1998 Ford Expedition: adaptive cruise control problems

Filed Apr 19, 2012 · Acceleration · 202,000 miles · CA · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 1998 ford expedition. While parked, the vehicle became engulfed in flames. The fire department was called and a report was filed. The fire department stated that the fire was caused by a short in the cruise control switch. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 202,000.

Filed Jan 28, 2010 · Electrical, Engine · 169,000 miles · MI

First, the interior lights and running lights would not power off while all doors were closed, door ajar indicator was on. Took to dealer problem resolved for a month or so. Now need to spray wd40 on latches religiously. Dealer also replaced cruise control harness at this time. Then came the radio and heater running with the key out of the ignition. Beeps and clicks and bad smells coming from under dash. Again to the dealer, no codes found for the issues I was having. Battery draining occurring frequently now and no resolution. I now have to disconnect the battery everynight. Now when I drive down the road I get the many failure lights flashing on the dash, the windows won't work, speedometer fails, truck loses power and the transmisson shifts strangely. I was hours from home and doing 70mph on the highway when evidencing decided to not work at the same time. Then I realize that this is occurring only when it rains or is very wet out. And I was truly afraid for my life and the others that were on the road with me. I had to drift across a lane of traffic with no power to get to the side of the road. I put the truck in park and put my head down, whew, and the motor powered back up and all the failure lights were off. Only after investigating on the internet today do I find out this is a common problem. And the fix... Replace the windshield seal! And possible damaged fuse box and gem! Now why didn't the ford dealer help remedy this problem one of the many times I was in? This problem has been occurring for several years. New windshield $165 and they come to the house. I paid big money for "no codes match your issues, miss." tw*

Filed Mar 12, 2008 · Acceleration · OK

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 ford expedition. The contact received a recall notice for the federal safety agency campaign id number 05v388000 (vehicle speed control). The dealer stated that if the recall was from 2005, they would not repair the vehicle. They further stated that the most they could do was deactivate the cruise control. There had been no failure to date. The purchase date was unknown. The current mileage was 160,000.

Filed Mar 7, 2008 · Acceleration · 180,000 miles · MN · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 ford expedition. The vehicle caught fire while idling and was completely destroyed. An investigator from fire forensics stated that the fire originated from the cruise control switch. Ford stated that they sent the recall notice to the original owner and could not provide her with any further assistance. A police report was filed. The contact filed a formal complaint with the manufacturer. She still has possession of the vehicle. The powertrain and recall number were unknown. The failure and current mileages were 180,000.

Filed Oct 9, 2007 · Acceleration · 150,000 miles · CA · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 ford expedition. The contact stated that the vehicle caught fire under the hood. The insurance investigator stated that a cruise control device caused the failure. There is a recall for the vehicle speed control (the federal safety agency campaign id # 00v422000). The contact felt that his vehicle should be included. As of october 9, 2007, the dealer had not inspected the vehicle. The current and failure mileages were 125,000.

Filed Aug 16, 2007 · Acceleration · 150,000 miles · FL

The cruise control deactivation switch in my 1997 expedition shorted out and failed earlier this year, causing my wife to drive without brake lights and further causing the vehicle to become undrivable due to the inability to place the vehicle in gear. I discovered today that this vehicle was subject to a safety recall 05v‑388 on this issue in september 2005. I received no notification from ford on this recall. I called ford motor company today to check on this recall, and they refused to address the issue or even confirm that my vehicle was involved in the recall. I own two other ford vehicles that may be subject to the recall, a 1995 f150 and a 1998 crown victoria and I am not able to determine if they are subject to the recall.

Filed Jan 31, 2007 · Acceleration · 90,000 miles · NY

Tl*- the contact received a recall 05v38800) in the mail. Regarding vehicle speed control:cruise control. The recall was honored at the dealer. The contact believed that it was ford's responsibility to warn the consumers that the brake fluid could be lost through a defective switch, which could cause a crash. *ak the consumer stated the cruise control switch was never replaced under recall, only a fuse line was added to the switch. The consumer was never told that the brake fluid could leak through the defective switch. Updated 03/19/07.

Filed Aug 16, 2006 · Acceleration · VA

When vehicle was in cruise control, it could not be deactivated by brake pedal. This occurred after the "cruise control" recall work was performed on the vehicle. Additionally, the brake lamp lights are now out and the vehicle cannot be shifted out of park. (this appears to be the same defect as the recall for the 2001 ford taurus, but does not seem to apply to the 1998 ford expedition).

Filed Mar 9, 2006 · Acceleration, Transmission · 79,000 miles · CA

1998 expedition cruise control was disconnected. When it was reconnected there was a sudden vibration. *ts the consumer was informed of a recall on the cruise control in september 2005 and had it disconnected while waiting to have it fixed. On december 28, 2005 the cruise control was reconnected but wasn't use until january 2006. When it was finally used there was a vibration. The vehicle was parked and the consumer observed fluid leaking onto the driveway. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that there was no was that the vibration was connected to the recall work. The vehicle was taken to the consumer's regular mechanic who determined that the transfer case bushing was damaged along with the driveline and transfer case. All parts had to be replaced.

Filed Mar 2, 2006 · Acceleration · 110,812 miles · AL

Dt*: the contact stated there is currently not a problem with the vehicle. However, there is a the federal safety agency recall, #05v388000 on the vehicle regarding the vehicle speed control cruise control. The parts needed to repair their vehicle are not available at their local dealership. The manufacturer confirmed the parts are not available. The manufacturer was alerted.

Filed Oct 17, 2005 · Acceleration · 62,700 miles · AL

Dt: the contact states received the federal safety agency recall notice 05v017000. Vehicle is a 1998 ford expedition. The contact called local dealership and tried to arrange for recall work to be done. The dealership said that ford would be sending him another letter, to wait for the part to come in around november. The dealership would not make an attempt to put the contact on the call list for the part. The contact has been on the phone with ford motor company, they said that there was no additional letters coming in the mail. Ford said that he should wait for the dealer to contact him, then ,hung up on the contact . No one was interested in fixing the recall part. Luckily he knew that was to be disconnected, so he did himself. The problem seemed to be getting the contact on the waiting list for the part. The contact was on the phone trying to get through to fords cruise control switch task force, and the number for ford kept repeating the options for the contact. The contact tried to get through for almost twenty minutes. Then the contact called back three different times.

Filed Aug 29, 2005 · Acceleration · IN · fire

Dt: owner's vehicle caught on fire while sitting in the driveway on thursday for about 5-10 minutes. The owner heard the horn honking and went outside to see that the vehicle was in flames. The fire was more concentrated in the driver's side near the windshield in the engine compartment. The owner called 911 and by the time the fire department got there the truck was engulfed in flames. The fire took about 10 minutes to extinguish. The vehicle was totaled. There was a fire investigation and the fire investigator said he knew what caused the fire ,and that he was still preparing the report. There was no police report. The fire investigator said the fire was caused by the cruise control switch. There was damage to a pop up camper that was located next to vehicle. Also, there was damage to the siding on the house and the gutters. There was some damage to the landscape timbers and some mulch and flowers were burned as well. The driveway was full of debris. The vehicle was towed to a towing company. The insurance company will come and take it to their agency storage location. The insurance company has been contacted, but the owner was unaware of whether the insurance company will conduct an investigation. The owner did not have the address, but did have the dealer's identification number which was listed in dealer information.