Ford Announces Recall For Door Latch Problems

(RTTNews) - Ford Motor Co. (F) said Thursday it is recalling about 830,000 vehicles in North America to replace side-door latches.

The company has issued a regional safety recall in North America for about 828,053 vehicles. This includes 766,682 vehicles in the United States and federalized territories, and 61,371 in Mexico.

The recall involves 2013 to 2015 Ford C-MAX, 2013 to 2015 Ford Escape, 2012 to 2015 Ford Focus, 2015 Ford Mustang and Lincoln MKC, and 2014 to 2016 Ford Transit Connect vehicles.

The automaker noted that in the affected vehicles, the pawl spring tab in the side-door latch could break. This condition typically will prevent the door from latching.

In certain situations where the door is able to be closed, the door may unlatch while driving, increasing the risk of injury. Ford has identified one reported accident and one reported injury that may be related to this issue.

Ford said that dealers will replace side-door latches at no cost to the customer. In addition, the company will launch a corresponding customer satisfaction program for vehicles outside the scope of this recall.

If a vehicle exhibits a broken door latch, Ford will provide a one-time replacement at no charge for the life of the vehicle.

Ford's recall is focused primarily in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Oregon and Washington. This is because the rate of reports is higher for vehicles in these states with higher ambient temperatures and solar loading.

In a filing with the SEC, Ford that the total cost of the field service action incurred primarily by its North American unit is estimated to be about $270 million, and will be recorded in its third-quarter 2016 adjusted pre-tax results.

Ford noted that the action is consistent with its expectation for total company third-quarter adjusted pre-tax profit to be about 10 percent of its full-year 2016 results.

For fiscal 2016, the company expects adjusted pre-tax results to be greater than or equal to 2015.