Not only that but I had problems with the ignition, I had to turn the key all the way around in order for the vehicle to start (no recalls)? I am still sad by all of this but very thankful that no one was driving the vehicle......who knows what could have happened?

Filed Mar 2, 2013 · Electrical, Seats · 68,000 miles · TX · fire

I turned on my seat warmer on driver's seat and heater, within a minute or so smoke started coming out bottom part of control panel where it meets the console. The smoke got worse. I was in the middle lane of heavy traffic and had a difficult time getting over to turn off and get stopped. By this time the smoke was quite bad (had electrical smell) I had all windows down & sun roof open. The car alarm went off, the heater would not turn off. I finally got stopped and got out of the vehicle. A lady pulled in to the church parking area where I was and called 911 for me. By this time you could see actual fire (flames) coming from the same spot as smoke. It was amazing how quickly it was in flames. The vehicle blew up. The fire department arrived in time to put out the fire. The only thing left is the metal shell and the tires. Nothing in the interior. All windows and sunroof blew out. Bumpers, lights, tail lights melted. Thanks ford.

Filed Dec 2, 2010 · Electrical, Engine · 46,843 miles · CA · fire

Car burned down to the frame. Turned the car on it started to smell like something was burning. Smoke and fire started coming out of the A/C vents. The contact left the vehicle immediately and it went up in flames. After speaking with the police and firemen and they had a chance to look at the remains of the car once the fire was put out, the best conclusion they could come up with as to what happened was some sort of electrical fuse malfunction. Updated 12/20/10 * bf the fire originated within the passenger compartment and then advanced into the engine compartment. The exact cause of the fire could not be determined. Updated 12/27/10

Filed Feb 5, 2010 · Electrical · 46,500 miles · NY

Defect in vehicle wiring harness - my car has been at the dealership for repairs since 01/30/2010. The dealership stated my vehicle was not safe to drive due to the wires corroding and causing mechanical failures on this vehicle. The dealership had ordered the new wiring system as an emergency "order" on 01/30/2010 but due to this being such an overwhelming issue ford cant keep up with the demand for the replacement parts ! This is a 2008 ford escape 4x4, I should not being experiencing any problems with a new vehicle that only has 46 thousand miles on it. Of course nothing is covered under warranty when your wires corrode and catch fire. The damages so far are around $800.00. My son and I both smelled something burning from the truck but couldn't locate the source of the smell. Once in the ford dealership I was told it was the wiring that had corroded due to road salt and that this is a very common occurrence and that they are hoping for a recall due to the volume. Unfortunately for me this will be all out of pocket expenses. Being told that this is a "notorious" issue does not ease my mind when the safety of myself and my children were at risk !!

Filed Nov 20, 2009 · Electrical · 10,000 miles · AL · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. While driving flames erupted from the instrument control panel. The fire department extinguished the flames. The fire inspector concluded that the failure was caused by an electrical failure. The vehicle was completely destroyed. The failure and current mileages were under 10,000.

Filed Jan 26, 2009 · 12,000 miles · VA · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. While the vehicle was parked in the garage, the contact noticed smoke coming from the garage door. Upon further inspection, she noticed huge flames underneath the vehicle. The vehicle exploded and the back of the house and the garage door were blown away as a result. Prior to the failure, the vehicle had not been driven for two days and displayed no signs of failure. The fire department was called and extinguished the flames. The home and the vehicle were destroyed. There were no injuries. The insurance company inspected the vehicle and stated that the cause of the failure was unknown. The manufacturer stated that they would forward the complaint to their attorney and call the contact back with an update. The failure mileage was 12,000.