Good news - Fords (including Mercurys and Lincolns, they're really not any better, you know) built after 2004 are ok.

Bad news - nearly all Fords built between 1992 and 2004 might have the problem

 

do the math, guys. 559 reported fires, 3,700,000 vehicles with the switch. Is this a real issue, or a very rare occurrence?

Honda transmission failures:
http://www.autosafety.org/article.php?did=908&scid=93
Honda's record is not a hell of a lot better than Ford's, in this respect. You all make a bunch of noise every time some domestic maker issues a recall, but strangely ignore the issues with Honda vehicles. How many TSB's on the S2000, for issues that could have been fixed after the first year?

 

TSBs are out there on EVERY SINGLE VEHICLE!!!!!!!!!

The term TSB is unique to Honda, but everyone has them.

One does not do a recall for mechanical issues. One does a recall for SAFETY ISSUES!!!!!! Most often, manufacturers only do recalls just before the government says they have to (so they can say it is voluntary, hehe).

The plug recall on the S2000 was unique as it was not safety-related, but in the interests of engine-replacement expenses. Look at all of the ford and GM recalls as of late...they are all potential safety issues.

the tranny issue you linked is not safety-related, either. It is honda owning up to the problem. show me a case of ford and gm doing that on a NON-SAFETY issue.

The only safety thing I can think of for honda lately is the CRV oil issue...that was improper servicing and not a design flaw, and is thus not subject to recalls.

TSBs are not something you recall every car on the road for. TSBs are there to advise how to fix common problems IF PEOPLE HAVE THEM.

 

So it's OK if 559 people's house burns down. At least they had a better than fair chance of not.

This can kill people (and maybe has), a tranny wearing out won't kill you.

 

Honda has minor transmission issues (learn to drive a manual!), whereas the Ford issue is life-threatening (a friggin cat died!).

 

No a real person may have died. Not to mention house + everything in it is priceless.

 

I agree that both GM and Ford do have the reputation of poor quality, but they are definitely not alone with quality problems. I believe the perception is there mostly because they sell more vehicles, so the statistical likelihood of more problems surfacing is greater.

For example, BMW has had multiple recalls over the past 5 years for parts on vehicles that could cause fires. One recall, similar to this one with Ford occurred back in 2001. In that campaign, BMW recalled over 22,000 vehicles (3 series, 7 series, X5, and Z8) because of 4 reported, releated fires caused by a cooling fan motor overheating. <Reference BMW Source>

If you look at the percentages...

BMW
4/22,000 = 0.00018 or 0.018% of the total number of BMW vehicles caught fire.
Ford
559/3,700,000 = 0.00015 or 0.015% of the toal number Ford vehicles caught fire.

So, as you can see in this case, BMW actually had a higher percentage of fires than Ford. But with Ford having 168 times more vehicles on the road, it seems worse and gets more press, IMO.

 

no-one said it was ok. But the world isn't perfect. Name one company that doesn't have a product that isn't perfect. People die every day from a myriad of causes. That's life. Sometimes it is preventable, sometimes it is due to the negligence of others, and sometimes it is pure dumb luck. 559 out of 3700000 is a really low percentage - would you buy a lottery ticket for $30,000 if those were the odds of winning? No. But if the odds of winning were 3699441 in 3700000, you probably would say it would be dumb not to.

 

Good points.

 

A friend of mine is having the EXACT SAME PROBLEM with her Explorer right now. She's taking it to the dealer tomorrow. I don't remember what model year it is, but it's a few years old. When I heard that smoke was coming from the steering column, I said "WTF?????? Tell me again why you bought a Ford?"

I can't wait to hear what they tell her about this. Do you remember if there's a Ford TSB on this problem?