2001 Lincoln Navigator: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed May 24, 2025 · Electrical · AZ

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!

Filed Aug 28, 2013 · Electrical · 129,000 miles · FL · fire

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.

Filed Oct 19, 2012 · Acceleration · CA · fire

On 10/16/12 truck started smoking took it to the mechanic, he suggested to take it to the dealer to fix a recall for the vehicle speed control switch. On 10/17/12 dealer auto shop requested we take the car the next day to get fixed. On 10/18/12 around 9am while truck was parked it started smoking and then it caught fire. The whole front of the car was burned including the interior.

Filed Oct 11, 2010 · Electrical, Engine · 68,094 miles · NH

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.

Filed Mar 5, 2010 · Acceleration · 80,000 miles · MA · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 lincoln navigator. The vehicle was parked in the driveway and ignited into massive flames. The fire department was called to the scene. There was excessive fire damage to the garage, driveway, and two other vehicles. The damages were estimated at over $110,000. An investigation was performed by three insurance companies. The fire originated from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The cause of the failure was contributed to a leakage of brake fluid into the speed control system. The vehicle experienced the identical defect as stated in the manufacturer recall number 09s. A complaint was filed with the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 80,000.

Filed Sep 26, 2009 · Acceleration · 115,000 miles · FL · fire

About 2 hours after me and my children got back home from wal-mart and got settled in for the night my brother stepped outside and came back in the house yelling for me to call the fire department because my 2001 lincoln navigator was on fire. I seriously thought he was playing a joke on me but insisted so I got up and my truck was on fire in my driveway. My husband had to get 2 water hose and keep the fire under control so the wind wouldn't blow the fire towards the other vehicles parked in the driveway. After the fire department came and put the fire out we looked under the hood and saw where the fire started which was over by the brake master cylinder. At first I didn't know of a recall I just thought it happened after searching the websites I learned of the recall on the speed control switch which is located under the brake master cylinder. I called ford and didn't get anywhere at all. When I mentioned the control switch I was told to bring it in but when I told the lady that it caught on fire the conversation got cut short. And searching some more I found out that I need to report it to the federal safety agency. And I'm taking other steps to see if ford will take responsibility and replace my vehicle.

Filed Apr 18, 2008 · Acceleration, Engine · 111,000 miles · VA · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 lincoln navigator. The contact started the vehicle and noticed smoke under the hood. She immediately turned off the vehicle. Before she could remove the key from the ignition, she noticed flames under the front end of the vehicle. A fire report was filed. The insurance company stated that the vehicle was destroyed, but they did not investigate the cause of the fire. The manufacturer stated that they would need a copy of the fire department report before they could speak to her concerning the failure. The contact stated that she took the vehicle to the dealer for the federal safety agency campaign id number 05v388000 (vehicle speed control) in the summer of 2005. The current and failure mileages were 111,000. Updated 07/08/08.

Filed Oct 3, 2006 · Electrical · 121,000 miles · MD · fire

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.

Filed Feb 20, 2003 · Electrical · NJ

The passenger seat started smoking. *jb the consumer smelled an electrical wire burning. The consumer turned off the heat warmer on the seat. The smell continued. When the consumer had gotten out of the vehicle, he viewed smoke coming from the seat. The consumer had difficulty getting the smoke to stop, even with the ignition turned off. Scc