1997 Ford E350

This investigation was opened based on one complaint and reports from four transportation fleets alleging 182 blower motor control switch failures.ODI was concerned that these melting and burning switches could lead to an open flame that could spread throughout the vehicle.After a comprehensive review of all data related to overheating blower motor control switches in the subject vehicles, ODI did not identify the existence of a safety defect trend.ODI reviewed 1,036 complaints, claims, and field reports of failed blower motor control switches and determined that only two fires were likely to have been caused by a failing subject blower motor control switch.This represents a failure rate of 0.2 R/100K on a population of 1,076,975 vehicles that have been in service for up to 14 years.ODI has found that when the subject switches do fail and begin to melt, they are constructed in a manner that typically prevents the failing switch from igniting and developing into an open flame.Ford Motor Company has agreed to take two actions to further reduce the likelihood an overheated blower motor switch in the subject vehicles.Ford informed ODI that it has implemented a series of design changes to the subject switch that will help prevent it from developing internal high resistance short circuits.Ford has also informed ODI that it would release a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB-11-11-21) instructing subject vehicle owners to replace the electrical connector at the same time a failed switch is replaced.In light of the low rate of failure resulting in open flame and fire spread on the subject vehicles, and Ford's actions to reduce the likelihood of a switch failure through switch design changes and a TSB, further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defect exists.The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.The ODI complaints cited above can be reviewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following (ODI) numbers: 10427875, 10114393, 10257890For additional information, see the attached closing report.

ODI has received 1 complaint and reports from 4 transportation fleets alleging 182 switch failures.Each fleet operates mini buses built on a Ford E350 or E450 cutaway chassis.The OEM HVAC blower switches have melted, smoked, burned or experienced open flame and become inoperable on vehicles in each fleet.Some drivers have reported a burning smell or smoke coming from the dash.One fleet reported a vehicle fire.No injuries were sustained.However, the bus was carrying special needs children when the driver noticed smoke coming from the dash.The driver was able to evacuate the children prior to the vehicle becoming engulfed in flames.This PE has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA) to determine if the blower motor switch failures create a situation where a vehicle fire is possible and presents a safety risk to the driver and other passengers.

ON SEPTEMBER 6, 2005, ODI RECEIVED A PETITION REQUESTING THAT THE AGENCY INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS OF ENGINE SPARK PLUG EJECTION IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 1997 THROUGH 2004 FORD VEHICLES WITH TRITON V-8 AND V-10 ENGINES.ODI RECEIVED A TOTAL OF 474 NON-DUPLICATIVE COMPLAINTS ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLES WHERE THE COMPLAINANT, OR THE DEALER REPAIRING THE VEHICLE, REPORTED THAT A SPARK PLUG DETACHED FROM THE CYLINDER AND/OR EJECTED FROM THE ENGINE.AS OF DECEMBER 8, 2005, ODI IS NOT AWARE OF ANY ALLEGATIONS WHERE THE ALLEGED DEFECT RESULTED IN A LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL, A CRASH, AN INJURY, OR A FATALITY IN ANY OF THE 10,319,810 SUBJECT VEHICLES.IN ADDITION, ODI IS AWARE OF ONLY TWO INCIDENTS WHERE THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT RESTART.INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE ODI CONSUMER COMPLAINTS AND OBTAINED FROM 72 TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS WITH COMPLAINANTS SHOWED THE FOLLOWING:(1) 99% OF THE COMPLAINTS WERE ON MY 1997 TO 2002 SUBJECT VEHICLES.(2) MOST THE COMPLAINANTS REPORTED HEARING A LOUD POP WHILE DRIVING OR UPON STARTING UP THE VEHICLE FOLLOWED BY A LOUD, REPETITIVE CLICKING OR POPPING SOUND.(3) MANY OF THE COMPLAINANTS REPORTED THAT THE POPPING SOUND WAS ACCOMPANIED BY SOME LOSS OF VEHICLE POWER; HOWEVER, IN 99% OF THE INCIDENTS REPORTED, THE VEHICLE DID NOT STALL.IN THE VERY FEW INCIDENTS WHERE THE VEHICLE DID STALL, MOST VEHICLES COULD BE RESTARTED.(4) ONLY A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE COMPLAINANTS CITED THAT THEY SMELLED GAS OR A SLIGHT BURNING SMELL WHEN THE INCIDENT OCCURRED.(5) IN ALL BUT A VERY FEW INCIDENTS, VEHICLE DAMAGE WAS LIMITED TO THE ENGINE.IN ONE INCIDENT, THE COMPLAINT REPORTED THAT THE FUEL RAIL WAS DAMAGED AND REPLACED AFTER ONE OF THE SPARK PLUGS EJECTED FROM THE ENGINE; HOWEVER, THE COMPLAINANT REPORTED THAT THE DAMAGE DID NOT RESULT IN ANY TYPE OF FUEL LEAK OR FIRE.IN ANOTHER INCIDENT, THE ONLY INCIDENT WHERE A FIRE WAS ALLEGED, THE COMPLAINANT REPORTED THAT NO FLUID LEAK WAS OBSERVED, BUT THAT A FIRE RESULTED AFTER THE SPARK PLUG HAD EJECTED FROM THE ENGINE AND HE HAD RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND DRIVEN TO ANOTHER LOCATION.NONE OF THE COMPLAINANTS REPORTED ANY DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE HOOD.(6) ONLY TWO COMPLAINANTS REPORTED THAT THEY OBSERVED WHAT APPEARED TO BE SOME DROPS OF FUEL COMING FROM THE CYLINDER WHERE THE SPARK PLUG HAD FAILED OR ON THE SPARK PLUG ITSELF; HOWEVER, EACH OF THESE COMPLAINANTS REPORTED THAT THERE WAS NO SMOKE OR FLAMES AS A RESULT OF HIS INCIDENT.AS THE PETITIONER NOTED, AND ODI?S ANALYSIS SHOWED, IT IS POSSIBLE FOR A SPARK PLUG TO DETACH FROM THE ENGINE CYLINDER THREADS IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.HOWEVER, ODI?S ANALYSIS OF 474 COMPLAINTS DESCRIBING SUCH INCIDENTS FOUND ONLY A VERY FEW ALLEGED ANY SAFETY-RELATED CONSEQUENCES.NONE OF THESE SHOWED ANY EVIDENCE OF A SERIOUS SAFETY CONSEQUENCE.GIVEN THE LARGE POPULATION AND RELATIVELY LONG EXPOSURE TIME OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLES, THE COMPLAINT ANALYSIS INDICATES THAT THE RISK TO MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY FROM THE ALLEGED DEFECT IS VERY LOW.IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, IT IS UNLIKELY THAT NHTSA WOULD ISSUE AN ORDER FOR THE NOTIFICATION AND REMEDY OF THE ALLEGED DEFECT AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE INVESTIGATION REQUESTED IN THE PETITION.THEREFORE, IN VIEW OF THE NEED TO ALLOCATE AND PRIORITIZE NHTSA?S LIMITED RESOURCES TO BEST ACCOMPLISH THE AGENCY?S SAFETY MISSION, THE PETITION IS DENIED.

FORD HAS RECEIVED NO OWNER REPORTS OF FAILURE, OTHER THAN THE FOUR ODI REPORTS THAT CAME FROM A SINGLE FLEET IN NEW YORK STATE.FORD ALSO REPORTS THAT IT HAS RECEIVED NO FIELD REPORTS AND DID NOT IDENTIFY ANY WARRANTY CLAIMS ALLEGING THE SUBJECT PROBLEM.FORD ESTIMATES THAT THE 86,910 SUBJECT VEHICLES (THAT HAVE OVER 6 YEARS EXPOSURE), HAVE ACCUMULATED OVER SIX BILLION MILES OF SERVICE AND THAT THE VIRTUAL LACK OF REPORTS INDICATES THAT THERE IS NO DEFECT TREND.BASED ON FORD'S DATA, A SAFETY RELATED DEFECT TREND DOES NOT APPEAR TO EXIST AT THIS TIME AND FURTHER USE OF AGENCY RESOURCES DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE WARRANTED.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT NO SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT EXISTS.THE AGENCY RESERVES THE RIGHT TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLES IF WARRANTED BY THE CIRCUMSTANCES.ODI WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR FIELD REPORTS FOR THIS PROBLEM AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION IN THE FUTURE IF INDICATED.

The rear passenger compartment outside and inside door handles broke such that rear seating passengers cannot exit the vehicle and are trapped inside. In case of an accident, the emergency responders will have to resort to drastic time consuming measures such as ripping the doors off to save the trapped passengers. Apparently all years of Ford Econoline vans have this dangerous problem because there are numerous fix it videos all over the internet showing how to replace the cheap handle-latch failure prone plastic parts with non-breakable METAL parts.

NHTSA ID

11557917

Incident

Nov 1, 2023

AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON AND BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON

NHTSA ID

11342865

Incident

Apr 3, 2020

12/11/2019

NHTSA ID

11319819

Incident

Dec 11, 2019

Mileage

11 mi

THIS YEAR BOTH THE AIRBAGS IN MY 1997 FORD E350 VAN HAVE SPONTANEOUSLY DEPLOYED ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS--EACH OCCURRING WHILE THE VAN WAS IN 'PARK'. ON 1/31/18 THE DRIVER'S BAG DEPLOYED WHEN THE VAN WAS WARMING UP IN A PARKING LOT. MY ADULT DAUGHTER STARTED THE VAN, PLUGGED HER PHONE INTO THE TOP CAR ADAPTER, AND ABOUT A MINUTE LATER (THE VAN WAS STILL PARKED) THERE WAS A BIG 'BOOM' FROM UNDER HER SEAT AND HER SEATBELT TIGHTENED. WITH THE SEATBELT STILL ON, SHE LEANED TO HER RIGHT TO SEE WHAT WAS CAUSING THE SMOKE FROM UNDER HER SEAT WHEN SUDDENLY THE DRIVER'S STEERING WHEEL AIRBAG DEPLOYED. THANKFULLY SHE WAS SPARED ANY INJURY. SHE HAD THE VAN TOWED TO A FORD DEALERSHIP, BUT THEY COULD NOT DIAGNOSE THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM SO I DID NOT HAVE THEM DO ANY WORK ON IT [THEY WANTED TO REPLACE THE AIRBAG AND A FEW OTHER THINGS WHICH I FELT WAS A 'BAND-AID' SOLUTION SINCE THEY ADMITTED THEY WERE GUESSING]. WE DROVE THE CAR HOME. ON 4/13/18 MY ADULT DAUGHTER WAS SITTING IN THE FIRST BENCH ROW IN THE VAN TO HAVE A QUIET PLACE TO TALK ON THE PHONE. AFTER A WHILE ON THE PHONE, SHE PLUGGED HER PHONE INTO THE SAME CHARGER AND LESS THAN A MINUTE LATER THE PASSENGER AIRBAG EXPLODED. THIS OCCURRED IN MY DRIVEWAY WHEN THERE WAS NO KEY IN THE IGNITION AND NO ONE WAS SITTING IN EITHER FRONT SEAT! AGAIN, MY DAUGHTER ESCAPED INJURY, BUT NOW THE VAN WILL NOT EVEN START. AT THIS POINT, MY LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP (A DIFFERENT ONE) AND MY PERSONAL REPAIR SHOP ARE REFUSING TO TOUCH THE VAN BECAUSE OF POTENTIAL LIABILITY REGARDING THIS KIND OF MALFUNCTION. MY INSURANCE CAN'T HELP BECAUSE THE VAN WAS NOT IN AN ACCIDENT WHEN THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED AND "ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL MALFUNCTIONS ARE EXCLUDED FROM COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE." FORD CUSTOMER CARE SERVICE HAS TOLD ME REPEATEDLY THAT THEY DON'T HAVE A PROTOCOL FOR THIS AND THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO TO HELP ME.

NHTSA ID

11097778

Incident

Jan 31, 2018

Mileage

89,820 mi

MY VEHICLE HAD BEEN PARKED FOR ABOUT THREE OR FOUR WEEKS AND I WENT TO START IT UP TO RUN THE ENGINE AND CHARGE THE BATTERIES AS I DID NOT PLAN TO USE IT FOR ANOTHER FEW WEEKS. WHEN I TURNED THE KEY THE DRIVER SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYED AND HIT ME HARD. ALSO THE PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE PRETENSIONER FIRED OFF BREAKING THE HOUSING. THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE INCIDENT. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN AN ACCIDENT AND I CAN SEE NO DAMAGE TO THE OUTSIDE AT ALL. I HAVE CONTACTED FORD AND THEY WILL NOT ASSIGN A CASE NUMBER UNTIL IT IS INSPECTED AND CHECKED BY A FORD DEALER. THE CLOSEST FORD DEALER THAT SAID THEY WERE CAPABLE OF DOING THIS IS BOOKED UP AND CAN NOT LOOK AT IT FOR TWO WEEKS AND THEY DID MAKE AN APPOINTMENT FOR 10/25/17. THE DEALERSHIP IS ABOUT 35 MILES AND I WILL HAVE TO DRIVE IT THERE WITH THE AIRBAG HANGING OUT OF THE STEERING WHEEL. I AM SO THANKFUL THIS HAPPENED WHILE PARKED IN STORAGE AND NOT ON THE HIGHWAY AS I THE RESULT MAY HAVE BEEN FATAL TO MY SELF AND/OR OTHERS. MY INJURIES ARE SOME BRUISING, HEADACHES, AND A SORE NECK. THE MILES I ENTERED ARE APPROXIMATE, I WILL VERIFY THE EXACT NUMBER LATER. *TT CONSUMER'S STATEMENT "MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE SENSORS CHECK GOOD WITH NO OPEN CIRCUITS. THE ONLY OPEN CIRCUITS ARE THE ITEMS THAT DEPLOYED, THE DRIVER SIDE AIRBAG AND THE PASSENGER SIDE BELT TENSIONER. UPDATED 7/25/18*JB

NHTSA ID

11032600

Incident

Oct 5, 2017

Mileage

60,000 mi

CRUISE CONTROL STUCK ON WHEN TURNED OFF, THEN WOULD WORK ONLY SOMETIMES & STEERING VIBRATED. *TR

NHTSA ID

10550329

Incident

Oct 29, 2013

Mileage

47,333 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 FORD E-350 EQUIPPED WITH COOPER ADVENTURE HT TIRES (N/A), SIZE 265/75/16R. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, THE TIRE TREAD SEPARATED ON THE REAR DRIVER SIDE TIRE. THE FAILURE HAD OCCURRED PREVIOUSLY WITH FOUR OTHER TIRES, WHICH HAD BEEN REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 15,000. THE VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 76,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE TIRE #8 WENT BAD. THE CONSUMER STATED THE TIRE REPLACEMENT ALSO WENT BAD.

NHTSA ID

10512113

Incident

May 9, 2013

Mileage

76,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING AT 52 MPH (PULLING A SMALL U-HAUL TRAILER) THE LEFT REAR TIRE ON MY VAN SUFFERED COMPLETE TREAD SEPARATION. THE TREAD SUBSEQUENTLY WRAPPED AROUND THE AXLE AND HAD TO BE PRIED LOOSE. THE TREAD WAS WHOLE AND INTACT (A COMPLETE CIRCLE), BUT THE CARCASS OF THE TIRE SHREDDED. THE TIRE IS (WAS( A UNIROYAL LT 245/75 R16 APPROXIMATELY 4 YEARS OLD. I MANAGED TO PULL TO THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY ON MY RIM. THIS OCCURRED ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 25. *TR

NHTSA ID

10472637

Incident

Aug 25, 2012

Mileage

84,488 mi

This SKU is a front upper ball joint. The Customer communication requested return of unsold inventory to inspect for ball studs with excessive rotational friction in the ball joint assembly. Excessive friction in the ball joint assembly may cause a perceptible increase in steering effort.

VIBRATION/HARSHNESS ABOVE 45 MPH (72 KM/H) AFTER TIRE BALANCE. *TT

7.3L DIT GLOW PLUG START-UP ON-TIME DURING COLD TEMPERATURE - SERVICE TIP. *TT

LOW RPM, NO START, RUNS POORLY, STALL. 7.3L DIT ENGINE. *TT

A HIGH NUMBER OF HIGH PRESSURE REXROTH PUMPS AND INJECTION PRESSURE REGULATORS (IPR) ARE BEING REPLACED DUE TO OIL LEAKING, WHEN ALL THAT IS REQUIRED IS A NEW GASKET OR SEAL ON EITHER THE PUMP OR IPR. *TT

A BUMP STEER STEERING FEELING, NOTED WHEN THE VEHICLE'S FRONT WHEELS/TIRES CONTACT ROAD SURFACE IRREGULARITIES. *TT