Ford Ignition Problem Is Being Studied

Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it is studying potential fire problems with ignition switches installed in 23 million 1984-1993 Ford cars and trucks, but maintains that a U.S. recall is unwarranted.

A recall would be among the largest in history--Ford installed the switch in every Ford vehicle built between 1984 and October 1992.

Based on the current cost of $50 to $90 to replace the switch at a Ford dealership, a recall of all 23 million vehicles could cost Ford up to $2 billion.

Ford has recalled 248,000 cars and trucks with the switches in Canada, and the U.S. government’s auto safety agency is investigating whether an electrical short in the switches can cause steering column fires without warning.

“We have not seen the incident rates here that we saw in Canada,” Ford spokeswoman Francine Romine said.

“We have found that a short has been happening in some of the ignition switches, but we’re not ready to say that it is defective,” she said.

Romine said Ford received reports of 300 steering column fires in Canada, two-thirds of which were caused by the switch, out of the total 248,000 vehicles recalled.

In the United States, Ford has received reports of 800 steering column fires, but out of a much larger population of vehicles. There are about 4 million vehicles on the road of the same model and year as those experiencing fires.

Ford is currently advising U.S. customers to replace the switch at their own expense if they are concerned about it.

Replacing the switches costs anywhere from $50 to $100, according to industry sources.