Ford Explorer Sport fire or smoke problems

Filed Apr 24, 2014 · Body, Engine · 103,000 miles · CA · fire

Was driving the vehicle when I noticed smoke coming out from under the hood. I pulled over as quick as possible into a strip mall parking lot. Before I got out flames were coming out of the engine compartment. I ran into a store and got a fire extinguisher to try and put out the fire. I failed, as the whole front of the explorer was in flames as well as the interior. The vehicle is a total loss. The fire department put it out. I had the vehicle for 7 weeks. The used dealer will not take any responsibility. Should they? I purchased the vehicle on mar. 3,2014 at oc auto expo in westminster, ca.

Filed Dec 16, 2011 · Engine · 126,000 miles · PA · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford explorer sport. The contacted was driving 35 MPH when white smoke emitted from the fender of the vehicle. The contact exited the vehicle and discovered flames were coming from under the hood. The vehicle was destroyed. The police and fire departments were contacted and reports were filed. The failure caused no injuries. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer and the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and the current mileages were 126,000.

Filed Jul 18, 2011 · Seats · 175,000 miles · PA · fire

1997 ford explorer and began to back out of my parents driveway on the way to work. I used the electrical seat mover button to move my seat back a few inches and within only 10 seconds smoke was in my face. I jumped out of the car, turned the car off, and ran in my house. I got water to try and extinguish the smoke and opened my back door and looked under the seat and there was intense sparking which turned into flames and within minutes my entire vehicle was engulfed in flames. Fire and police came and extinguished it after flames reached about 20 feet. There was property damage, with along losing the entire vehicle (engine was somehow in fine shape), but luckily, it happened when I was in my driveway and not on the highway as I am alive. I sent ford 40 pictures, police report, video of the incident that we caught, title of vehicle, etc. It has caused me an incredible inconvenience in my life, I now walk a mile to a subway station which takes me to a train station which then gets me to work. Knowing it was an older car, but a popular one at that, I figured that ford would reimburse me with a used car and the property damage, especially given how lucky that no death or injuries resulted. They informed today they wouldn't give me a dime because they don't deem that a defect through their analysis (though the car sits like a toxic wasteland in my driveway with no one from ford even inspecting it). They came to their decision within one day of having my materials.

Filed Sep 6, 2010 · Electrical · 63,000 miles · ND

Smoke coming out of steering column when turn signal engaged. Took to dealer and told ignition switch had signs of a hot point and was melting. Had ignition switch replaced at a service station, however, they said they saw no visible signs of damage.

Filed Apr 4, 2010 · Electrical, Engine · 110,000 miles · CA · fire

Vehicle caught fire. Vehicle was not running at the time. Vehicle destroyed by fire.

Filed Aug 20, 2009 · Steering · TX

Smoke coming from steering column while driving on freeway,also when signal is activated . This is the fourth time. Have not seen any recalls of this matter.

Filed Jul 20, 2009 · Acceleration, Brakes · 132,000 miles · TN · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 ford explorer sport. The contact stated that the tail lights failed and the fuses would continuously blow out. An independent mechanic installed new fuses in the vehicle and made the necessary repairs, but the fuses blew out again the same day. The vehicle was taken back to the mechanic. While at the repair shop, the vehicle caught fire due to the master cylinder. The mechanic was able to extinguish the fire, but the vehicle was partially destroyed and would need to be rebuilt. The manufacturer stated that there were three open recalls, one of which could result in a fire. The federal safety agency campaign id numbers 06v286000, 03v281000, and 98v060000 were referenced. The current and failure mileages were less than 132,000.

Filed Apr 24, 2009 · Fuel system · 95,000 miles · IA · fire

Tl*- the contact owns a 1997 ford explorer sport. While traveling 30 MPH she smelled something burning in the vehicle. She then saw a bit of smoke coming from under the hood of the vehicle. She pulled the vehicle over and a person came up to the vehicle and advised her to get out of the vehicle because the vehicle was on fire. Another person approached the scene with a fire extinguisher, but by this time the flames coming out from under the hood. They used up the entire fire extinguisher, but could not put the fire out. The tires exploded and all of the windows blew out. The fire department came, they tried to put out the fire, but there wasn't enough water pressure by the time the second fire truck came out the fire was very close to the gasoline tank. Luckily they were able to put the fire out before it got to the gas tank, but the thing that is left of the vehicle is the metal frame. She has not yet called ford, but believes this is a manufacturing defect. There were no injuries sustained. The damages were so severe they were unable to tell what caused the fire. All she knew was that the fire started underneath the hood of the vehicle on the driver side. The vehicle had been very well maintained and she doesn't know what triggered the fire. She never received any sort of recall notice. The current and failure mileage was 95,000. Updated 5/18/09 *cn according to the fire inspector, a fuel to the left side of the engine from return hose was the cause of the fire. Updated 05/20/09

Filed Jan 15, 2009 · Engine · 158,000 miles · TX · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 ford explorer sport. The vehicle caught fire while parked. The police and fire departments were notified. The entire front end of the vehicle was engulfed in flames and damaged. The vehicle was towed to an impound. The dealer stated that the vehicle was not on fire when they disconnected the cruise control. There was no power running through the vehicle. The vehicle has not yet been diagnosed. A police report was filed. The failure and current mileages were 158,000.

Filed Jan 24, 2008 · Acceleration · 107,000 miles · GA · fire

2001 ford explorer sport spontaneously caught fire in engine compartment while parked in garage attached to my home. Vehicle was moved to driveway and fire extinguished. Ford dealer admitted to recall of defective cruise control switch which was the origination point of fire. Was advised to file claim with my auto insurance company to speed up repairs and ensure that claim was subrogation to ford for reimbursement. Vehicle repaired, now ford will not take claim without proof of cause of fire. This would require my insurance company to hire an engineer. Not cost effective for insurance company, not to mention the fact that the vehicle was repaired over 3 months ago. I am out my deductible and my insurance company is out the remainder of the repairs, even though ford knows this was a faulty part.