Preliminary data.. Ford F150 2001 supercrew was left unattended while shopping. Upon return I noted a puddle of fluid that was not present earlier under the vehicle. Upon leaning down on the drivers side front to inspect for the source of the leak small flames were noted in the engine compartment. Upon opening the hood for further inspection it was noted that the rear driver side of the engine compartment was on fire (appearing to me and other observers to be electrical in nature) with the brake fluid reservoir completed melted. The flames first observed were forced by the molten plastic dripping down into the engine compartment. The fire department was notified but thanks to some employees of the shop and the availability there of an approved extinguisher, the fire was terminated before the arrival of the fire department some 7 minutes later. Comments were made by others and later by internet research that the damage has all of the appearances of being forced by the speed control deactivation switch issue. The vehicle is currently under evaluation by a Ford dealership and my insurance company. Fortunately the vehicle was unoccupied at the time and was in the middle of a strip center parking lot with no vehicles around it should the fire had time to develop further. Earlier or later, it could have easily consumed my home.

- Plano, TX, USA

Vehicle caught on fire.

- Houston, TX, USA

No actual warning of defect. Windshield wipers, power windows, courtesy lights, and power door locks suddenly ceased working. Dealer stated the windshield leaked causing the GEM module to fail. Windshield was replaced, as well as GEM module.

- Auburndale, FL, USA

The vehicle will not start, the cylinder will not engage, had to roll the vehicle backin order to get the vehicle started. Contacted the dealer, and they couldn't fix if they didn't see a problem. Currently, it it happened 15 times. This started two weeks after consumer bought the vehicle around April 15, 2005.

- Louisville, KY, USA

Truck was parked for approx 2 hours when it caught fire and totally burned.

- Sugar Hand, TX, USA

Consumer was selling vehicle, he dropped insurance. Consumer drove vehicle to an apartment complex where his girl lived. Parked vehicle after driving about 5 minutes, went inside, then one of the children came in and informed consumer that the vehicle was on fire. The motor compartment burnt. Fireman told consumer that there was a recall on this vehicle for the possibility of burning. The vehicle caught on fire around 6:00 pm. Consumer contacted Ford, but Ford had not responded back yet. Consumer said he used VIN to identify recall on vehicle.

- Lakeland, FL, USA

My wife was at work and she had just parked, and 15 minutes later, she was told her car was on fire and burned completely.

- Lakewood, FL, USA

Vehicle parked, caught fire, flames coming from motor, believed to be cruise control issue

- Deltona, FL, USA

The vehicle was parked on the street, 5 minutes later the vehicle caught on fire. The fire dept put out the fire. There were no other problems with the vehicle prior to this. The consumer only had the vehicle for 4 months. It was purchased used from Ford dealership.

- Agoura, CA, USA

2001 Ford F150 caught on fire while parked. The cruise control went out. The vehicle was not totaled but there was extreme damage to the vehicle. The consumer received a recall letter in February 2005. Recall number 05V017000. (speed control deactivation switch)

- Dickinson, TX, USA

Vehicle parked approx 4.5 hours, when noticed vehicle hood was engulfed with flames, damage primarily on driver's side toward windshield, total loss --- one month prior to vehicle fire vehicle would not get out of park and blew 5 amp fuse

- Thomaston, GA, USA

The consumer stated his vehicle burst into flames.

- Pearland, TX, USA

While driving at approximately 30 mph engine made a ping noise. It sounded as if something broke. Owner called for a tow truck and had the vehicle towed to the dealer. The vehicle was put on the diagnostic machine, and owner was informed that the spark plug ejected from the cylinder head that because it was made of aluminum, and if the spark plugs were tightened too much, or the spark plugs were cross threaded when installed they would be ejected.

- Lodi, CA, USA

Cruise control light flashing when attempting to engage it on my 2001 F150 Triton 4.6L "3dr". took it to the dealership due to transmission problems(spring broke on 2nd to 3rd gear shifter)inquired about the cc lite. Service tech popped the hood, pulled the plug on the power boosterand we both saw fluid build up on the surface area. Same St'd that there was a recall inprogress but that he had to see if this model was involved...not. 89000plus miles.

- Rowlett, TX, USA

After being stopped at an intersection I slowly pulled away when the light turned green. It sounded as if I ran over something, and the truck started making loud noises and jerking. I pulled off the road, parked it, and had it towed to the local Ford dealer in columbus, oh. They said it had blown a spark plug and stripped the threads in the head - it only had 41,000 miles on it. This appears to be a common problem with these trucks and could be dangerous in certain circumstances. I paid the charge to put a helicoil in as a temporary fix until I can buy a new head because Ford won't acknowledge this widespread problem.

- Worthington, OH, USA

2001 F-150 supercrew instrument and accessroy failure due to water from leaky seal around driver's side windshield. This is not an isolated instance and is reflected in your # 10002639. Cost of repair was over $800 and not covered by warranty and not acknowledged by Ford dealership as defect. Vehice GEM failure causes loss of wiper controls, and power locks causing safety concerns.

- Big Sandy, TX, USA

I left my 2001 F-150 in a parking lot unattended when I returned a few hours later it had been almost totally consumed by fire. Witnesses said that it started under the hood. I have not yet recieved the fire companies report.

- Longwood, FL, USA

Factory spark plug threads are too short for cylinder heads, resulting in the plugs blowing out.

- White Bear Lake, MN, USA

The consumer was informed his vehicle was on fire. The fire was coming from the engine compartment on the drivers side close to the fire wall. The cruise control had failed about 2 weeks or a month prior to the fire. No after market equipment on vehicle. No structure damage. Will E-mail photos to bruce york.

- Houston, TX, USA

1) 90,000 miles on my 2001 Ford F150 supercrew 5.4L V8. ) two blown spark plugs in about eight weeks time. The second one left me and my family (wife and 3 children age 5 & under) stranded in the desert between san diego and el centro on interstate 8. 3) the plugs stripped out the threads on the head and aftermarket inserts were installed in order to install new plugs. After discussing the problem with a couple of garages and doing some online research I have learned that this is an extremely common problem. It appears that by Ford design their are only 6 of the 12 threads on the spark plug that are engaged in the head. After some time engine vibration and expansion and contraction of the head due to heat allow the spark plug to loosen up. At that point, the plugs increased movement has enough force to destroy the remaining threads. From the number of reports of this problem, I believe that this will either result in a class action lawsuit or a factory recall. However, I like Ford as a company and hope that they take responsibility for the poor design before a suit is filed.

- San Marcos, CA, USA