Ford expands door-latch recall following minor injuries

Ford has quickly expanded its door-latch recall, adding 156,000 vehicles to the campaign that was detailed earlier in the week.
The revision includes additional model years and affects vehicles built at factories in both Mexico and the US. The list now includes the 2011-2014 Fiesta, 2013-2014 Fusion, and the 2013-2014 Lincoln MKZ. The recall is limited to certain production date ranges at the various plants.

The campaign is focused on a defective pawl spring tab within the door-latch assembly. The tab is prone to failure, which typically prevents the door from latching. Safety concerns are primarily related to doors opening while underway, but the company also reports a few claims of minor injuries from doors bouncing back after being closed.

“Ford is aware of a total two allegations of soreness resulting from an unlatched door bouncing back when the customer attempted to close it, and one accident allegation when an unlatched door swung open and struck the adjacent vehicle as the driver was pulling into a parking space,” the company said in a statement.

Ford reportedly planned to implement a limited campaign on a regional basis, however the scope was broadened after company officials met with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration head Mark Rosekind, according to The Detroit News.

The program now affects a total of nearly 546,000 vehicles in the US market.