Serious Question - Need Help! - In Ford section too

[6219_Rules]

I placed this in the Ford area but I think I need an across the board viewing so I am putting it here too.

Does ANYONE know if the 2001 Ford Excursion V-10 has had a problem with the engine shutting down on an emergency stop?

What is the stopping rated distance? Is 75 feet enough at 48 mph cruising (not excelerating)?

Could the inertia switch turn off the engine if the brakes were engaged at 48 mph as hard as possible?

This is a very serious situation and I am looking for as much information as possible.

Your help will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[Dave@Moon]

There doesn't appear to be anything applicable on alldata.com's recall/TSB page. Sorry.

[6219_Rules]

That does not surprise me. See the response I have in the Ford Other forum. Ford is very stingey with its ratings on this vehicle but we found that along with a possible tendency for the inertia switch to trigger on sudden stops, there is also a tendency for brake fade. This is not good considering it takes 260 feet to stop the truck on dry pavement in daylight from 60 mph cruising speed...not excelerating. Consider that for a moment. At what time have you ever seen anyone maintain nearly a football field distance between cars on the highway in town or out of it? Add to that the fact that these tanks are high profile, and therefore prone to tip on sudden swerving maneuvers, and you have a sense of what could happen.

[DizzyDale]

Dear Randall,At least you are aware of the limits of this TANK.Think of the little housewife on the phone with junior strapped in the back that doesn't have a clue.diz

[Guest DeSoto Frank]

Diz...

"Think of the little housewife on the phone with junior strapped in the back that doesn't have a clue."

...yes, that same "little housewife" that a few years ago wouldn't drive "her father's Oldsmobile"..."because it's too BIG !"

And while she's piloting this TRUCK (that is probably wearing a cheaper passenger-car license plate ), she may well be talking on a cel-phone, and perhaps trying tp update the PDA (personal digital assitant) at the same time.

I'm not trying to harrass women drivers; just ALL drivers who've lost touch with reality in general...(excepting those of us who persist in driving vehicles that are over 50 years old...and do just fine by the way... )

I'm beginning to think that "Crank-start" cars were a good Darwinian way of limiting the driving population. Damn Kettering and his self-starter !

And by the way, I live in NE PA, where it gets cold and snows, and ten years ago I though I "really needed" a four-wheel drive vehicle, so I bought one - a Willys Utility pick-up, which, indeed did do well in the snow. But after a few years, I realized that the number of times I needed the four-wheel drive were so few and far bewteen, that it wasn't worth the expense of the extra tag and insurance. I've been able to get whereever I need to go with my 2-WD cars...and that includes a 50 mile round-trip commute to work 6-7 days a week, regardless of weather.

In short, I found that I CAN live quite fine without 4WD or an SUV. I think a lot of vehicle buyers out there are getting hoodwinked.

If they're that eager to part with gobs of money, I'll put 'em in a sensible vehicle and pocket the difference!

My greatest delight in winter driving now is counting the high-end SUVs off in the ditch as I drive to & from work in my jalopy '93 Excort GT.

[Dave@Moon]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> This is not good considering it takes 260 feet to stop the truck on dry pavement in daylight from 60 mph cruising speed...not excelerating. Consider that for a moment. At what time have you ever seen anyone maintain nearly a football field distance between cars on the highway in town or out of it? </div></div>

Randall, just because Ford put nice seats in a 3 ton+ dump truck chassis people can't expect it to suddenly be a "car", although >90% of Excursion buyers are thinking <span style="font-style: italic">exactly</span> that. Be comforted in knowing that everything out there with "Hummer" plastered on it's side is much worse at stopping than the Excursion!

Anybody using one of these things as a tow vehicle?

[Dave@Moon]

Now now Frank, you can't quite be that hard on Excursion drivers! Some people need these things.

Occasionally you <span style="font-style: italic">have</span> to drive your hockey team to the top of K2 in winter.

[Restorer32]

I'll give up my 3/4 Ton Dodge 24 Valve Turbo Diesel when they pry my cold, dead fingers from the steering wheel. Seriously though, I wouldn't have such a beast if I didn't need it. I smile at the guys with pick-em-ups which have never hauled more than a case of beer. FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION or at least it should.

[6219_Rules]

I guess all of this is my point...as far as I can tell these huge trucks are not crash tested or really tested for safety in regard to braking rates, etc. It was hell finding this information out.

Now as I drive down 25 towards Denver at 65 (usually under the speed limit and about 35 mph slower than everyone else) I get a sickening feeling as these monsters ride my bumper a mear 5 or 6 feet away. People really do not know, or care, that they are way too close, as long as they get to where they are going in their momentary lives. Obviously these trucks, used like smaller SUVs, are really quite dangerous...to everyone else around them.

All I can do is advise everyone to rethink their driving habits. 3 seconds between the car in front is no longer good enough, especially if you are in a heavy truck. (common sense some would say but well there you are). I drive old cars, most only go 65 comfortably, so I live in the right lane. But I am much more aware of this distance problem. You need time to react, and at 75 mph, 2 car lengths is just not enough.

[Bill Stoneberg]

Randall,

My wife, the tailgater, in her Dodge truck can speak to that fact. It cost 2500 bucks last time to fix the front end of her Dodge.

She needs her truck though to haul her medical supplies around. Even though they will fit in the back a station wagon.

Dont tell her that though.

I like it cause I can tow stuff with it.

[Guest Ken G]

Those who want to know might be interested in the article in the New Yorker Magazine (I think the January 19 issue) which presents the fatality statistics for various vehicles, exploding the commonly held myth that bigger and heavier is necessarily safer.

Correction: it is in the January 12 issue, page 28.

Ken G, 1925 Rover 16/50 (San Francisco)

[6219_Rules]

I am the LAST person to be making these points...I was a very hard, fast driver for most of my life. Training plus a natural effinity with automobiles made this just part of who I am. The right car, like a well made and suspended sports car, meant I really flew. But age, and unfortunately first hand experience, has taught me the lesson a little too late.

For those who are unaware, traumatic damage caused in a car accident, especially soft tissue damage, can be and is devistating to your health and well-being for years after, and it is something you do not recover from completely. Damage once done is done. A living organism does not mend the way a car does. My disability is in direct relation to the accident I had in 1998. Nothing else makes sense...and while I had no bone trauma, the shock and damage to my spine and brain has crippled me for life. I get by and live well because while I may whine a lot <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I am tough and refuse to give up.

All I can say is please...PLEASE take time, drive according to the road conditions not the speed limit, and think of those around you before worrying about yourself. The few seconds saved is not worth wrecking another persons life and yours potentially. Sure I drive very conservatively now but at least I am certain I am doing all I can within my power to drive responsibly to myself and others.

Sorry to be so preachy...I just see what goes on and wonder why no one takes this seriously.

[Guest imported_SKYSTHELIMIT]

To hopefully answer one your questions in your original post (although my truck is an F-450 and not an Excursion) my truck not even loaded down with garbage weighs in at 17,000 lbs which is alot heavier than an Excusion and can quite easily stop in less than 75 feet at 48 mph. In facted my truck has the best braking capability out of any car or truck I've ever owned. I should also add that it is the first auto I've owned that has ABS brakes.

[Bill Stoneberg]

Scott,

Can you post a picture of your F450 ? I, for one, would like to see it.

Thanks

[Guest DeSoto Frank]

I think a key point was hit upon here, amongst the various opinions and dare I say, rants (including my own ): "people have to adjust their thnking to the vehicle they're presently driving".

There's the rub: in spite of all our "advances" in technology and science, it would seem that on an indiviual basis, our species is thinking less & less about what we're doing at any given moment and the associated risks, responsibilities, and consequences.

So, when you take the "disinvolved driver" out of the 2,000 - lb. sub-compact and put them in the 5,000 + lb. truck/SUV/ soccer-support vehicle, they can do a lot more damage "without even thinking about it".

When I took "drivers ed." way back in 1984, at the crusty age of 17, we were shown films made back in the '60s - preaching the "Smith System" of safe driving, which illustrated all the "common sense" dos & don'ts of safe driving, such as what a safe following distance is, and so on.

While the films (and the wardrobe, and the cars) were outdated(?) the principles of safe driving were/are not.

I wish more people had the benfits of such a practical education, and practiced what was preached.

What it all boils down to in my mind is: personal responsibility (or, being a responsible person).

And that is the scariest part of all...

I realize that some folks need larger vehicles to haul people/ gear / antique cars around, or as part of their livelihood; I don't begrudge them this; but it sure would be comforting if everybody that got behind the wheel of anything bigger than a pedal car operated same vehicle in a responsible manner (which includes knowing the practical limitations of the buggy -including stopping ability), and playing it safe.

Let the dare-devils pay to go sky-diving or bungee-jumping, I'd rather they didn't find their thrills on the public roads!

The "Death of common sense" and the absence of personal resonsibility will be the ultimate downfall of western society; not terrorism or nuclear holocaust (although that ties back to sense and reposnibility).

That's my forecast...

Anyway, whatever you drive, please drive it safely and "watch out for the other guy !"

[Guest imported_SKYSTHELIMIT]

Here is the picture of the truck you asked for Bill.

<span style="font-weight: bold">SEE ATTACHMENT</span>