10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 41
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 1
- Average Mileage:
- 60,103 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
A 1997 Ford F150 pick up truck owned by steven quagliato caught fire while parked and damaged my vehicle causing approx $650 worth of damaged to the taillight assembly and bumper.
- West Lafayette, IN, USA
- the contact stated that while the 1997 Ford F-150 was parked in the driveway the vehicle caught on fire under the hood. The fire department arrived to extinguish the fire. The fire damaged the engine, electrical wiring, piping, and anything that was made of plastic melted in the vehicle. The contact could provide pictures of damaged vehicle, and a fire department report. Updated 02/28/07.
- Fairfax, VA, USA
1997 model year Ford F-150 engine compartment fire while parked in the driveway of my residence. The vehicle is a V-8, automatic transmission, equipped with cruise control and just over 85,000 miles. It is a work truck driven daily, about 200 miles per week. There were no previous problems with either the cruise control or electrical system. At about 8:15 on the evening of Aug. 25th I returned home and parked in my drive way about six feet from the garage door. I went to bed at 10:30 P.M. my neighbor returned to his home at 12:05 a.M. he noticed smoke coming from under my hood and witnessed the engine compartment ignite into a ball of flames. He immediately called the fire department and used my garden hose to wet down my garage door thereby preventing my house from catching fire. I was finally awaken around 12:30A.M. by the fire department. The truck was completely destroyed, the insulation had melted from the inside of my garage door, the garage door windows had cracked from the heat, the trim melted, and the gutters above the garage warped. If not for the quick thinking of our neighbor we could have lost our lives. Our bedrooms are located to the rear of the house and the garage is at the front, by the time we realized there was a fire it would have been too late.
- Harrison Twp., MI, USA
Own a 1997 Ford F150 that caught fire as a result of a defective cruise control switch
- Miami, FL, USA
The contact owns a 1997 Ford F150. On July 27, 2005 the consumer's vehicle caught on fire and burned to the ground. The fire started on driver's side under the hood. The fire chief had not come up with a report, but he assumed it was electrical. The vehicle had been sitting for a total of three hours before the fire broke out.. the vehicle operated normal before this happened.
- Atlanta, GA, USA
1997 Ford truck F250
- Houston, TX, USA
I had been having issues with my truck, cruise control quit working, had some fuses blown under hood that were repaired, then check engine light had come on for about a week. Then my 1997 F-150 XLT spontaneously combusts in driveway. Had been parked for over an hour. Persons driving by alerted me to the fire, when I went outside, the windshield wipers were on and flames were shooting out of hood nearly 10' in air. Then the car alarm went off and at some point the doors unlocked themselves. Police and I extinguished fire, but there is extensive damage.
- Benton Harbor, MI, USA
1997 Ford F-150 truck with approximately 122,000 miles, had a fuse failure that would not allow the vehicle to be removed from the park position when depressing the brake. Fuse was replaced and 4 days later the vehicle caught fire in the engine compartment, causing a nearly total destriction of the vehicle and the car port it was sitting in. Fire occurred about 2 hours after the vehicle was last driven. This fire may be related to the recall of the speed control deactivation switch (scds) on the 2000 F-150 trucks.
- Cleveland, NC, USA
The vehicle caught on fire inside of the garage. The consumer saw flames coming from the engine on the driver's side and spread quickly. Flames were coming out from under the hood. The insurance company was in the process of inspecting the truck, and there was an investigator from Ford checking the vehicle.
- Dakota, MN, USA
A 1997 Ford F150 pickup. The vehicle was parked 3 to 4 hours while the consumer was at work when it caught on fire. The fire engulfed two other vehicle as well. Fire investigator stated that the fire originated near the driver side front tire. The insurance adjuster did not inspect the vehicle. The cause of the fire was still uncertain.
- Mesa, AZ, USA
June 5, 2005- about 1:30am, my wife and I were awaken by the neighbors and the fire dept. They informed us that our truck was on fire in the driveway. The hood was melted away and the front half of the truck was engulfed in flames. The fire dept. Deemed the source in the area of the master cylinder switch and or relay box. Normally we park in the garage, but thank god I didn't that night. Prior to this, the cruise control had been acting funny and my park brake switch blew a fuse. The tech at duthler Ford here in gr told me to just replace the fuse. So I removed the 15amp fuse and replace it with same. That night it burned.
- Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Consumer states that at 4 pm tparked the vehicle and the next day at 1 am the vehicle caught on fire. It burned the hood, windshield, wiring and everything underneath the hood. The fire department stated that it was an electrical problem. There was a fire department report.
- Tulsa, OK, USA
At 3:15 am on June 1, my 1997 Ford F-150 caught fire and burned. Horn honking woke my daughter who first observed a fire from a bedroom window. She woke my wife and I up thinking my detached shop was on fire. We ran outside and found the fire to be a truck engine compartment fire. The truck was driven last at 7:30 pm and parked on my driveway next to a horse trailer. I called 911 and began spraying water on the truck and trailer. I could not control the fire and focused on keeping the trailer cool. When the fire truck finally arrived it took about 30 minutes to put the fire totally out. At that point the fire had burned through the cab to rear seats. Based on how the truck burned, I believe it was attributed to a cruise control switch fire.
- Orange, TX, USA
While driving vehicle felt temperature in cabin go up, pulled off road, opened hood to find large fire.
- Saint Cloud, FL, USA
Without warning consumer saw a spark and some smoke and while consumer was after a fire extinguisher the truck burst into flames and exploded and was totaled. Dealer gave consumer a number to contact manufacturer. Manufacturer said they will get back with consumer through a representative.
- Wilmington, NC, USA
Our 1997 Ford F-150 pickup was sitting in the driveway. It had been parked there since yesterday evening, about 6:30 P.M. at approximately 3:30 P.M. the next day, our doorbell rang, it was the mail lady. My husband answered the door, and she asked him if he knew his truck was on fire" it took a couple of seconds for it to register, and he said what" she repeated it. My husband hollered at me to call the fire department, the truck's on fire. I grabbed the cordless and headed towards the front door. Just as I was coming out the front door, my husband said turn the water on. He already had the garden hose in his hand, pulling it towards the truck. He was able to put the fire out before the fire department got there, by spraying on top of the hood, under the hood, under the front wheel well, and inside the cab underneath the dash on the driver's side. Had this fire occured five minutes later, my husband would have been in it, on the highway. Thank the lord, he wasn't! there is still quite a bit of damage done to old blue, so we're waiting on our insurance adjuster and an investigator from Ford to come out and take a look at it. We only found out this morning about all of the complaints about engine fires on F-150's.
- Independence, MO, USA
Under hood fire on a 1997 Ford F150 pickup. The fire occured on April 29, 2005 at approximately 6:30am when a neighbor came to our house to report that our truck was on fire and they had called the fire department. Flames were already through the hood on the drivers side and coming out the front left wheel well. Mr. Carnes was able to extinguish the fire before the fire department arrived however, the bulk of the damage had already been done. Mr. Carnes simply prevented any further property damage to anything nearby. Our insurance company has totaled the vehicle. Their fire iinvestigator has determined that the fire was caused by the speed control deactivation switch. We contacted Ford the same day and were told that their legal department would contact us in 2 business days. Today is 5/5/05 and we have still not heard from Ford. We don't know what else to do from here, but I hope that this will prevent anyone else from have to endure this trauma. Our insurance company will not pay the claim until they hear from Ford. We wait in limbo.
- Newport News, VA, USA
Under hood fire on a 1997 Ford F150 pickup. The fire occured on March 29, 2005 at approximately 6:30am when a neighbor came to our house to report that our truck was on fire and they had called the fire department. Flames were already through the hood on the drivers side and coming out the front left wheel well. Mr. Carnes was able to extinguish the fire before the fire department arrived however, the bulk of the damage had already been done. Mr. Carnes simply prevented any further property damage to anything nearby. Our insurance company has totaled the vehicle. Their fire iinvestigator has determined that the fire was caused by the speed control deactivation switch. We contacted Ford the same day and were told that their legal department would contact us in 2 business days. Today is 5/5/05 and we have still not heard from Ford. We don't know what else to do from here, but I hope that this will prevent anyone else from have to endure this trauma. Our insurance company will not pay the claim until they hear from Ford. We wait in limbo.
- Newport News, VA, USA
Contact states: Spark plug popped out of head while driving, was going slow but caused a jerking of the vehicle-no accident. This was the first time this had ever happened. No repair work or replacement of parts.
- Henderson, NV, USA
- Evansville, IN, USA