The big Ford cruise control brake switch recall has been going on for a long time. I decided to write about it today, because I saw an article posted that despite all owners being notified by now, several million vehicles haven’t reported in for the free repairs.
Occasionally you see a news story about one of these cars catching fire, sometimes in the owners garage causing a lot of damage to the home. As I continued to do a little research on the subject I noticed that an inexpensive repair kit is available to the general public so they can do the repairs themselves.
I’ll put a link to the product and you can find out more about it and make the decision whether or not to bring it to a dealership or repair it yourself. I think there are a lot of reasons to take a vehicle into the dealership for the Ford cruise recall, even if it’s inconvenient.
Why Have the Dealership do the Recall
One reason to have it performed at a dealership is the repair will be documented as completed. This can benefit Ford Motor Company as well as the owner.
The benefits to Ford is an accurate estimate of cars that still require the recall. From the owner’s point of view, if there’s cruise control problems or an issue with the master cylinder there may be an avenue of recourse if the defects are related to the Ford cruise control recall performed at a factory trained service department.
With that said, it is better to have the automobile fixed then not. If ordering a $25 kit and putting it in yourself is the only logical course of action for you, then this is better than doing nothing at all.
Let’s face it, some people work nights or find it impossible to leave the automobile for service. Having the repairs done while you wait can take hours. The kit on the left is a hot seller on amazon. If it’s out of stock it can be found on the Internet. Look for “Motorcraft SW-6350 Speed Sensor Switch Repair Kit”.
What is this Recall all About
It all started with a couple of car fires that started when the automobiles where parked in garages.
These fires spread to the house and caused massive damage. They eventually traced the root cause back to a leaking pressure switch mounted on the brake master cylinder.
This is a pressure sensitive switch that turns off the cruise control if the brakes are applied. When they first identified the problem dealerships where just disconnecting the switch and tying back the harness. This would illuminate the possibility of a fire while waiting for ordered parts to come in. It also leaves the driver without an option they paid for.
The recall progressed and parts shortages started to become an issue because of the massive amount of vehicles that were involved.
So the recall procedure was enhanced. Vehicles were inspected to see if the pressure switch was leaking. If the switch was not leaking a fused harness was installed.
This would prevent a fire if the switch began to leak at a later date. As the parts started to catch up with the recall, dealerships had the choice of replacing the switch and installing the updated fused harness.
Doing both was the best way to take care of it. The updated cruise switch was less likely to leak down the road, making for a more reliable repair than just installing the wire harness.
Is my Ford Recalled
I read a bunch of articles on this recall. Several of them stated that this was the largest Ford recall in the history of the company. I don’t know if it’s true but I do know that millions of autos are affected.
In 2009 another 4.5 million vehicles were added to the recall list. Here is a link to a timeline of events and an updated Cruise Control Recall List of included vehicles. You also might learn a few things by browsing the comments at the bottom of the page.
Also in my research I found a page on the Ford motor company website that you can physically type you’re vehicle identification number into, how cool is that. This will tell you if the automobile is involved. You can visit Ford’s page, so you can check for any open Ford recalls. It also works for Lincoln and Mercury. Help spread the word about this ongoing cruise control recall. Tell a friend about this page using the social buttons or add to your favorites.
Having cruise control problems? Maybe it has nothing to do with the pressure switch mounted in the master cylinder. I have seen the steering wheel mounted switch malfunction and cause the cruise not to set.
This article about cruise control recalls is part of my auto repair news section. You can head back there to see additional articles about common problems with several different models including Ford cars and trucks. I also have an article about a common Ford ABS problem. This is an issue that turns on the ABS light. The recall discussed on this page will not turn on the dash light for the ABS system.
Looking for repair and diagnostic procedures specifically for Fords. Here is a page I wrote about online ford repair manuals.
The next link will take you back to the homepage where you can find out more about what’s included on the you fix cars website.