Ford UK is recalling approximately 2,600 US-built 1998 model year right-hand drive Explorer SUVs, following the parent company’s announcement last week that affected many other models sold mostly in the United States.
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In the US, the recall involves vehicles powered by petrol or natural gas and equipped with speed (cruise)control, including the 1994-2002 F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 F-Super Duty trucks, 2000-2002 Excursion SUVs, 1994-1996 Econoline vans and 1996-2002 E-450 vans, and 1998 Explorers and Mountaineers. The recall does not involve similar vehicles with diesel engines.
Ford UK technical press officer Paul Wilson told just-auto on Tuesday (8 August) that around 2,600 1998 Explorers would be recalled to have a cruise control pressure switch checked.
The 1997-2001 generation Explorer line was also exported, in both left-and drive form, to markets in Europe, the Middle East, Japan, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
Ford in the US had previously recalled 3.8m pickups and SUVs from the 1994-2002 model years, including the top-selling F-150 pickup, because of the concerns over engine fires – that was the fifth-largest auto industry recall in US history, according to the Associated Press news agency. It later recalled another nearly 800,000 2000 model year pickups and SUVs because of similar issues.
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By GlobalDataThe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told AP last week it had closed a nearly two-year investigation into the cause of the fires – it received 1,472 complaints connected to the problems, including 65 reports of fires.
According to the news agency’s report, NHTSA said there have been no confirmed deaths or injuries, but lawsuits have been filed over three deaths in Iowa, Georgia and Arkansas, allegedly connected to vehicle fires.
The problem arose because brake fluid could leak through the cruise control’s deactivation switch into the system’s electrical components, leading to corrosion which could lead to a build-up of electrical current that could cause overheating and a fire.
Dealers installed a fused wiring harness to the cruise control deactivation switch to prevent the risk of fire if the switch leaked, AP said last week.
NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson told the news agency that its investigators, working with Ford, found the switch overheated in vehicles where the switch was placed in an upright position or at an angle and where there was excessive vacuum pressure in the brake system.
He reportedly called it “one of the most exhaustive investigations that we’ve ever done.”
