St. Petersburg Times, "Local officials have seen the damage faulty Ford cruise control switches can do"

          Pasco County fire investigator Don Campbell started noticing the problem about two years ago. The engines inside Ford sport utility vehicles and F-150 pickup trucks would mysteriously catch fire and burn, nearly always when the vehicle was parked and hadn't been driven in several hours. Campbell instantly made a connection. In January, 2005, Ford Motor Co. had begun a recall of nearly 6-million cars, trucks, SUVs and vans because of engine fires linked to faulty cruise-control switches.
          Ford expanded that recall Friday, when the automaker said 3.6-million vehicles need to be checked to address the same cruise-control problem. The recall covers more than a dozen Ford models built from 1992 to 2004 (see list at right). That Ford issued a second recall was no surprise to Campbell. Because the number of fires has been mounting. "It's a staggering number now," Campbell said Tuesday, referring to Ford vehicle fires his office has investigated. "It probably averages about one a week in Pasco County."
          Although both Pasco and Hillsborough County officials suspect the defective switches were a cause of many of the fires, they acknowledge there may have been other factors for some of the incidents. Campbell said he doesn't recall any injuries related to the spontaneous fires, "but there's been a lot of property damage to garages and houses." Ford spokesman Dan Jarvis would not say how many auto fires were believed to be linked to the defective part. There were a "higher than normal" number of fires before the 2005 recall, he said. Like Campbell, Hillsborough County fire investigator Dave Tucker sees a rising number of incidents in recent months. "This has been a long-standing problem," Tucker said Tuesday.
          The part causing concern, Tucker said, is a speed deactivation switch that disengages the cruise control. The switch stays energized as long as the battery is charged, and if brake fluid or oil comes into contact with the switch, it can ignite. "A vehicle could be stored for months," Tucker said, "and still be susceptible." The resulting fire can be intense. Tucker has seen fires that burned a hole through the metal over the engine "the size of a basketball."

Learn more about Ford cruise control switch fires and the rights of victims of Ford vehicle fires.