A WESH NewsChannel 2 investigation into spontaneous vehicle fires has prompted a second Ford truck owner to come forward.
He said his truck burst into flames outside his home in Lake County, and the engine was turned off. NewsChannel 2 has learned of six very similar cases and the victims are scattered all over the state.
About 600,000 Fords and Lincolns are in question, WESH NewsChannel 2 reported.
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Talk To 2: Has Your Vehicle Caught Fire?
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The Ford F-150 is the most popular vehicle on the road today. In fact, more than 500,000 were sold this year alone. But certain year models of this truck and two Ford SUVs are now under fire with the federal government. A NewsChannel 2 check of complaints shows that the federal government is investigating 36 vehicle engine fires. Four of the fires happened in Florida, including one in Orlando.
All cases involve 2000 models of the Ford F-150 pickup truck, the Ford Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator. With every complaint, owners say their vehicles were parked, the engine was off and then the truck or SUV went up in flames.
"I looked out the window and the entire truck was just blazing up," said Rick Hirsch, of Lake County.
He said his 2001 Ford F-250 caught fire just last month.
"Someone's going to get hurt. If Ford's covering this up, then I thank God for reporters like you," he told NewsChannel 2's Shannon FitzPatrick.
Of the 36 engine fires under investigation, half of the Ford owners said their cruise control went out before the fire. While the federal investigation is only in the preliminary stages, reports show all of the fires sparked from a short circuit in the cruise control deactivation switch.
Earlier this week, Bob Garcia-Nazario's 2000 Ford F-150 truck burst into flames in his Deltona garage after being parked there all day. Firefighters said it was an electrical problem.
So far, there have been no reported deaths in any of the 36 cases under investigation, but several of the fires have spread to homes.
Ford officials said they are aware of the investigation and that they are cooperating with the government. They also said that there are no recalls at this time.
The government wants to hear from you if you have a complaint about your vehicle. Call (888) 327-4236 to report any problems.
But its still pretty weird that its happening, and bad for ford.
I remember two years ago I was golfing and down the street from the course there was an automobile that kept honking the horn. I thought it was just the alarm going off but then I saw black smoke belowing so I decided to check it out from a few blocks away. The vehicle with the alarm going off was up in flames! I immediately called 911 and the operator said they already had a call for it. The firefighters came and put the blaze out. As we were leaving the golf course we headed to see the burnt up vehicle. As we drove by it you could barely tell what kind of vehicle it was. The only thing that wasn't gone was the shell of it, everything else was melted/charred up and was sitting on its rims. After looking at it carefully I could see that it was a newer ford expedition
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