| Subject: | Door latch failure |
| Components covered: |
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| Investigations Summary: |
Note: this investigation has resulted in
a vehicle safety recall. On September 11, 2014 the office of defects investigation (odi) opened preliminary evaluation pe14-028 to investigate claims of doors failing to latch and/or inadvertently opening on model year (my) 2011-2013 Ford fiesta vehicles. Odi has received 207 unique reports related to the alleged problem, with sixty-five claiming that the door(s) opened inadvertently while the vehicle was in motion. Two injuries were reported, both caused by a rebounding door striking a consumer after they attempted to close it. In response to odi's information request (ir) letter, Ford motor company (Ford) responded with 451 unique reports related to the alleged problem. One claim involved an incident in which property damage incurred after a door opened while driving at low speed and struck another vehicle. Ford also submitted 1,079 warranty claims related to door latch failures. Additionally, Ford informed odi in its ir response that my 2013 Ford fusion and Lincoln mkz vehicles utilize the same door latch as the my 2011-13 fiesta. Odi has received 11 reports on these vehicles, with 4 allegations of inadvertent opening. In it's response, Ford stated that it does not believe that a latched door experiencing this condition will inadvertently unlatch and that there are many overt warnings associated with a door that does not latch. Odi noted that the rate of occurrence for this failure is comparable to other door latch failure investigations and questions the effectiveness of warning signals given the number of complainants alleging that the door(s) opened while the vehicle was in motion. Therefore, odi is upgrading this investigation to further assess the scope, frequency and consequence of this failure. Odi reports cited above can be reviewed at www-odi. NHTSA. Dot. Gov/owners/sarchNHTSAid under the identification (odi) numbers found in the attached list. |
| Vehicles Affected by this investigation: |
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Defect investigation of door latch failures
Defect investigation of door latch failure