Washington, Oct 14 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Close on the heels of Toyota’s recall 2009, comes another major recall by an automobile Giant Ford. Ford Motor Co. launched its largest recall ever on Tuesday, and also warned drivers of 4.5 million cars and trucks of a badly designed switch, which could cause vehicle fires.

Wes Sherwood, a spokesman for the company, said the recall includes the remaining vehicles equipped with a cruise control deactivation switch made by Texas Instruments, CNN reported. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the switch can be dangerous even when the ignition is off, with a risk of hydraulic fluid leaks, which could be very dangerous.

A total of 16 million vehicles have been involved in eight recalls so far, NHTSA said. Sherwood said no vehicles made after the year 2003 have this offending and troublesome switch.

NHTSA said there are warning signs a car is at high risk, include trouble shifting out of park, dashboard brake lights going on and malfunctioning cruise control and brakes.

The vehicle models which are getting recalled are, 1995-2003 Windstars, 2000-2003 Excursion diesels, 1993-1997 and 1999-2003 F-Super Duty diesels, 1992-2003 Econolines, 1995-2002 Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers, 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 Rangers and 1994 F35 motorhomes.

It is still unclear how much this would cost the company, but trade pundits estimate that it is going to cost quite a packet to Ford.