1996 Ford Windstar: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed May 28, 2012 · Acceleration · 198 miles · UT · fire

My van was in great shape and great condition. I was driving to work on may 6th 2012 about 45-50 MPH entered the I-215 collector, started to smell a burned rubber smell, I looked at the temp gauge and it was normal, the van started to sputter like running out of gas, the van was not out of gas almost full, the service engine light started to flash on and off, I pulled over to the shoulder and came to a complete stop, looked at the temp gauge again and it still was normal, the burned rubber smell got worse and I noticed then a black smoke coming from under the hood. I got out of the van and stood at the front of the van to call aaa and the engine burst into flames under the hood. There was not indicator what so ever that the vehicle was overheating. This all occurred in about 5-10 minutes. The police came and could not put the fire out with extinguisher. The fire department had to put the fire out. It burned up my entire vehicle with all the contents inside. The fireman stated that even the front tires were burned up and melted. I did get pictures of what happened. I only had liability insurance so I thought I was just out of luck. A security specialist from work said that it sounded like the fire could have started due to a factory safety defect and told me to do some research. I did find that there was a recall on the speed switch or control on 1996 ford windstars. I always use my cruise control. I have filed a claim with my insurance based on a burn under the assumption that the fire occurred due to the speed control recall. Please let me know what I can do. I never received any notification of the recall or I would have taken it in to be fixed before this happened.

Filed Dec 3, 2010 · Engine · 100,000 miles · IL · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 1996 ford windstar gl (na). The contact stated that while waiting a stop sign, the vehicle suddenly died and the engine engulfed into flames. There were no injuries. The police and fire departments were called but no police report was filed. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Filed Jun 6, 2010 · Engine · 152,515 miles · OR · fire

I went to go to the store may 26th, 2010 6:30 - 7:00 pm, I got in my vehicle with my two year old daughter and I proceeded to go down my driveway which its a long driveway and I started to smell a faint smell of plastic burning and I got to the road and I started to go and I decided I should maybe pull over to see if I could see anything on the outside of vehicle causing smell then when got back in car saw the steam coming from hood and I decided to turn around and have my boyfriend take a look before I left. When got to house saw little steam but nothing big, turned off van and got my daughter from car seat and walked inside home not but 5 minutes later my other daughter ran screaming out her room, mom the vans on fire. When opened the door the flames were shooting out of the hood and tried to open hood, while other half going for fire extinguishers but motor was engulfed in flames and within 5 minutes got fire out with 2 fire extinguishers. Nothing indicated before fire other then the faint smell that I smelled while going down driveway. The fire came from the wiring and it is definitely a safety issue cause if me and my daughter had this happen to us while on the road it could of seriously injured or killed us. I haven't done anything to fix the van yet cause I only had liability insurance on the van and the fire wasn't covered. I also do not financially have the means to fix the van myself so I am without transportation right now! My boyfriend did feel after looking at van the fire started with the wiring over the top of the center of the motor.

Filed Oct 19, 2009 · Engine · 120,000 miles · FL · fire

My 1996 ford windstar caught fire in the engine compartment while driving and burned up within 10 minutes. I did not know about the fire danger recall until I heard about it on the new a few days after the event. The only accessory that was on was the airconditioning which was working properly. I noticed a smell followed by smoke from under the hood. I pulled over to investigate and the smoke intensified followed by flames. By the time the fire department arrived (5 minutes) flames were pouring out from under the hood and thick black smoke had filled the passenger compartment. The fire had completely destroyed the engine and had begun to burn into the passenger compartment. The dashboard has melted along with parts of the roof as far back as the middle seats. Up to the event the car had been running normally with no problems. I had never been contacted by ford about the recall and only found out about it on the news a few days after the event. Needless to say, the car was considered "totaled" by the insurance company.

Filed Oct 18, 2009 · Acceleration · 140,500 miles · MO · fire

I have a 1996 ford windstar van that caught fire while I was driving. The cruise control was on. The vehicle lost power, then a boom and there were flames around the firewall. The master cylinder, wiring harness, hoses etc. Were destroyed. The fire was located more on the driver's side of the vehicle. This vehicle has been more than properly maintained, and my mechanic can attest to this. This vehicle has not yet been repaired. I was not injured. This occurred prior to the current recall.

Filed Sep 11, 2009 · Transmission · 187,569 miles · WA · fire

There was no crash. There was no warning what so ever. I was driving a client home from a picnic and pulled into a parking lot to park and smoke started rolling out of the engine compartment. I got my passenger who was in a wheelchair to safety and opened the hood to find flames coming from the top of the transaxles. I put out the fire. The "transaxles range sensor" and plug just forward of the range sensor were the cause of the fire. The wiring harness above coming out of the black box(fuse box) was also burnt. This problem has not been repaired.

Filed Oct 15, 2008 · Acceleration · 138,000 miles · MO · fire

The speed control pressure switch had caught fire due to being located below the master cylinder, needing to know how to get replaced.

Filed Jul 18, 2008 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 140,000 miles · PA · fire

Brake module to cruise control harness caught on fire. Similar models have this recalled by ford but not for the year for my windstar.

Filed May 20, 2008 · Engine · 135,000 miles · OH · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 1996 ford windstar. While stopped at a traffic light, the contact noticed smoke coming from the hood. The contact turned off the vehicle and the smoke ceased; however, the hood caught fire when the vehicle was started again. The contact extinguished the fire and there were no injuries. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 135,000.

Filed May 5, 2008 · Electrical · 153,000 miles · OR · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 1996 ford windstar. He heard the horn blowing while he was inside his home and the dashboard was on fire. There were no injuries. The police was not notified and there are no photos available. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 153000.

Filed Mar 5, 2008 · Electrical · 100,000 miles · MO · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 1996 ford windstar. The vehicle caught fire after being parked for an hour. There were no prior warnings or failures. The fire originated in the front end of the vehicle and was extinguished by the fire department. The vehicle was towed. The cause of the failure was unknown. The purchase date was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 100,000.

Filed Aug 8, 2007 · Acceleration · 130,000 miles · IL · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 1996 ford windstar. After picking up his vehicle from the mechanic, the contact noticed smoke rising from under the hood. He pulled over, opened the hood, and noticed flames coming from the cruise control switch that connects to the bottom of the master cylinder. He notified the dealer and the manufacturer and they stated that nothing could be done because there was no recall. They advised him to call the federal safety agency. The contact extinguished the fire with water, but the vehicle continued to smoke. The vehicle has remained parked at his residence since august 6, 2007. The speed was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 130,000.