Ford trucks are probed by safety agency for stalling


By Ripley Watson
Bloomberg News
Published March 3, 2006, 3:52 PM CST



Ford Motor Co. trucks are being examined by the National Highway Safety Administration for an engine problem that may cause stalling in vehicles such as the F- series pickup, the industry's top-seller.

The NHTSA review will cover about 700,000 vehicles, including the Excursion, F-250 and F-350, and E Series vans and pickups from model years 1999 through 2001, the agency said today on its Web site. The probe was prompted by 31 complaints that the vehicles, all of which have 7.3-liter diesel engines, stopped running because of an engine-sensor failure.

Three minor crashes were linked to the problem, the agency said, all of them caused by reduced steering and braking in the vehicle after it stalled.

Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley said the Dearborn, Michigan- based company is working with the agency. Last year, Ford, the second-biggest U.S. automaker, recalled 2003 through 2005 models of the same trucks with 6-liter diesel engines for similar problems.

The safety administration begins its safety reviews with a preliminary investigation that advances to an engineering analysis in about 25 percent of cases. The rest are closed without further review. About 70 percent of the upgraded investigations result in recalls.

Ford shares fell 9 cents to $7.57 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have fallen 39 percent over the past 12 months.

Link at http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...i-business-hed

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I wonder how much this initial investigation is gonna cost the taxpayers, versus the cost of merely subscribing to FTE and reading the numerous posts regarding the CPS.

It also means that we don't complain enough if NHTSA only has 31 complaints! We KNOW it has happened more than that.

 

Interesting stuff.
Nut

 

Interesting indeed. It's not the first vehicle with one that exhibited these symptoms either. I owned a 91 T-bird SC that I replaced just about everything fuel related b4 selling it only to learn that it was the CPS. I am living on borrowed time with my PSD with over 50 K on the clock and no spare CPS. Planning on getting one. The black one, and install it. Keep old for emergency spare. I know there's got to be a better place than the stealer to get one. Where's the best place/price?

 

Go to an IHC dealer. About $100. $95 online with free shipping from www.blackclouddiesel.com
Nut

 

I got one one on eBay for $78 w/shipping. I have had it for 15,000 miles and will buy a spare soon. Original started to fail intermittantly @ 99,0000. I never got left for dead because of all the posts here on FTE convinced me to swap it out after it cut out three times, once on the highway, once on a city street and once in a parking lot. Thanksfully, it always restarted right away or came back by itself. Hasn't happened once since replaced.

 

Thanks all. Guess you can't just go to the local parts store for this. I will do a search for it.

 

I replaced mine with one from ebay, think I paid around 65 for it. Nothing wrong with old one, it just rides in the glove box now as a spare.

 

If you are running a blue I hope you saved the black to put back in in case of a recall, if and when it comes.

 

Ok whats a CPS --I couldn't find it in the acronyms

 

Camshaft Position Sensor.

 

Thanks I'll get it down someday??

 

Been meaning to get one for my truck as a spare, I mean according to what I have read mine should have already gone out at 99k miles but then I look at our local tow truck company with 278,000 miles and never replaced his on the tow truck and almost 150k on his wifes pickup with out changing it and wonder.

 

I'm the same. I have 160K miles and the same cps. I keep saying I should get one and never do. I'm going over to Ebay to look.

 

Here's one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-F...spagenameZWDVW

 

If there is a recall that comes out for this (unlikely since it costs lots of $$$ that FMC does not have) my truck will NOT go in. I don't care what is said about the CMP sensor or what they think. My truck has not seen a dealer shop floor since new (previous owner never took it anywhere besides the oil change place and the tire place..never had to have anything fixed) and will not see a dealer floor as long as I own it.

Being as I work at a Chevy dealership as a technician, I kinda know what goes on "behind closed doors" and will not trust it to anyone....even for a 10 minute CMP sensor change. There is a hole drilled through my DLC connector and a padlock through it just in case.

Out here I guess it's not that big of a deal to have a vehicle die on the side of the road...not a lot of traffic congestion. Get out and hope you have a spare CMP or cellular service (yeah right).

Cody