Ford recalled nearly 400,000 cars because the doors could open while the vehicle is moving.
The door latch spring assembly can break, and that lets the latch fail. That means the door latch won’t work, or the door can fly open while the car is moving. The doors can also then swing shut, hitting occupants in the car.
In one incident, an unlatched door reportedly swung open and hit another vehicle as the driver was pulling into a parking space. In all, more than 600 reports have been made regarding improperly latching doors, and dozens of those reports involved a door or doors opening while the vehicle was in motion.
It started with reports of malfunctioning door latches on 2013-2014 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles. Now 2012-2014 Ford Fiestas are also included in the recall. All of the vehicles included in this door latch recall were made at two plants in Mexico.
Ford Motor Company announced its safety recall for the door latch issue Friday, April 24, 2015. Dealers will replace the latches on all four doors of the recalled vehicles, at no cost to the customer, according to Ford’s recall notice.