Ford has recalled over 545,000 vehicles that that may contain malfunctioning door latches. The car manufacturer initially recalled 400,000 vehicles and expanded the recall to include an additional 156,000 model year 2011 to 2014 Fiesta, and model year 2013 to 2014 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ sedans. Ford received a request from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has been investigating the door latch issue for more than seven months.
According to the recall notice, the door latches in these vehicles may experience a broken pawl spring tab, which could result in a condition where the door will not latch. Prior to Ford’s recalls, NHTSA said it had received 207 reports related to improperly latching doors. Sixty-five of those reports claimed that the door or doors opened inadvertently while the vehicle was in motion. Ford said it is aware of two allegations of soreness resulting from an unlatched door bouncing back when the customer attempted to close it, and one accident where an unlatched door swung open and struck an adjacent vehicle as the driver was pulling into a parking space.
Ford previously claimed it did not believe that a latched door experiencing this condition would inadvertently unlatch and that there are many overt warnings associated with a door that does not latch. Yet, regulators said that the “rate of occurrence for this failure is comparable to other door latch failure investigations” and that the agency “questions the effectiveness of warning signals given the number of complainants alleging that the door(s) opened while the vehicle was in motion.”
If you have a question regarding your Ford, you should contact the experienced lemon law attorneys at Krohn & Moss, Ltd. Consumer Law Center® at www.yourlemonlawrights.com or call 1-800-US-LEMON (800-875-3666), toll-free. Krohn & Moss, Ltd. Consumer Law Center® has been effectively assisting Ford customers in Lemon Law claims involving various defects in all makes and models. Our lemon law attorneys will take time to talk to you about your rights and will let you know if they can help.
Krohn & Moss, Ltd. Consumer Law Center® was founded in 1995 and has helped over 45,000 consumers nationwide enforce their rights against manufacturers of defective consumer products.