ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- An Orange County family is wondering if a problem with Ford vehicles caused a fire that nearly sent their home up in flames. A Ford Expedition caught fire in the garage of their home in east Orange County.
Millions of Ford vehicles are being recalled because fires can start in the engine compartment. The focus of the investigation is a small sensor located a few feet from the steering wheel.
The fire department removed the SUV from the garage moments after intense flames burned a huge hole through the hood. Just about everything in Mark Vanscoter's garage was damaged when his 1998 Ford Expedition mysteriously caught fire early Monday morning.
"Had the horn not gone off, we would have been in there sleeping. The thing would have just kept going. Who knows what would have happened," Vanscoter said.
Something similar has happened to several hundred Ford pickups and sport utility vehicles. Federal investigators say a faulty cruise control switch has caused some F-150s, Expeditions and Navigators to burst into flames.
Ford has recalled the entire 2000 model line of those vehicles, but investigators are now looking at more than 3.5 million trucks and SUVs made in the mid '90s thru 2002.
"It's a little aggravating to know that there's a problem that we should have been notified about," Vanscoter said.
The problem with Vanscoter's Expedition appears to be an air conditioning switch or sensor attached to the master cylinder; at least that's what the burn patterns indicate.
Vanscoter says he's thankful firefighters were able prevent the flames from spreading to the rest of the house.
"It's something that doesn't happen everyday. When it does happen, I'm just glad the horn went off and I was able to get everybody out," Vanscoter said.
The fire department notified the State Fire Marshal's Office.
A spokesperson for the Ford Motor Corporation tells Channel 9 they haven't had many problems with vehicles built in 1998, but they are working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to get to the root of the problem.
The vehicles that are part of the recall are the 2000 to 2002 Ford F-150, Expeditions, and Lincoln Navigators, as well as the 1997-2002 Ford Ranger, Econoline, Windstar, Explorer, Escape and Mercury Mountaineer.
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