While driving approximately 60 MPH on freeway consumer heard an explosion from engine. When getting out of the car he saw that the vehicle was on fire. The cause of this was undetermined.
1997 Ford F-150 electrical complaints
Page 5 of 8: complaints 101 to 130 of 198, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Consumer experienced problems with the vehicle. It was parked in the driveway when smoke was seen coming from it. Consumer put the fire out prior to the fire department arrival.
When using the cigarette lighter the whole lighter got too hot and went right through the dash. It burned through plastic and wire burned in half. Very dangerous. This could have burned up the whole dash. Burned my wife's hand after it went through the holder.
While driving 50 MPH, the consumer noticed smoke coming from underneath the hood. The consumer was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and pulled over. Then, vehicle caught on fire. Consumer extinguished the fire with a fire extinguisher. *ak the part that was on fire was the deactach switch on the master cylinder for the cruse control. *sc
Complaint received via e-mail.while at work on 9-23-2004, around 12:00 a.m., my truck caught on fire after being parked for eight hours. It was parked in a gore area on I-70 where we were working. The firemen said it had to be something electrical due to the fact that it started in the engine. My truck was completely destroyed.*ak
I have an 1997 f150 ford truck. It was parked at 5:30 between 9:30-10:00pm it caught on fire for no reason. In the insurance investigation it was determined it was caused by a short in the wires the hot spot being in the steering column. Parked at 5:45. At 10:00 pm heard a loud noise like thunder. Neighbor called and informed of truck was on fire. The fire was coming from the engine compartment. The tire on the drivers side burned and exploded. The fire seemed to be more intense on the drivers side. The fire damaged the car port. Have photos and will e-mail to bruce york. Prior to the fire a fuse had been changed because the vehicle would not come out of park. The vehicle had cruise control but do not know if it worked the month before fire because it had not been used. Vehicle was insured by state farm. Claim #53e484047. Claim rep kelly jacobs.
Vehicle had been parked for about 2-2.5 hours when owner heard loud noise outside (probably lf tire blowing). Went out and found truck on fire. The windshield was still intact at that time. He didn't use the cruise control, so didn't know if it quit working or not. #13 (speed control), #14, #24 and #25 fuses blown. Owner: kurt vanderwest (who owns a fire sprinkler company!), phone 714‑521‑5878 photos e-mailed to bruce york
Vehicle caught on fire while parked in the driveway. The local fire department arrived to extinguish the fire. Then,fire inspector informed the consumer that the fire was started by an electrical short in the steering column.
Consumer shut the vehicle off and exited the vehicle. Later, consumer entered the vehicle. Turned the ignition on, and vehicle started but would not go into gear. Then, consumer exited the vehicle , opened the hood, and noticed there was a fire inside the hood. The defect was the cruise control relay. The fire was extinguished by the consumer.
While the vehicle was parked a fire started in the engine compartment. The fire was put out, and the dealership was notified.
Vehicle unexpectedly caught on fire when it was parked. Consumer was informed by fire department that an electrical short caused the brake booster and engine to catch on fire. Consumer will inform manufacturer.
Picked up 1 yard of mulch and was unloading, smelled burning rubber, and saw flames in wheel well. Put out fire with fire extinguisher and called fire department. Opened hood, and saw fender burned, plastic brake near master cylinder burned, and fuse box and wiring burned. Fire department said it was bad wiring. Mechanic felt it involved the brakes. Also, cruise control had not worked for nearly six months before fire.
While driving vehicle caught on fire. The cause was undetermined.
Consumer claimed that electrical light,windows, and locks were inoperable. Also, windshield wipers failed. Consumer will take the vehicle to dealer for inspection this week. *ak the A/C unit, dome light, and no check engine light.
Truck caught on fire while driving up a hill.
The fuse which controlled the ABS switch on and off burned. The consumer replaced the fuse and 25 minutes later the vehicle was on fired. The consumer opened the hood and saw a lot smoke coming from the ABS.
An explosion woke us up at approx 4:00 am on july 06. Our 1997 ford f150 pick up was on fire and destroyed a 2001 4 runner, 2001 larson boat, carport etc.*ak the vehicle had been parked for 2 days and moved once a very short distabce during that time. The fire seemed to come from the engine compartment. Prior to the fire the crusie control stopped working and we had to replace a fuse becuse the vehicle would not come out of park. We replaced the fuse 3 or 4 times. On the last time we just parked the vehicle after the fuse was replaced and did not drive it. The only electronic aftermarket equipment was a stereo proffesionaly installed a year before the fire. The fire did not spread to the house but did spread to another vehicle, the car port, and a boat. 35mm photographs have been taken and will be sent to bruce york. Vehicle was insured liability only.
My 1997 f-150 the dome lights wont go off . I have seen at least 3 others with the same problem
Fire in 1997 ford f-150. Witness saw initial fire in engine compartment on drivers side near bulkhead. Recovered hexport body but switch contacts missing.
I had a tune-up performed by the five-star ford dealership in north richland hills, texas in july 2001. On july 3, 2004, I was driving on a highway when I heard a loud popping noise from the engine. I later found that the #3 sparkplug had blown free from the engine and had stripped all threads from the aluminum head. The ford dealership denies any responsibility for the defective head or for damaging the head by improper installation of the sparkplug.
May 27th, 2004, I drove my ford f150 pick up from a work site to my home arriving at about 9:40 p.m. I noticed the brake light was on, and double checked to make sure the brake was off. The light remained on and I thought I would check that out on the weekend. The truck ran normally on the ride home. I went to sleep and was awakened by our dog's barking at 12:30 a.m. To discover that the ford f150 pick up was engulfed in flames. The flames were coming out of the engine compartment and beginning to spread to the cab. The fire department was called and they arrived quickly and it took about five minutes with the hose fully on the fire to put it out. There were personal items lost in the truck, there was damage to the house, paint bubbled, plants were killed, the drive way was stained and damaged, and we were all traumatized.
When attempting to clean the positive battery terminal engine started.
Electrical lights/windows, and locks were inoperable. Also, windshield wipers failed to come on. Consumer will take the vehicle to dealer for inspection this week.
Just like the three other people I found on this site my husbands f150 caught fire. We had went to the doctors office and had been park about an hour and a half when they annouced that a truck was on fire! We ran out to find it was ours. The fire dept. Said it was an electical problem that started the fire. M.v. In la.
My 19'97 ford f-150 had an electrical fire yesterday. It had been parked for over thirty minutes when someone told me it was on fire. After I put the fire out and the fire department came. They said the fire started around the fuse box area. I have read that others have had the same fire I have had.
Like jb, who filed an earlier complaint my 1997 ford f-150 also spontaneously burst into flames from the engine compartment after having been parked in my driveway for about 10 hours over night. The engine had not been run, was not hot, and had no malfunctioning parts to my knowledge. I was awakened by the sound of my truck's horn. The fire burned the engine completely, destroyed the hood, cab, and the entire of the front end of the truck before it could be put out by the fire department. The fire marshal indicated that there was no sign of malicious intent or vandalism. According to the fire marshal, the fire originated in the electrical relay junction box located over the driver's side front tire.
On nov. 5th I parked my 1997 f150 truck at work at 7:00am. Between 10:30 and 11:00 I get a call that the fire department is putting a fire out under neath my trucks hood. It took 4 hours after the truck was parked to start a fire. If it wasn't for me parking close to a guards station it would of been worse. My concern is that this could of happened after I parked in my garage at home which would of put me and my family in danger. After this fire I called the ford headquarters and made a complaint. I also did some research on the internet under 1997 brake master cllinder fires because thats where the fire fighters said it started and I was surprised to find numerous articles about the same problem.
My 1997 ford f150 spontaneously combusted in front of my house after being parked for about 12 hours overnight. There was a short horn burst, followed by a pop, then a fire erupted under the hood. The incident occurred about 6:30 am, while I was still in bed, half-asleep, after my clock radio had just come on. A neighbor looked out of her window after hearing the horn, but didn't see anyone around the vehicle. She then heard the pop, and saw the fire start. She called 911, then called me. By the time I got outside, the entire engine compartment was engulfed in flame. I ran back in the house to get a fire extinguisher, but by the time I got back outside, the entire cab was also on fire. A stunned crowd of neighbors and I watched as the fire truck arrived and put the fire out.
The starter went out twice on my 1997 ford f150 4.6lt and I just bought it a month and a half ago, it only has 94,684 miles on it.
A tie rod fell off while driving. The front engine seal and intake manifold gasket failed resulting in and antifreeze leak. Some of the vehicles lights (dome light and dash light) stayed on although the vehicle was turned off. *ak
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