MASSIVE VEHICLE FIRE: Safety and Customer Satisfaction are not Job 1 for Ford Motor Company.
The story presented here is the true account of Chris Hurley, who is the principle administrator of AX84.com. I've retold this to anyone who will listen and am now posting it more prominently so that it can serve as the warning that it deserves to be. I see so many Ford vehicles on the road and I think about how families can be injured or killed due to nonsense like this- Its very important to me that I tell everyone I can to help spread the word. As a result of this debacle, Ford Motor Company will never get another penny of my money, and I'd urge you to consider my story carefully. If you feel moved by this story, please tell someone about it.
In early May of 2002, my wife and I took our 1989 Ford Aerostar van out for the evening to run some errands. We stopped four times: Once at a restaurant, once at the mall, once at Radio Shack and finally once at home.
In searching my memory for anything unusual, the only thing I could recall in the following days was that on the last two stops, I heard a minor click noise when I turned off the ignition. I thought nothing of it at the time because the vehicle was running fine and everything seemed normal. My wife, son, his friend and I got out of the vehicle at home and removed our items over the course of a few minutes. There was no indication of smoke, or sizzling, or anything odd at all at that time.
After less than 20 minutes or so, my wife burst into the bedroom to inform me that "THE VAN IS ON FIRE!!! THE VAN IS ON FIRE!!!", after she heard the sound of the windshield and/or side windows bursting from the kitchen. I sprang from the bed and ran outside to see the most horrifying thing I've ever seen. Our Ford Aerostar was ablaze and burning some 10 or 20 feet into the night sky, but all we could do is await the fire department.
We had liability insurance coverage (as opposed to comprehensive coverage) due to the age of the vehicle which meant that this would become a serious financial hardship for us. The cost of replacing the vehicle was certainly an issue, but not nearly as much as my concerns that had this happened a few minutes earlier, my family might have been inside and been injured or killed. If I'd parked it in a garage, my house would have burned down with my family in it.
I was unaware of any recalls on the vehicle, but at the suggestion of one of the firemen, I searched online that evening (Friday May 3) and found that it was not uncommon for these vehicles to catch fire and perhaps a defective ignition switch was to blame. A 1989 Aerostar with 210k miles is certainly exceptional, but it was in good shape and running like a top. Neither my wife nor I were aware of any recalls, despite her having owned it for years.
I called Ford's customer response line as listed on the internet and gave them the information about what happened. Within six hours, a representative called my wife. I explained to them that I was principally concerned about why my vehicle spontaneously burst into flames. Had the vehicle been parked in a garage it would have burned my house down. Had my family been inside (perhaps waiting for me while I went into a store) they would have been injured or killed.
Surprisingly, I was told that Ford would conduct an investigation to see what happened and had me take it to a local dealership. I chose Bobby Jones Ford in Augusta, GA USA based on their reputation and me knowing a couple of people that worked there who might keep me abreast of the progress.
At my expense, I had the remnants of the vehicle towed to the dealership to await the investigation.
Although Ford initially told me that an 'investigator' from Ford would look at the vehicle, they later indicated that it would be someone at the dealership. This concerned me because the skills necessary to investigate a fire are not something found in just anyone off the street. I would soon find out that my concerns were well founded as Ford didn't seem to care who would investigate a fire in a vehicle.
Within a few days, a lady from Ford called me to indicate their findings, but got my answering machine. In her message, she indicated that the investigation had been completed and the switch was not the cause of the fire. They believed the fire started on the passenger side of the vehicle. Before I could reach her, I asked a friend of mine who worked at the dealership about the investigation and he indicated that nothing had happened so far, which I found puzzling.
When I reached the lady at ford the next day after she had not returned my call, I inquired about the investigation and about the credentials of the individuals who did the investigation, since I was getting the idea that nothing had been done. I was told by Ford that my friend (who had just told me that no investigation had taken place) was the one who conducted the investigation!
My friend and I played in a band together in our spare time and I would trust his account from the former evening with my life. He told me that he didn't conduct anything beyond a quick look along with two other people at the dealership and was not aware that he was performing an investigation. He clearly did not have the credentials to determine the cause of a fire anyway.
At this point, it was obvious to me that Ford Motor Company was not interested in investigating why my van spontaneously burst into flames and was instead merely going to lie to me and waste my time.
When I expressed my concerns to Ford Motor Company, I was told by the lady that she would inquire with the dealership to see what happened. Before she reached them, I did.
I asked the service manager about the credentials of the individuals who investigated this and was told that (a) no one had the ability to determine the cause of a fire at the dealership and (b) they only looked at the specific item Ford asked them to. They eventually admitted item (a) above, but it took a bit of questioning to get them to agree. I tried to assure them that I knew they weren't responsible for the vehicle, didn't sell it, and that I wasn't after a new van or anything.
The lady at Ford called me back and said that the dealer stood by their investigation (despite the fact that the dealership told me that they didn't conduct an investigation and didn't have anyone who was qualified to determine the cause of a fire). Again, I was concerned and I expressed my dissatisfaction with the discrepancy of accounts.
I was eventually told that a regional field services tech from Ford would be called to look at the issue. I asked them to perform a simple test of removing the potentially defecive switch and verifying that it wasn't shorted to ease my fears. I told her that I didn't want a new van or a bunch of money, but I only wanted an explanation as to why this happened.
Two days later, I get a call from the lady at Ford who has told me that the findings of the dealer are sufficient and the case is basically closed. She refused to have the dealer perform a 15 minute check of the switch to ease my concerns and no further effort would be expended. The field services tech from Ford was never called to look at the vehicle.
I spoke to her supervisor who echoed the same position and flatly refused to allow me to speak to one additional level of supervisor. I was told I could pay someone else to investigate this, but that Ford was not interested in the spontaneous combustion of a 13 year old vehicle if it didn't exactly match the wording of any recalls.
What bothers me most is not the loss of a $1500 vehicle. We purchased another vehicle and took on a payment that we could have done without. What bothers me is that Ford did not conduct an investigation after they said they would. They did not send an investigator when they said they would. They lied to me about an investigation into a serious safety issue. They refused to examine the switch. They even refused to have the field services tech look at the switch.
In short, Ford Motor Company is not concerned with the cause of a massive vehicle fire that could well have killed my family and burned down my house. Furthermore, their customer affairs structure is set up so that a customer with a legitimate concern is not allowed to air it to the level of authority he deems appropriate. Take from this what you may, but buy a Ford/Lincoln/Mercury vehicle at your peril!
I took pictures of it because I was just amazed at what happened. Here they are. Click on the picture to see a larger one:
