Ford Recalls Windstar for CCDS Failures; Largest “Rolling Recall” in Ford History
Reprinted from The Safety Record, Volume 6, Issue 5, October 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sixteen months after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into fire-prone cruise control deactivation switches, Ford Motor Company announced a recall (09V399) of 4.5 million Windstars and seven other models to inspect and repair the leaking components.
The latest wave of vehicles to be plagued by cruise control deactivation switch fires and included in a recall brings the total to 14.1 million Ford vehicles the largest rolling recall to date.
Since 1998, Ford and NHTSA have known that the cruise control deactivation switches in some Ford vehicles fail, igniting fires that have destroyed hundreds of trucks, SUVs and luxury vehicles while parked with the engine off. In the last 11 years, this defect has been blamed for about 1,500 fires and at least two deaths, and sparked five separate NHTSA investigations, one consumer advisory and seven recalls.
Ford first began recalling vehicles in May 1999, with a small campaign to replace the switches in 279,000 1992-93 Lincoln Town Car, Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis vehicles. By the sixth recall, in August 2007, the automakers campaigns had grown – 3.67 million Ford and Mazda trucks going back as far as the 1992 model year. These vehicles were built with a powered-all-the-time electrical architecture that resulted in the switch igniting when the engine was turned off. That recall addressed the last of the 9.6 million vehicles equipped with Texas Instrument switches, wired to be “hot” at all times.
The vehicles covered under this October recall differ in that they don’t use a powered-all-the-time system. Instead, the problem has been identified as brake fluid migrating from the leaking CCDS switch to the anti-lock brake system module connector, where it can ignite, smoke, or burn.
This latest recall affects: MY 1995-2003 Windstar, 2000-2003 Ford Excursion diesel, 1993-1997 and 1999 2003 Ford F-Super Duty diesel, 1992-2003 Ford Econoline, 1995-2002 Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer, 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 Ford Ranger, and 1994 Ford F53 Motorhome vehicles.
In May 2008, the Office of Defects Investigation opened a Preliminary Evaluation into Windstar engine fires after receiving 130 complaints – 36 in one 12-month period alone. Two alleged that the fires spread from the minivan to their home, causing structural damage. About half complained that the fire occurred while the vehicle was parked and roughly a quarter said that the fire ignited while the vehicle was running. The investigation covered 1.6 million 1995-2003 Windstars.
In its response, Ford said that it shared “the concerns of the agency and our customers regarding the potential risk for Speed Control Deactivation Switch (SCDS) fires.” And yet, in its internal review of the reports and test data, the automaker could find “no evidence to support a conclusion that a leaking SCDS presents any unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety in these vehicles.” Ford assured the agency it would be continuing its analysis.
In September 2008, the agency bumped the investigation up to an Engineering Analysis. By that time, the tally had risen to 134 consumer complaints, 285 manufacturer complaints, and 137 manufacturer warranty claims alleging incidents of engine compartment fire. The agency issued no information request to Ford over a 12-month period and the agency posted no other information about its investigation before Ford announced the recall.
In its defect notice, Ford said that it had changed its mind about whether the leaking switch constituted a threat to safety:
“Ford is making a safety-related defect determination for the Windstar vehicles. We have not made a safety-related defect determination for the other vehicles included in this recall, but are including them to avoid any future concerns related to a potential fire risk resulting from the Texas Instruments SCDS either from the agency or from our customers.”
The Closing Resume, posted after the recall was announced, indicates that the agency tackled the problem by comparing fire rates in Ford Windstars to peer vehicles – the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna – and by live fire testing the failed CCDS switches. For the latter, the agency already had a well-travelled route, developed during the numerous investigations into the failed switches in vehicles that used a powered-all-the-time electrical system.
Like those in previously recalled Fords, the deactivation switch is mounted on the brake master cylinder, but is oriented in a vertically down – rather than vertically up – position. Originally, investigators believed that the leak path of brake fluid would flow from the hydraulic side of the switch to the electrical side of the switch, corroding the contacts, and eventually developing a short. The heat build-up in the switch cavity would melt the plastic housing and, in some cases, ignite. The agency had theorized that the vertically down orientation would inhibit ignition, because the metallic corrosion debris would settle in the plastic base of the switch away from the grounded hexport body.
ODI collected 19 switches and 3 ABS modules from vehicles that had burned and subjected them to live burn testing, detailed chemical and polymer analysis, vacuum testing, cycle endurance testing, and electrolysis analysis. The investigators found that while the vertically down orientation slows the process, it does not stop it entirely. Given enough time and wear, the switch can fail and ignite a fire. They also discovered that the leak can also travel to the “hot” ABS module and ignite an ignition-off fire. In some model years, the switch and the ABS share one or two common wires, allowing the brake fluid to migrate from the master cylinder through the switch, and down the wiring harness to the ABS module, filling it with brake fluid and setting the stage for a short circuit.
In comparing fire rates among peer vehicles, the agency found that the average fire rate for the Windstars was 7.2 fires per hundred thousand vehicles, compared to 2.7 for the Odyssey and Sienna. The analysis also indicated that Windstars were catching fire at comparable rates to the previously recalled Ford vehicles.
“Over time, after three to six years in service the engine fire rates on the subject vehicles increased to rates above previous years in service. This change in engine fire rate would suggest that the Windstar vehicle was generally taking 3 to 4 years to fail and cause the fire. From previous investigations, it is known that the SCDS is a component that takes approximately 3 to 6 years to fail and cause a fire,” ODI said in the closing report.
As it did with the other vehicles affected by the CCDS, Ford is offering the installation of a fused wiring harness to eliminate the potential fire risk. Windstars with a leaking switch will have to have the vehicle inspected and if necessary, receive a free repair of the ABS connector module.