NEWS / PICTURES: Ford Focus Engine Fire
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NEWS / PICTURES: Ford Focus Engine Fire
Just because I like to report the good with the bad (unlike our import neighbors 
), here are some pics. and a letter I came across.
MY 2001 FORD FOCUS ZX3 CAUGHT FIRE!!!!!
Hi! My name is John Novak. This is what's left of my 2001 Ford Focus that caught fire on July 18th, 2002 in Omaha, NE.
yep! car caught fire on the way home from work. i thought it was overheating at 111th and blondo, so i just went ahead and turned into my place at 113th and blondo, and popped the hood expecting to see steam from somewhere or other from driving home with the AC on full blast on the interstate (though for only 10 minutes). instead of steam i got a bunch of flames!!!! since i was at my apts i ran into the office and asked for and got a fire extinguisher while they called the fire department. went back out and put it out. got my thumb burned too, couldn't grab anything all that weekend. This was documented and treated at the doctor despite Ford's claims that this has not hurt anyone. They lied. Oh, and when you tell them you have a personal injury claim you want them to handle, they say "Your medical insurance paid your bill so what's the difference to you?".
i originally thought either the alternator burned out/overheated (because the power seemed to die first before the engine sputtered), or the mass airflow sensor blew (it contains two near red hot wires to measure the incoming air). took out my air intake from the intake to the filter box to the airflow sensor to the engine intake, melted my battery, melted some wires in and around the electronic ignition, scroched and cracked the paint on my hood, singed the headlight, burnt the hood liner, smoke got sucked through the air system into the car, probably in the upholstery too, and since it was the air intake, who knows what got sucked into the engine.
As my story progressed I found out about other cases of the battery wires melting or eroding against heat shields in the engine compartment, and other fires originating in the same area. But I found little other documentation. So, i decided to make my own.
called up Atchley Ford for a tow (they have 2 trucks right there with a big sign that says free towing) and they said no can't do it for warranty tows gotta call customer service. called them and had it towed down the street to john markel (practically walking distance, right by westroads). tired of atchley, been there too often. unless i wanna go back and yell at someone. i know they couldn't have known this would happen, logically, but they were still the supplier... isn't psychology fun???
so now i called up ford for the formal complaint, and they're off sending it to the legal department and customer care department. Hopefully they'll take care of it. I spoke with my insurance agent and he told how he just had Kia deny a claim that their car just slipped into gear on this woman and hit a tree... hopefully since this is different since i they can't really say there's a chance i did it and am trying to pass it off on them.
Update: So far, Ford has said in writing that this has nothing to do with me, this is between them and my insurance company, AAA. The thing that gets me though is that i loved that car, but is that to them that means the time i had to spend replacing their vehicle means nothing. That the day i took off of work to deal with their problem means nothing. That burning a hand on their problem means nothing. That if a piston in the transmission breaks and in turn takes the whole transmission with it they will replace the whole transmission without depreciation, but if something malfunctions on the car and takes the whole car with it it's a different story. And I still had more than a year of factory warranty!!! One of the reasons I bought the car is that i believed in the factory warranty, that it would protect me from anything going wrong. WRONGO!!! Ford didn't even offer to put me in one of their new extended warranty 2003's, which clearly means less and less each day.
Think Ford will stand behind their car after you buy it? No. Only before. So far noone has called me to even ask if I'm okay after getting burned. Noone has called me that I haven't called first.
Digital cameras make great documentation!!!
Drive safe!
), here are some pics. and a letter I came across.MY 2001 FORD FOCUS ZX3 CAUGHT FIRE!!!!!
Hi! My name is John Novak. This is what's left of my 2001 Ford Focus that caught fire on July 18th, 2002 in Omaha, NE.
yep! car caught fire on the way home from work. i thought it was overheating at 111th and blondo, so i just went ahead and turned into my place at 113th and blondo, and popped the hood expecting to see steam from somewhere or other from driving home with the AC on full blast on the interstate (though for only 10 minutes). instead of steam i got a bunch of flames!!!! since i was at my apts i ran into the office and asked for and got a fire extinguisher while they called the fire department. went back out and put it out. got my thumb burned too, couldn't grab anything all that weekend. This was documented and treated at the doctor despite Ford's claims that this has not hurt anyone. They lied. Oh, and when you tell them you have a personal injury claim you want them to handle, they say "Your medical insurance paid your bill so what's the difference to you?".
i originally thought either the alternator burned out/overheated (because the power seemed to die first before the engine sputtered), or the mass airflow sensor blew (it contains two near red hot wires to measure the incoming air). took out my air intake from the intake to the filter box to the airflow sensor to the engine intake, melted my battery, melted some wires in and around the electronic ignition, scroched and cracked the paint on my hood, singed the headlight, burnt the hood liner, smoke got sucked through the air system into the car, probably in the upholstery too, and since it was the air intake, who knows what got sucked into the engine.
As my story progressed I found out about other cases of the battery wires melting or eroding against heat shields in the engine compartment, and other fires originating in the same area. But I found little other documentation. So, i decided to make my own.
called up Atchley Ford for a tow (they have 2 trucks right there with a big sign that says free towing) and they said no can't do it for warranty tows gotta call customer service. called them and had it towed down the street to john markel (practically walking distance, right by westroads). tired of atchley, been there too often. unless i wanna go back and yell at someone. i know they couldn't have known this would happen, logically, but they were still the supplier... isn't psychology fun???
so now i called up ford for the formal complaint, and they're off sending it to the legal department and customer care department. Hopefully they'll take care of it. I spoke with my insurance agent and he told how he just had Kia deny a claim that their car just slipped into gear on this woman and hit a tree... hopefully since this is different since i they can't really say there's a chance i did it and am trying to pass it off on them.
Update: So far, Ford has said in writing that this has nothing to do with me, this is between them and my insurance company, AAA. The thing that gets me though is that i loved that car, but is that to them that means the time i had to spend replacing their vehicle means nothing. That the day i took off of work to deal with their problem means nothing. That burning a hand on their problem means nothing. That if a piston in the transmission breaks and in turn takes the whole transmission with it they will replace the whole transmission without depreciation, but if something malfunctions on the car and takes the whole car with it it's a different story. And I still had more than a year of factory warranty!!! One of the reasons I bought the car is that i believed in the factory warranty, that it would protect me from anything going wrong. WRONGO!!! Ford didn't even offer to put me in one of their new extended warranty 2003's, which clearly means less and less each day.
Think Ford will stand behind their car after you buy it? No. Only before. So far noone has called me to even ask if I'm okay after getting burned. Noone has called me that I haven't called first.
Digital cameras make great documentation!!!
Drive safe!
AuH20 in '64
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 6,766
Likes: 0
HAHAHAHAHAHAH he got PWNED.
No but seriously, those problems are all on the '00-'01s. My '02 is immune
No but seriously, those problems are all on the '00-'01s. My '02 is immune
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