I had been driving for about 15 minutes and then I noticed a burning plastic smell. It was dark so my headlights were on. I felt heat coming from under the dash by the pedals. I started to watch my dash to see if the truck was over heating or the check engine light would come on but neither of those happened. The next light I stopped at I could see smoke coming from the driver side air vents. I pulled over and opened the hood and nothing. Well after some extensive searching I located the issue. The headlight switch to control my headlights was completely melted. Had I not pulled over and popped the hood, Im sure the truck would have continued to catch fire. I replaced the fuses and switch and have not had any problems there but I do now have problems with my odometer lights. I cannot seem to keep that fuse from popping. Everyone I replace just pops again. So I have an electrical issue somewhere I guess I'll just have to start chasing wires!
2001 Lincoln Navigator electrical problems
16 complaints (20% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 80,000.
- owner complaints
- 16
- of this car's complaints
- 20%
- typical mileage
- 80,000
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Wiring: interior/under dash1
- Wiring: front underhood1
- Wiring1
- Ignition1
- Horn1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Lincoln Navigator electrical problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2001 Lincoln Navigator electrical
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Engine compartment fires
Ea05-005 is closed with ford?s actions in recalls 05v‑017, 05v‑388, and 06v‑286, recalling approximately 6.7 million vehicles equipped with texas instruments speed control deactivation switches (scds).the brake systems in these recalled vehicles generate a vacuum that can potentially cause the scds to fail and, in certain switch installation orientations, catch fire.ford is also including the entire population of 1998 explorers.ford has informed odi that testing to determine the cause of failures in the 1998 explorers will continue after this investigation is closed.odi believes that the vehicles exhibiting the factors causing scds failure described in this report correlate well with the observed failure rates on these vehicles by model and model year.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist in the non-recalled vehicles manufactured with scds that are not included in ford?s recalls.odi will continue to monitor the non-recalled population for incidence of engine compartment fires.the agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.see attached closing report for details.
EA05005
What 2001 Lincoln Navigator owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 lincoln navigator. The contact stated that after rainy weather, there was a burning odor and an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle as if it was attempting to start independently. In addition, the contact stated the windshield wipers failed to operate intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the electrical system failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 135,000.
It makes a loud noise and no 1 know what it is
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 lincoln navigator. The contact stated that while decelerating to a stop, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was restarted and resumed normally. The failure was recurring. Additionally, there was a burning odor present inside the vehicle and the sound of burning material was coming from the front driver side area near the fuse box. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but the failure could not be diagnosed. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 80,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 lincoln navigator. The contact stated that while parked and unoccupied, the vehicle spontaneously combusted. The fire department was summoned to extinguish the flames. A police report was also filed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 129,000.
Consumer states after putting driver side window down the radio will cut off. Had vehicle serviced.this is a result of an electrical shortage. Dealership cannot fix problem,consumer afraid this shortage will cause a fire.
I own a 2001 lincoln navigator with a 5.4l engine. I was on my way to work and was going approx. 15 MPH when I heard a bang coming from the front of the car. At first I thought I had hit something or something was falling off the car. I pulled over to the side of the road and at this time the engine started to run rough. I shut it off and checked under the hood but could not see anything wrong. I thought, after restarting the engine that it might be a bad spark plug. As I started off the car was still running bad so I decided to return home.the next day, 10/09/2010, I decided to check further and removed the three of the spark plugs on the drivers side, but the last one which is at the front of the engine I noticed the coil was all torn apart and the end of the coiled wire was sticking out from the plug hole. I pulled said wire out and saw the spark plug at the bottom of the hole. It appeared to have been blown out of its threads. Also to be noted is the smell of gas was very apparent and because the spark plug was damaged, the ground was forced against the electrode and was unable to spark. If it did, I'm sure the engine would have caught on fire. I also found two pieces of some unknown material that fell into the cylinder. The part appears to be a carbon material and might be part of the cop, coil over plug. After doing some research on the web, this appears to be a common problem with this type of ford engines. I called the lincoln dealer I bought the vehicle from and they said they have never heard of this problem. But they would get back to me if they can help. Further inquiry found that ford recommends replacing the cylinder head when this problem occurs. This would cost approx. $3500.00. As I have been unemployed for fifteen months, and finally found a part time job,(14 hours a week) this would be an expense I can not afford. The web sites did state that ford is aware of this problem but will not admit to their poorly designed head.
2001 lincoln navigator spontaneously ignited resulting in destruction of vehicle, adjacent vehicle and home.
I was the owner of a 2001 lincoln navigator. I was living in the states from 2004 to 2006 and I heard in the news that lincoln car models between 1998 to 2002 were susceptible to burn because of a electrical failure. I took my car to the ford dealer located in ventura boulevard, ca and they told me my car model was not one of those who had the switch that made the car burn. I took my car home and everything seemed to be ok. I went back to spain so I took my american car back to spain too. And everything was ok, until yesterday my lincoln navigator started to burn and it was totally parked and shut down.
Vehicle caught fire under hood by fuse box/firewall and wiring harness to motor. Fire marshall stated electrical short in wiring harness. Vehicle was a total loss of the fire. My wife and my 7 year old daughter were in vehicle when ignited with no notice. I never received a notice about vehicle speed control recall and recall was never performed as a result of that. Fire occurred in area of speed control cable.
Questions about the 2001 Lincoln Navigator electrical
Does the 2001 Lincoln Navigator have electrical problems?
Owners have filed 16 complaints about the electrical of the 2001 Lincoln Navigator, 20% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2001 Lincoln Navigator electrical problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 80,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2001 Lincoln Navigator electrical?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Lincoln Navigator have the most electrical problems?
The Lincoln Navigator model years with the most electrical complaints are 2003 (22 complaints), 1998 (21 complaints) and 2001 (16 complaints).
Other 2001 Lincoln Navigator problems
Tires 23Acceleration 12Suspension 9Engine 8Transmission 7Brakes 5Fuel system 5Airbags 4Seat belts 3Visibility 3Body 2Lights 2Seats 2Wheels 2Driver assistance 1Locks 1Steering 1
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