The contact owned a 2008 Ford Explorer Sport Trac. The contact stated that while driving 15 mph on the sand in a beach area that there was a failure of which a strong burning odor started, excess heat was felt by the driver, front passenger and 3 rear passengers. The vehicle was pulled over as they exited the vehicle. Upon inspecting the vehicle, it was noticed that there was a small fire near the transmission area, fluid had leaked onto the catalytic converter as the fire progressed to destroying the vehicle with the fire becoming extensive which had erupted all the way to the fuel system to the fuel tank. The fire department had arrived and extinguished the remaining flames. The insurance company had not rendered any assistance to inspect the cause of the fire. A dealer had not diagnosed the cause of the fire yet. The vehicle was destroyed due to the internal failure resulting in a catastrophic fire. The manufacturer was notified of the failure to determine if they may be able to investigate the cause of the fire. The approximate failure mileage was 81,000.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

Driving the car it began to lose power, then get power, then it shut off. Restarted the car, started driving and it surged unexpectedly then began to lose power again, then it shut off. This scared my wife because she didn't know if it was going to surge or lose power. Took it to a mechanic and finally after a lot of diagnostics they determined it was the ECM or electronic power control module. I have researched this and a lot of people have had this problem.. Ford knows of the problem but will not replace the module. Others have written of this same problem. Https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=ucusqj3-evk I just wish someone would look into this do something about it.

- Ocala, FL, USA

Truck cut off 4 times in middle traffic would not stay on. No warning light change tried to pull off truck just kept cutting off.

- Conyers, GA, USA

Parked vehicle. Turned off ignition. Key would not release from the ignition. Cycled the auto shift lever to make sure in park. At this point noted that I could shift out of park without my foot being on the brake. Very dangerous. I was able to remove the key by pulling the ignition fuse. I pulled the fuse and removed the key. Reinstalled the fuse. Was still able to shift out of park without my foot on the brake. I left the car sitting for a while and noted that the battery had completely drained down. I was able to jump the car off to start it. If I leave the ignition fuse in, the battery will completely drain down again.

- Winston Salem, NC, USA