This was unexpected...

Well I was woken by the Fire Department Wednesday morning to show me this..

Talk about a surprise ... it was quite surreal when I approached my transportation of 14 years to find her in this shape.

I had picked up my daughter from a school function the night before and parked it about 9:30pm. We had a deployment at work that I was able to do remotely via VPN so I worked till about 3AM and went to bed. Decided I would go into the office after noon, but just before 11 there was a knock at the door. I looked out the front window to see a Firetruck parked on the corner. I couldn't see my truck from this vantage point, so I opened the door. A fireman was just coming back around the corner, and asked me if I owned a pickup. I said yes, and asked him if he need me to move it or something. He said.. no .. It burned.

It took me a second to register and I must have said something like "huh.. Wha?" about the time I came around the corner of the house to see it.

My wife took my daughter to school before 8AM (in her car) and it was fine then.. so it had to have happened between 8 and 10:30ish. I asked the fireman how this could have happened, and he said that sometimes cars just catch on fire. Of course I am thinking WTF!

Did some research and apparently there is a problem with the cruise control brake pressure sensor switch. To the best of my knowledge I have never received a recall notice, but there is one issued. So if you have a 1993-2004 Ford truck, be sure to check if you vehicle is affected, or just take it in and have a dealership check it out! No matter what the age of the vehicle, as you can see it's worth having it looked at. I can't imagine the damage this could have caused had it been parked in a garage.

So I am a bit bummed out. I had full coverage insurance on it, but with only 80K miles on it, and in excellent condition, there is no way they will give me what it was worth to me to just drive. I hadn't planned on getting rid of it for a long time, even if I got a new car.

Holy..... Wow. Just looking at the pictures is surreal, I can't imagine being drug out to that. Sorry as hell to hear about it. I'll be interested to see how you come out with the insurance company.

Any chance of getting Ford involved since it had a known issue?

BLOODY HELL!

It's even worse finding out that the truck may have had a problem which meant this could have been prevented...

Not sure yet.. I did some looking around and there is a lawsuit, but only if it damaged property not just the truck alone. Also I found that you must approach them with an attorney. I am going to see how the insurance company handles it before I determine if its worth the costs of pursuing.

whoa!

hope you didn't have anything valuable in that truck (you know other then 13 years)

Nah.. just a few odds and ends, but really the interior of was not really too bad. Lots of smoke damage, and of course water. I wouldn't want to ride around in it now, but I was amazed it wasn't worse. I had to pry the glove box open because most of the dash is melted, but when I got it open.. nothing inside was burned. My original window sticker was in there along with some maintenance receipts and the manual. It was a bit smoky but just fine. Pretty crazy.. it must have burned super hot. The first question one of the fireman asked me was "Where is the hood, and why did you have it off?" I told him I didn't take the hood off, it was there when I parked it. He asked me if it was a fiberglass after market hood, and I just said.. "I was a bone stock 1997 Ford F150 XLT". By this time I was looking around on house roof tops and in tree's thinking maybe it blew off. Eventually we figured out there were some remnants of it in the corners of the opening. Apparently it melted into slag or just burned to ash.

Holy.

Freakin'.

Cow.





I hope you can get a replacement soon.



Well, we have an '09 ranger, so....





*edit: We had an '06 Aerostar 'til a couple years ago. The transaxle snapped clean in half, and it would have cost more to repair it than it was worth.

That is one nice camera you have!

Damn... ****ty deal man. That's not cool at all. *shakes fist at the universe*

Damn, sorry about that dude. The only good thing about this is that you and your family wasn't in the truck.

Wow, that is horrible. Hope everything works out in the end even though it must suck pretty hard right now. At least no one was hurt.

eh, typical Fords :whistler:

Glad you're safe and it didn't catch anything else on fire!

That'll buff out.\

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Originally Posted by SgtM

That'll buff out.\

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ROFL!!! Where the hell is my "Like" button!

So off that... I had to do this:

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Originally Posted by Fuganater

ROFL!!! Where the hell is my "Like" button!

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It's called the +Rep button.

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Originally Posted by SXRguyinMA

eh, typical Fords :whistler:

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Now, now! No time for that... Although my Dad used to have a Ford with a utility bed, on 44" Ground Hawgs. After it caught fire for the third time, he sold it... :think:

Don't know why he couldn't find the hood. I'm looking right at part of it over the passenger headlight...

It looks like the fire was worse over on the driver side. Kinda helps toward the brake pressure switch theory.

Either way, it is a darn shame. I'd be very sad if I lost my Chebby in such a way. I want to screw it up because I did something stupid, not a freaking switch! :(

Good luck with the insurance. Remember to never take the first offer, and get buy back rights!

haha, that makes 2 of us in the market for cars.... i'm sure mine is totaled.

oh man i saw a 65' sky trac that caught fire.


Whhoooollllleee aluminum top of the engine was melted. (Think i have pictures somewhere) I grabbed a piece of aluminum in the shape of the spark plug hole which was pretty cool.



maybe you should get a new ford and replace the quarter panels and front end with your melted version.

it'd be pretty hilarious!

did you find out if insurance covers this?

ah, the infamous ford f150 fire. i think expeditions have that problem too. lots of issues with that happening in people's garages, good thing yours was on the street.

the hood melted because it is/was plastic.

"The fireman said that sometimes cars just catch on fire" lol, yeah, wtf is that supposed to mean?

So what was the actual source of flame, the spark which ignited this mess? Electrical failure, vented battery hydrogen, what? Does this recall-defect you mention cause any electrical arcing?

Just curious, what was the ambient temp outside between about 8AM and 10:30ish that morning? Do you live somewhere like Arizona where the concrete boils off the roads at noon?

From what I have gathered of the actual issue it goes a little something like this...

There is a pressure switch located in the brake reservoir. When you press down on the brake pedal the reservoir builds pressure and activates the switch. The switch is there to disengage the cruise control when you press on the brake pedal. So.. the switch is separated from the brake fluid by a thin film. Over time this film can develop cracks and that will allow brake fluid to seep into the switch. Once the fluid contacts the switch it begins to short. When it shorts it builds up heat. Brake fluid is flammable so once it hits the right temp.. viola .. you have an inferno in a matter of minutes. The reason it can happen at any time is the switch has 12V to it at all times, even when the vehicle is not running or a key in the ignition.

I have a copy of the fire report and under cause it states...

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Originally Posted by Fire Incident Report

"1997 Ford with engine compartment fully involved and extending into the passenger compartment. Aluminum hood had melted completely off. Car had been parked on side of street for approximately thirteen hours according to owner, who was home at the time. Heaviest fire damage and apparent origin in engine area near firewall on drivers side. Burn pattern consistent with similar fires where cruise control module failed. Used booster line to extinguish."

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It was pretty warm out but definitely not the hot part of the day.. probably high 80's low 90's. Later in the day it was over 105 but that was probably early afternoon.

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Originally Posted by xr4man

ah, the infamous ford f150 fire. i think expeditions have that problem too. lots of issues with that happening in people's garages, good thing yours was on the street.

the hood melted because it is/was plastic.

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F150's, Rangers, Explorers, and their Lincoln counterparts from 1993-2004 are at risk from what I have read.

Also the hood was definitely NOT plastic.. there were remnants left and they were metal. I just never realized it was aluminum. I had some hail damage fixed on the hood back in 05, most plastics wouldn't suffer from hail damage much less work with the paintless dent removal.

They finally hauled it off on Wednesday a week after it burned. I have no idea what took them so long. The damage adjuster said its totaled but hasn't come back with a price yet. The have a 4 page form that I have been filling out that has a ridiculous amount of stuff to dig up.. some of it is pretty normal information but stuff like.. taxes paid!?!? It was 14 years ago.. I just know it was less then I am going to pay now a days! :D

GEEZ! that really sucks.
good thing that nobody was in it. and it didn't set your lawn/house on fire too

good think it wasnt parked in the garage.(if you have one)

I say don't replace it - keep the check to pay for CES 2012 - then demand a company vehicle from your employer - everyone wins heh!

Wow, just saw this. That really sucks, but I'm glad nobody was hurt. Good luck with the insurance company.

Hey!

Least you can get a Prius now.





Everytime I read that, I can just see your face and hear your reaction lol.

I'd be sad if any of my rides went up like that. That sucks man :( Did insurance pay it out I hope?

My wifes uncle has that same truck (same color too) and can't get that fixed because the dealer here can't get the parts. :(

Well Its been 3 weeks from today, and the insurance company wrote me a check. I am really pleased with them. They said since the fire was caused by a mechanical defect and not vandalism, they waived my deductible. I was shocked to say the least. They gave me just shy of $6000 for it, which is more then enough for a down payment on some thing else. So of course the insurance office is literally RIGHT NEXT door to 2 car dealerships and within a mile of 10 more. So I didn't make it very far...

I pretty much got one of my dream cars. It's a little dark outside, but rest assured I will get better pics soon! :D

yea buddy

^^^*10

You bought a little red X?????

What kind of fuel economy does it get?


(Seriously, the picture's not there. May be my work filters, I'll check it at home.)

Heheh, nice. :twisted: Wouldn't have been my choice, but still a lot of fun...and damn sexy too. ;) What's it got under the bonnet?

You are gonna be hard-pressed to haul sheets of plywood in it though. :whistler:

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Originally Posted by blueonblack

You bought a little red X?????

What kind of fuel economy does it get?


(Seriously, the picture's not there. May be my work filters, I'll check it at home.)

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I was hosting that out of my dropbox, so I can see that they might have that blocked. I went a head and moved it over to my folder on this server.

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Originally Posted by x88x

Heheh, nice. :twisted: Wouldn't have been my choice, but still a lot of fun...and damn sexy too. ;) What's it got under the bonnet?

You are gonna be hard-pressed to haul sheets of plywood in it though. :whistler:

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Its just the V6.. I tried to justify the SS but they didn't have that in a 45th Anniversary model. :rolleyes: Its got the 2012 3.6L LFX motor which cranks out 323HP and still can manage 30mpg on the highway. :) Trust me its plenty fast enough.

As for the plywood.. just ask my wife, it really was kind of an agonizing decision. I kept thinking what am I going to do when I go to Home Depot! It was just so easy to just toss stuff in the back, but my Dad has a pickup that I should be able to use should the need arise.

I'm jealous! So when are you making that trip here to get some sick graphics on it?

Holy #@^&!

Congrats, dude, I recall you drooling over something similar in a casino in Vegas. Of course, now you HAVE to come up here to Spingfield to pick up that router table. It'll fit in the trunk. ;)

Well I got a chance to get her out in the sunlight for few shots.

45th Anniversary stripe package

Camaro badge and 45th Anniversary emblem

Stainless exhaust and 45th Anniversary wheels with 40 series meats in the wheel wells.

I tried to get a good representation of the paint in the sun.

And the inside.

RS Gauges and the Red and blue stitching.

45th Anniversary emblems stitched into the seat backs.

I tried to get a good shot of the halos around the head lights in the dark but it was difficult to get a good shot.

I have to say this thing is absolutely ridiculous. No one should be this happy sitting in traffic!

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Originally Posted by SgtM

I'm jealous! So when are you making that trip here to get some sick graphics on it?

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Had it not been a 45th Anniversary model.. I would be all over that offer! Black with some Hugger Orange stripes with some inside edge shadowing for a little depth. Yah.. I could live with that!

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Originally Posted by blueonblack

Holy #@^&!

Congrats, dude, I recall you drooling over something similar in a casino in Vegas. Of course, now you HAVE to come up here to Spingfield to pick up that router table. It'll fit in the trunk. ;)

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Thanks man. I have been lusting over them since they announced the concept in 09. It's funny the trunk is really rather large, the problem is .. the opening is not very big at all.. so you can put a lot of little things in it. For that router table .. I will figure something out! :up:

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Originally Posted by OvRiDe

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I like you less now :P

curt, automatic, really? second, its kinda scary we were both thinking camaro... i am trying to decide between http://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/2616499722.html 1970 camaro split bumper in pristine condition, and http://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/2601839761.html for fun and kicks. bearing i can fit into the second. :facepalm: :banana: