Ford Recalls 45K Cars: Door Openings Risk During Driving

Stronger Part Replacements for Dealers

For those who have a 2015 Ford Fiesta, 2016 Fusion, or the 2016 Lincoln MKZ, here is an alert: there could be a possibility of the doors suddenly flying open while driving. The Blue Oval has issued a safety recall targeting around 45,173 vehicles in order to alleviate this danger.

The issue is that the latch pawl spring tab can become cracked and eventually cease to function correctly. If the part breaks, it could make it difficult to close the door, requiring multiple attempts. Furthermore, the door could unlatch unexpectedly while the vehicle is in motion, and the “door ajar” light will be illuminated as a warning.

This recall effort understandably affects automobiles that are registered, now or beforehand, in hotter regions. To be more precise, the countries and territories covered include: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, Mexico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.

On August 16, 2023, Ford became aware of a difficulty with one of its 2016 Fusions. The carmaker conducted an assessment with the supplier to determine the amount of potentially defective components. As of October 18, 2023, there have been fourteen service claims as well as thirty-nine vehicle customer survey grievances regarding failures with door latches or doors inadvertently opening. Thankfully, none of these difficulties has resulted in any injuries being sustained.

Ford maintains that a small ratio of its 45,173 vehicles may be afflicted by an issue. To remediate it, dealers carry out an inspection of door latch date codes to ascertain if any originated during a certain interval. Whereupon, all four components are substituted with revised spring pawl tabs that are more secure than the original parts.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration