1994 Ford Explorer: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Jul 18, 2014 · Fuel system · 190,000 miles · NC · fire · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owns a 1994 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, an odor of gasoline fumes emitted inside of the vehicle and the engine warning light illuminated. In addition, there was smoke coming from under the hood. The contact experienced bronchial health issues that required medical attention as a result from inhaling the fumes. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, who diagnosed that the fuel line needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 190,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Filed Feb 13, 2012 · Acceleration, Engine · TX · fire

My tenant's vehicle - a 1994 ford explorer - spontaneously caught fire while parked in my property's garage in the middle of the night. The fire department was able to extinguish the flames and determined that the cause of the fire was the car itself - likely a faulty cruise control valve according to them. The insurance company will conduct its own investigation.

Filed Jan 29, 2011 · Acceleration, Body · 286,000 miles · TX · fire

While driving I turned on air conditioner and immediately light smoke began out of air conditioning vents and then the next moment the smoke was extremely heavy out of the vents and then visible fire underneath front passenger side dashboard. I immediately pulled the vehicle off the side of the road and exited, 10 minutes later it was fully engulfed in flames.

Filed Jan 5, 2011 · Electrical · 185,876 miles · IA · fire

1994 ford explorer had smoke coming out of the air-conditioner vents into the passenger compartment, slight at first, then so heavy that forward visibility was obscured. After stopping the vehicle, a small fire was seen burning the plastic evaporator cover where the blower motor resistor assembly is mounted in the evaporator cover. Some snow thrown on the fire put it out. The blower motor appears to be shorted or maybe jammed from rotating, causing the resistor to get hotter than normal, igniting the plastic cover. Maybe leaves or other flammable debris contacted the resistor, but I can't tell as the flames burned up anything in the area around the resistor assembly. Fortunately, I was able to bring the vehicle to a safe stop, in spite of very limited visibility in the heavy smoke. I was on a slow speed, low traffic city street. The results would have been much worse if the fire occurred at highway speeds. The blower motor will be available for inspection when I remove and replace it to try and get the air system working for heat at least.

Filed Apr 1, 2010 · Engine · 200,000 miles · OR · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 1994 ford explorer. When the contact was driving approximately 10 MPH, dark smoke began emitting from the instrument panel. The contact turned the vehicle off which immediately became engulfed in flames. The police and fire department were notified and extinguished the fire. The vehicle was destroyed. The current and failure mileages were approximately 200,000.

Filed Feb 11, 2010 · Electrical · 150,000 miles · CA · fire

While driving, the SUV caught fire from under the hood. The vehicle was consumed by flames in less than 5 minutes. Although many makes and models of fords have been recalled ( faulty cruise control - potential fire hazard), the 1994 ford explorer has not been recalled.

Filed Oct 15, 2009 · Engine · 175,000 miles · NY · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 1994 ford explorer. While parked, the vehicle caught on fire. The fire department extinguished the flames. The fire inspector was unable to determine the cause of fire. The vehicle was severely damaged. The manufacturer has not been notified. The current and failure mileages were 175,000.

Filed Jun 13, 2008 · Electrical · 150,000 miles · TX · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 1994 ford explorer. While driving between 25-30 MPH, white smoke appeared from the air conditioning vents. The contact pulled over and exited the vehicle. The vehicle continued to smoke and then caught fire on the front passenger side underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was destroyed. A fire report was filed. The current and failure mileages were 150,000.

Filed Dec 14, 2007 · Acceleration · 90,000 miles · OH · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 1994 ford explorer. While driving approximately 10 MPH, the engine light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle stalled minutes later, but quickly restarted. Smoke appeared under the hood and then the vehicle burst into flames. The vehicle was destroyed. A police report was filed. The manufacturer and dealer were not notified. The VIN, engine size, and number of cylinders were unknown. The current and failure mileages were 90,000.

Filed Apr 25, 2007 · Electrical · 145,000 miles · FL · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 1994 ford explorer. While driving 2 MPH the contact activated the heater and noticed smoke coming from the vents. She turned off the engine. She then restarted the vehicle and activated the air conditioner. The contact noticed fire ascending from the hood near the passenger side of the vehicle. The fire department extinguished the fire. The manufacturer stated that they would conduct an investigation to determine the cause of the fire. The vehicle has not been inspected yet, and the insurance company was unable to determine the cause of the fire. The current and failure mileages were 145,000.

Filed Aug 8, 2006 · Acceleration · 195,000 miles · NC · fire

My seventeen year old daughter was driving this car on the interstate. She noticed smoke coming from behind the car and pulled off. A fire fighter happened to be behind her and he opened the hood and saw the top of the engine on fire. He cut the battery cables and put out the fire. Damage to the car was minimal. The engine wiring and hoses were either completely melted or damaged in some way. The fire burned from center engine and move across to the left rear.

Filed Sep 26, 2005 · Acceleration · 110,000 miles · MN · fire

Dt: the contact owns a 1994 ford explorer that caught on fire and exploded. She believes this was related to the ford recall 05v388000 concerning the scds. This happened on 9-22-05. The car was parked, and the fire did originate from under the hood. The fire department and police were called. She reported that the cruise control would intermittently go out and not work. The car was totaled. She took pictures of the vehicle. Had no anyone to tell her the cause of the fire. But, because of the recalls a and the recent problems with the cruise control the contact felt this was related to the ford recalls of scds which caused compartment fires. The dealership told her she would need the VIN number before they could tell her if her vehicle was included in a recall. She has not notified the manufacturer.