1997 Ford Windstar: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Jun 1, 2010 · Electrical, Engine · 135,000 miles · MI · fire

I turned the air conditioning on in the van and after about 10 minutes, turned it to the 'max AC' position. The hood started steaming so I turned the air completely off. After less than a minute, I noticed the hood was smoking so I pulled to the side of the road immediately. I turned the car off and exited the van and saw that the passenger side of the hood was on fire. I ran to the passenger side and opened the sliding door, and got my 18 month old and 4 year old out of the vehicle. After we were all a safe distance away I saw that most of the hood of the van was in flames. By the time the fire department arrived about 5 minutes later, the entire hood was on fire with a lot of black smoke. The entire engine compartment looks charred and partially melted. The vehicle is beyond repair. I'm thankful my children are safe but I am very concerned about the safety (failure) of this vehicle.

Filed May 10, 2008 · Acceleration, Brakes · 191,000 miles · AL

Noticed that I was leaking some brake fluid for the last couple of months on my 1997 ford windstar but very little at that. About the same time the cruise control quit working. One day while driving I noticed a lot of smoke coming from under the hood. Raised the hood but the smoke had quit. Got back home and noticed this again when I was stopped in the driveway. Checked under the hood again and found that the cruise control deactivation switch was smoking and very hot. Went to the ford dealer to check if there was a recall on this and there was not . Installed the replacement part with plug adaptor and this fixed the problem with smoking and the cruise started working again. Noticed on the net this same part that is in my windstar is also in other vehicles that has been recalled. Why is this? This could have easily caught fire and been a total loss to the van and if it had been parked in the garage the house also.

Filed Dec 18, 2006 · Seats · 115,000 miles · MS · fire

Tl*- the contact was sitting in van , the vehicle was turned off. The van stated to fill up with smoke. At which point he looked at the driver seat and noticed that the van was on fire. The he put out the initial fire. When he looked under the driver seat he noticed there were more flames. The next day he saw that there were wires under the seat. He was able to drive the va with the seat is damaged due to the fire. Contact drive the van home.

Filed Dec 11, 2006 · Acceleration · 114,000 miles · MD · fire

Dt*: the contact stated the check engine light illuminated constantly, and the overdrive light located on the gearshift illuminated intermittently. This was accompanied by a strong smell of something electrical burning. The vehicle was taken to a private repair shop, where it was determined that the sensor on the master cylinder had caught on fire, and also burned the wiring harness between the master cylinder and the transmission. The mechanic replaced the sensor on the master cylinder, on the transmission, and the wiring harness, which corrected the problem. There was a the federal safety agency recall # 05v388000, which pertains to the vehicle speed control. The vehicle was not included in the recall due to the VIN.

Filed Jul 26, 2006 · Transmission · 146,000 miles · FL · fire

Dt*: the contact stated, while the vehicle was immobile with the engine running, smoke erupted from under the hood. The engine was immediately turned off and the vehicle was vacated. The hood was raised and flames looked as if they it was coming out of the engine compartment. The fire was extinguished and the vehicle was towed to the home of the contact. The manufacturer was alerted. There is a the federal safety agency recall #97v097000 pertaining to the power train:automatic transmission. The vehicle is not included in the recall due to the VIN.

Filed Oct 4, 2005 · Electrical · DE · fire

Behind in payments. Ford motor credit issued write of summons on 7/3/03, trial scheduled for 9/22/03. On 7/29/03, while at work, vehicle caught on fire, damaging 2 other vehicles parked on either side of me. Fire marshall investigated the incident and found to be an electrical problem. Insurance investigated and vehicle was total loss. Insurance paid ford motor credit $5,689.25 (claim [xxx]). Ford motor credit obtained judgment and wages are currently being garnished on a vehicle that was claimed a total loss due to an electrical problem. *jb updated 07/18/2012 *js information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)

Filed Aug 30, 2005 · Acceleration, Visibility · 140,000 miles · TX · fire

On august 20th, while in a repair shop having the motors replaced in the windows of my ford windstar 1997, there was a fire under the hood while the car was off. The mechanic put the fire out and I took it to my mechanic the same day. The cruise control mechanism was what caught fire. After seeing my mechanic I called the ford hotline and asked about recall information. They said they would get back ahold of me in two days, and they did not. Today, august 30th, while in wal-mart with my children I was paged to the parking lot. My car had caught fire again, while off and with no key in the ignition. The engine was destroyed, and luckily the fire department arrived in time to put the fire out before the interior of the car was destroyed (car seats, strollers, etc.).

Filed Jan 16, 2004 · Electrical · 170,000 miles · FL · fire

While driving the driver saw smoke coming from under the hood and pulled over. The driver went for help and came back to find the vehicle in flames. The fire department determined that the fire was caused by an electrical problem. Please provide further details.