The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has re-issued a recall for 4.6 million Ford vehicles due to a cruise-control issue that has caused at least 550 vehicles to catch fire, including 60 since August. According to NHTSA, the fire can occur regardless of whether cruise control is activated or whether the key is even in the ignition. Cars with the problem can be fixed immediately; trucks will merely have the switch, which is currently on back order, disconnected until it can be replaced. NHTSA is urging those who didn’t heed the first recall notice to head to a dealer for a drive-through repair as soon as possible.
While this is an old recall, it’s yet to be totally solved. NHTSA estimates that of the 9.6 million vehicles initially recalled, only about 5 million have been repaired, meaning millions of vehicles that could potentially catch fire are still on the road. Ford will yet again notify owners of the fix, probably while hoping this recall is remedied as quickly as possible.