Ford Recalls Pickup Trucks, SUVs

Ford Motor Co. recalled about 155,000 pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles on Monday to repair a cruise control switch system that already had led to millions of recalls.

Ford said the latest recall involved 2003 versions of the F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 Super Duty truck, the Ford Excursion SUV and the Lincoln Blackwood pickup.

The No. 2 U.S. automaker previously had recalled 5.8 million vehicles in the past two years because of engine fires linked to the cruise control systems in trucks, SUVs and vans. That recall, one of the largest in history, covered vehicles from the 1994-2002 model years.

Ford officials said Monday an internal check found the switch systems in some early 2003 trucks and SUVs and the company acted to allow owners to get it repaired. The switch system could corrode over time, overheat and ignite.

"We wanted to make sure that customers could go to the dealerships and deal with that as soon as we knew it," Ford spokesman Dan Jarvis said. He said there had been no reports of fires in the 2003 vehicles.

The F-150 pickup has been the top-selling vehicle in the United States for 30 years and is considered crucial to Ford's attempts to return to profitability. The F-Series has faced soft sales in recent months because of a slowdown in housing construction; sales for the pickup were down nearly 12 percent in 2006 to nearly 800,000 vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration completed an extensive investigation last year into the cause of the fires. Through August of last year, the most recent data available, the agency had received 1,472 complaints connected to the problems, including 65 reports of fires.

The safety agency has said there have been no confirmed deaths or injuries, but lawsuits were filed in Iowa, Georgia and Arkansas over deaths allegedly tied to the fires. The automaker reached a settlement in the Iowa case in October.

Ford said last year its review found that brake fluid could leak through the cruise control's deactivation switch into the system's electrical components, leading to corrosion. That could produce a buildup of electrical current that could cause overheating and a fire.

To fix the problem, dealers install a fused wiring harness to the cruise control deactivation switch to prevent the risk of fire if the switch leaked. Ford officials said about 45 percent of the vehicles under the previous recalls have been repaired.

Owners of the newly recalled vehicles will receive notices in the mail next week and dealers will make the repairs at no cost to the owner. Customers can contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673.