Runaway Explorer: no factory fault found

The cable from a poorly fitted aftermarket mobile phone car kit could be the culprit behind the Ford Explorer cruise control incident in Melbourne that made headlines late last year.

The revelation comes as the 2002 model Explorer that led police on a 50km car chase has finally been found to be free of any factory defects after thorough independent technical inspections by four separate parties over the past three months.

Last December Melbourne man Chase Weir called 000 after he claimed the cruise control was "stuck" on his vehicle. He travelled more than 50km, with police attempting to clear the road ahead of him towards the end of his ordeal.

At the time he claimed that the ignition could not be switched off, the automatic gear shift lever could not be moved from drive to neutral and that the brakes couldn't overpower the acceleration of the car.

However, after approaching a build-up of traffic and crossing to the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic, he eventually brought the car to a halt after a 000 operator told him to slam the brakes.

Ford Australia engineers were last in line to inspect the Explorer after Victoria police, the owner's insurance company, and an independent repairer had gone over the vehicle with the proverbial fine tooth comb.

Ford took delivery of the car on Friday February 3, 2010 -- almost two months after the incident -- and returned it by Wednesday March 3, four weeks later.

A statement from Ford Australia said that Ford's investigation "did not find any issues related to the standard specification or manufacture of the vehicle that may have resulted in the events as described by Mr Weir".

Consistent with the investigation by Victoria Police, Ford Australia engineers found:

• All aspects of the cruise control system functioned normally, including the ability to turn the system on and off;
• At all times the vehicle was able to be stopped by applying the brakes;
• The ignition switch was able to be rotated from the "run" position to the "off" position while the vehicle was in motion;
• The automatic T-bar was able to be moved from Drive to Neutral while the vehicle was in motion.

Ford also found evidence of a disused, non-genuine car phone kit that was installed in close proximity to the accelerator pedal.

"The installation of the phone kit was such that it included a cable which was able to potentially interfere with the correct operation of the vehicle's accelerator pedal," the statement from Ford said.

"Given the numerous inspections and tests that were conducted on the vehicle prior to Ford being presented with it, the company is not able to determine if this inappropriately fitted car phone kit had any bearing on the events as they were described."

Ford recommended to the owner that the phone kit be immediately removed, which Ford undertook with his agreement.

Ford also found a number of areas on the vehicle that had not been appropriately maintained, such as badly worn brakes. The owner has been notified of these issues.

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