Originally published August 28 2005
Ford trucks through 2003 could catch fire because of faulty switches, CBS reports
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
CBS recently reported that Ford trucks through the 2003 model could catch fire -- even if they're parked and turned off -- because of a faulty cruise control switch that can be exposed to flammable brake fluid.
Owners of thousands of Ford light trucks have a bigger concern than high fuel prices --- their vehicles could catch fire.
But even though they've been warned and offered a repair, CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports that some of the owners are not doing anything about it.
Laura Voos says her Ford pickup was parked and locked last week when it suddenly burst into flames in her Texas driveway.
"It was already getting the eaves on the garage when I came out," said Voos of the fire.
She managed to save the house but not the truck, which is now a burned mass of metal.
The big question for federal safety investigators is whether millions more Ford vehicles that used similar switches all the way up until 2003 should also be recalled.
Ford wouldn't let CBS News into a dealership.
But Mike Bucy, an independent mechanic, showed Attkisson the cruise control switches on a Ford vehicle.
Bucy demonstrated how there could be a fire regardless of whether the car is on.
Federal investigators say flammable brake fluid somehow gets to that live wire in the cruise control switch and ignites.
Replacing the switch in recalled vehicles is fairly easy.
Meantime, less than half of affected owners have had their switch replaced, even though Ford has sent several recall letters, approved by the government.
"It should have in the title and as a headline on the letter itself: safety recall, recall notice, high risk, or danger," Claybrook said.
Ford says that kind of language might scare consumers too much.
But the absence of such wording might be why Laura Voos didn't feel the need to rush down and get her truck fixed when she got a recall reminder --- just a week before the fire.
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