Upon starting the 2001 Ford Windstar van Tuesday morning several of the warning lights stayed on, including the brake and ABS lights. The digital odometer display changed from numbers to dashes and the speedometer remained at "0" when driving. Also, the air conditioning (A/C ) stopped working. I took it to the Ford dealership for repair. It took them 2 days to find the problem which turned out to be a defective cruise control deactivation switch. The service dept. Manager said we were fortunate that the van did not catch on fire. He told us that the switch had completely melted and had charred the surrounding wires. This problem is very similar to the problem which caused the massive Ford recall in 2005, but Ford claims that this has never been a problem in their minivans. The Ford dealership did repair the damage at a cost of about $700. I did not think to ask at the time if I could have the burned switch. I would like this to go on record in case there are other vans out there with the same problem. Perhaps the Ford recall needs to be extended to include the Windstar as well. I contacted Ford by email and was told that there were currently no safety recalls involving this van.

- Chesapeake, VA, USA

On May 2, 2007 we detected an odor of burning plastic in the house. After searching the house I opened the garage and a large amount of smoke filled the house. The occupants left through the front door, and I proceeded to open the garage door and went out with phone in hand. While I was standing outside a friend's son indicated that there were flames under the van. I went back into the house, got the keys and made an attempt of pushing the van out of the garage. As I took the vehicle out or park I noticed flames coming from the engine compartment at the windshield. I decided that I was not going to be a hero, and I got out of the van and garage. We were afraid of an explosion since the gas tank was filled that day. I called the fire department which extinguished the fire before it spread to the house. I attempted to get a water hose to try to contain the fire, but after four steps, my right knee on which I had surgery three weeks before it gave out on me and I ended up having to go to the emergency room. The van was totaled by the insurance company. My daughter and I did extensive research of the Ford web site, and in all cases involving fires Ford Motor Company has not even blinked an eye to pay one cent. Why can't the government go after this company that knowingly produced a product that was defective and continued to produce over and over again without taking safety into consideration. We have been fortunate that there were no deaths involved. What is it going to take?

- Orlando, FL, USA

Within five minutes of turning the vehicle off, a fire started under the hood.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA