While driving off the parking lot of our corner convenience store, my son turn on the A/C only to have smoke and flames shoot out from the vents. In an instant panic he looked around and found that they were trying to flag him that flames were shooting from under the car. He immediately crossed the street and was able to get out of the car safely. The flames burned through the top of the hood and thankfully the fire dept was quick and was able to extinguish the fire. Everything under the hood was destroyed and even the front tires wouldn't budge when trying to push the vehicle out of the way afterwards. We had the vehicle towed to our home and still are in possession of it. Though no work has been done on it and in our opinion nothing left to work on, we know that there has to have been something faulty. Several mechanic friends all say the same thing about looking into the cruise control deactivation switch which has been having recalls, however, our make and model is not on the recall list. Still we know it doesn't just happen without a cause we are grateful that our son was not injured and though he was definitely traumatized, we realize it could have been worse as we hear the stories. We now have no car and still owe a balance since it turns out what we thought we were paying for in liability w/ comp and collision turned out to be only liability. The Ford company says it can't help us and so we were given to this site for some kind of direction.

- Mcallen, TX, USA

On 12/2/04 I brought my vehicle to Ford for a repair. My cruise control was not disengaging from the steering wheel, I had to step on the brake to accomplish this. The repair was done. I had no further problems with this until aprox 12/14/05. The same exact problem recurred with the cruise control not disengaging from the steering wheel. When I contacted the Ford dealer who did the original repair, I was told I would have to pay for the service repair since they only warranted for 12 months or 12,000 miles. I feel this is a safety hazard. Clearly a repair such as this should not recur if new parts were used. Either there should be a recall for this issue or faulty parts were used. When I contacted Ford mfg I was told the same >>>my warranty had expired (by 2 weeks I should add)>>>so I was out of luck. No wonder Ford is going under! anyway, that's my issue. Please advise.

- Medford, NY, USA

: the contact stated while driving at various speeds on normal roads the cruise control always fails to disengage. The dealership and manufacturer were alerted, but no inspections were completed. The dealer replaced the cruise control switch for the second time within in one year. Updated 03/20/06.

- Medford, NY, USA

The incident happened as I was driving home in my 2000 Ford Taurus sel on the Illinois toll road on 12/20/2005 using cruise control in extremely cold weather (8-11 degrees). I drove several miles, and then exited the expressway when suddenly the accelerator stuck at about 50-55 miles per hour. The accelerator pedal would not release. I drove the car for nearly 2 miles trying to decide what to do, and was unable to stop the car completely. Finally, near my home, in an open, less-traveled area, I tried to stop, but the engine continued to race, and the car jumped forward. I proceeded through the red light, pulled over to the side and flipped the key to the off position, which stopped the car. I immediately lost all steering capability and came to a stop. I tried to restart the vehicle, but the engine revved to 4000 RPM and I immediately turned the car off. After trying this twice, and tapping the pedal heavily to try to release the stuck accelerator, I proceeded to open the hood with the car off. I tried to find the accelerator cable in the cold (now 4 degrees) and dark. After searching for approximately 15 minutes, I again tried to start the car and it started normally. I was then able to drive home cautiously. Tomorrow I will contact my Ford vehicle for service. This has happened a few times recently, but it never stuck for more than a few seconds. However, this incident was not only extremely frightening and dangerous, but also could have potentially damaged the engine and brakes. The NHTSA must recall these vehicles immediately, as this is an extremely dangerous situation!! I am lucky that I was driving at approximately 2:30 in the morning with little traffic, with no other passengers in the vehicle, and that the brakes were able to slow the vehicle. Otherwise, this could have been a potentially deadly situation for myself and other motorists.

- Montgomery, IL, USA

The brake light was repaired through a recall and currently the cruise control did not work. Manufacturer was contacted, and they stated that it was not related. Dealer stated it will take two weeks to receive the part.

- Glen Carbon, IL, USA

The cruise control failed to disengage when the brake pedal was applied. The consumer had to turn the cruise control lever to disengage the system. This occurred two days after the brake light switch recall 04V106000 repairs were performed. This was the first time that vehicle was driven since recall repairs were done. This caused the consumer to become very close to slower moving traffic before the consumer realized what occurred. The consumer stated that the recall was originally done carelessly.

- Mechanicsville, VA, USA

Suspension clips that hold the wires to the cruise control, airbag, and horn gave way resulting in malfunctioning cruise control. That then destroyed the clock spring in the cruise control. The service technician also noted that 'we were lucky the airbag didn't go off since the wires to that were also included in the bundle of wires held by those clips". as a result, the wires dangled down near the brake pedal and were eventually worn through.

- Rochester, MN, USA

Cruise control did not disengage by itself and vehicle suddenly accelerated. Dealer stated call NHTSA.

- Allegan, MI, USA

I have a 2000 Ford Taurus with adjustable pedals. The car was serviced per the instructions associated with recall campaign 01V078000. Shortly after this repair, the brake switch was contaminated with grease causing the brake lamp switch to be stuck in the closed position disabling the cruise control and causing the stop lamps to stay on. The car was repaired under warranty. A little over one year later, the same problem occurred and was again fixed under the extended warranty. In essence, the problem which was supposed to be addressed in recall campaign 01V078000 apparently was not adequately addressed as the problem as reoccurred not once but twice since the repairs associated with the original recall.

- Claremore, OK, USA

Our Taurus and five others I have driven continue to supply excess fuel when the accelerator is released. This causes the brakes to be necessary in ordinary traffic and to decelerate at curves and hills (there is no "hill holding" effect ). to check this, shift into neutral at about 60 mph and you will see the tach go up from 2000 to almost 3000rpm, when it should be dropping to the idle speed of about 750rpm. My dealer is at a loss to explain or fix this, and I havent found any other make and model that does this. Even the Windstar, which is pretty similar in engine, drops to idle speed.

- Sterling, IL, USA

The idle air control valve stuck causing the vehicles engine to race out of control and the check engine light to illuminated, the consumer feels this vehicle should not be having this type of failure at such low mileage. Nlm

- Streamwood, IL, USA

When starting vehicle when cold vehicle idles high and rolls forward with depressing gas pedal. The vehicle had surging problem at start up since it was new. Now it rolls forward at startr up in cold weather.

- Parma, MI, USA

Vehical idles too high, cruses at 40 mph. With foot off the gas, no hold back on hills car needs continous braking to reduce speed of engine.I feel this is very dangerous on wet, icey road conditions and will cause early brake pad wear. When the car is stopped in drive on level road car will move foward without touching the gas pedal.

- Kinnelon, NJ, USA

While making a stop at a light and when depressing gas pedal vehicle idled high and stalled without any indication. Dealer stated that fuel pump needed to be replaced. Manufacturer had no replacement.

- Jacksonviulle, FL, USA