Ford F Series adaptive cruise problems

Filed Aug 14, 2026 · Acceleration, Brakes · CA · fire

Regarding the federal safety agency Recall Number 05V017000; * Component: Speed control deactivation switch. Available for inspection. * Safety Risk: Spontaneous fire occurred on 07/20/2026 at apx 1am destroying the vehicle, damaging two other vehicles, and nearly burning down our home. *Problem Reproduced: Unknown * Component Inspected: Yes, by HOI claims adjuster. * Any warning lamps/ messages?: I had been dealing with a engine light about 1 year earlier that popped up again about 3 months ago. The codes indicated "Lean bank-Right" and "Lean bank-Left". Facts: On July 20, 2026, at approximately 1:00 AM, my 1997 Ford F-150 spontaneously caught fire while parked in my garage. The vehicle had not been started for well over a week. The fire raged directly under our bedroom for over 40 minutes before the fire department was able to attempt containment, nearly burning our house to the ground. There were also two other vehicles in the garage at the time. We are currently in the early stages of a major Homeowners Insurance (HOI) restoration claim. Fortunately, the fire scene in the garage remains intact as of this date while the HOI conducts their investigations. We have learned that the likely cause is a poorly designed, defective cruise control system—a known Ford issue that has resulted in many spontaneous fires. Despite owning this vehicle since 1999, I never received notice from Ford, and was unaware of the associated manufacturer recall (the federal safety agency #05V017000).

Filed Mar 31, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 135,000 miles · CA · fire

On march 30, 2014, at approximately 3:00 p.m. (pst) my 2000 ford f-150 unexpectedly caught on fire. The truck was stationary in my driveway when suddenly black smoke and fire could be seen coming out of the driver side wheel well. The fire engulfed the driver side of the engine compartment melting all the plastic, wiring and the air intake area. The fire melted everything near the master cylinder and the cruise control housing.

Filed Mar 10, 2010 · Acceleration · 105,000 miles · MN

Cruise control refuses to disengage when brakes applied. Issue reported to ford dlr. In 2002 and dlr. Refused to repair as not under warranty recall and unit out of warranty. I do not try to use cruise control as vehicle accelerates with control on and will not disengage. This is a safety issue that ford needs to correct at no charge to me.

Filed Feb 1, 2010 · Acceleration · 209,000 miles · AR · fire

I have a 2000 model ford f-150. My cruise control went out and maybe a month or less later I came home one night and about 30 minutes after I went into the house I heard a loud bang. When we looked out the door my truck was a ball of flames. The loud bang I had heard was the tire popping. I never received a recall notice for the cruise control switch and knew nothing about it shortly after I got the truck I had it at the dealership and they told me nothing about this recall when I asked if the truck had any. All I was told is that there was one on the parking brake.

Filed Jan 23, 2010 · Acceleration, Electrical · 32,000 miles · OR

Ford has a known problem with the windshield allowing water to leak into the cab,over time it has corrupted the wiring,making electrical devices fail to having a dead short that causes power to dash to continue after key is removed,this is a fire hazard at best, to the fact the windshield wipers can fail at any time.ther are many tsb's concerning this problem 99133 98246 976011 98913 to name a few.this also crosses over to several models and years and in canada there is a recall for some of the f series ford truck for this very problem. My problems are typical of all the outhers. Ther is rust present under dash,doom lights,door lights,chimes,power windows and windshield wipers do not work. Vehicle does not hold charge due to power drain without key in ignition. I have also had a problem with the cruise control not disengaging after tapping brake or throttle I could feel the peddle reset itself after tapping both. I have had the window replaced and resealed. At this point I will be replacing the general electric module and hope that fixes the wipers for me. It's hard to say what else is fried at this point. That part would be available. I may have to replace the fuse panel also. It seems that many of the ford tech's are having a problem with this and its replace parts till you or the problem goes away at your own expense, but no one is taking responsibility for the faulty window install that had caused this in the first place.so to sum it up this vehicle has the potential to spontaneously combust,run away or have the wipers fail at any time also the car fires attributed to the cruise control may in fact be related to this problem. I think someone should take a look at this.

Filed Mar 3, 2009 · Engine · 113,000 miles · MN

I have a 1998 ford pickup with a 5.4l engine and just today as I was driving it the spark plug blew out. As soon as I heard the popping sound I immediately shut the truck down. I opened the hood and there was the plug dangling there. I was able to install the plug back on but got 3 turns on it and it was tight. No way should a spark plug only have a few turns on it and no way should a plug fly out of an engine that is spewing gasoline and the plug still sparking. If there is a class action lawsuit against this company sign me up. Never again will I buy a ford product. All their vehicles catch fire( remember the cruise control). This is a prime example why the us auto industry sucks and they still want us to bail them out. I have half a mind to go to detroit and beat the crap out of an engineer there. I am all for an attorney to call me if it is a class action lawsuit. If you make faulty dangerous products such as this you should be put in jail! People can die from this! I hope ford goes the way of all the rest of the old american auto makers. We should not have to bail them out so they can make more dangerous products and snowball the public!!

Filed Dec 19, 2008 · Acceleration · 150,000 miles · TX · fire

Truck caught fire sitting in the driveway due to cruise control switch that was on recall list. I knew nothing of the recall until the fire department told me that was what happened.

Filed Sep 11, 2008 · Acceleration · TX

What good is it to respond to a recall of a f150 cruise control when they don't have the parts and you have to make 3-4 trips to get the work done. Then they say they have the part but don't do the work and your back again.....I'm a long time ford customer but this is ridiculous ...then your agency urges motorists to respond to the recall....how about kicking those ford execs in their pockets.

Filed Apr 16, 2007 · Acceleration · 160,000 miles · IA · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 1994 ford f-150. The vehicle suddenly caught on fire while parked in the driveway. Ford stated that the contact was sent a recall notice for cruise control malfunction. However, the contact never received the recall notice. As a result, the siding of the house was burned. A police report was taken. The current and failure mileages were 160,000.ak

Filed Sep 17, 2005 · Acceleration · 91,000 miles · TX · fire

On 1/10/05, I arrived home from work and parked my vehicle at approximately 6:00 pm. The vehicle was parked under the carport 15 feet away from my bedroom window. At 12:30 am, my wife and I heard a noise, looked out the blinds to find fire coming from drivers side edges of hood. Me and my son ran out to get a garden hose as my wife called 911. As I was passing by the vehicle the paint was beginning to burn off directly above the break booster. I began spraying the vehicle through the radiator grill, as my son was trying to pop the hood. I sprayed around the edges, flames were coming out mostly from the drivers side. Then the drivers side plastic tire well burned out enough, I was able to get water underneath the hood. The fire department arrived at 12:34 am. They popped the hood using their cable tool and began to apply water. Luckily the fire was extinguished within about 15 minutes, due to the fire department is only a couple of blocks away. Because of the quick response of extinguishing the fire, you can definitely tell where the fire originated. As you can tell by the pictures I have enclosed, the air filter on the right-hand side suffered heat damage, but were not destroyed. On the left side of the engine the rubber hoses and fuel lines were still intact and not burned. The only thing that was completely destroyed was the break fluid reservoir, and the cruise control switch. When the fireman examined it, they thought it may have come from the wiring harness, they had never seen the break fluid reservoir catch on fire. I only had liability insurance on this vehicle. Due to the extensive damage, I sold it for salvage only.