NHTSA Complaint #10107948 — 1996 FORD BRONCO

AT APPROXIMATELY 2AM ON SEPTEMBER 8, 2004, I RECEIVED A CALL FROM MY NEIGHBOR INFORMING ME THAT MY 1996 FORD BRONCO WAS ON FIRE. WHEN I RAN OUTSIDE, THERE WERE FLAMES "SHOOTING" SEVERAL FEET INTO THE AIR. THE SOURCE OF THE FIRE WAS THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE, IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THE FRONT TIRES HAD BLOWN FROM THE HEAT AND THE FIRE HAD MELTED THE DASH AND WAS INTO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. THE FIRE DEPT WAS CALLED AND WERE ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE BLAZE WITHIN A FEW MINUTES OF THEIR ARRIVAL. HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE WAS A TOTAL LOSS (I HAVE DIGITAL PICTURES). THE FIRE SEEMS TO HAVE STARTED ON THE DRIVERS SIDE IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT SINCE THAT WAS THE AREA WHERE THE FIRE WAS THE HOTTEST. (THE LEAD WHEEL WEIGHTS ACTUALLY MELTED) SINCE THEN I HAVE HEARD QUITE A FEW STORIES OF SIMILAR OCCURRENCES WITH WITH FORD BRONCOS, EXPLORERS, AND F150 PICK UPS OF MODEL YEARS RANGING FROM 1996 THROUGH 2002. ONE OF THE COMMON ELEMENTS IN A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF THESE EVENTS, ACCORDING TO A RECENT ARTICLE IN THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER, IS THAT THE CRUISE CONTROL ON THE VEHICLES THAT BURNT HAD FAILED. THAT WAS TRUE WITH MY VEHICLE. THE CRUISE CONTROL HAD NOT WORKED FOR THE LAST 6 MONTHS OR SO. MY VEHICLE HAD BEEN PARKED FOR APPROXIMATELY 18 HOURS PRIOR TO THIS EVENT.*AK