Child Safety Locks Prompt Minor Ford Recall

Potentially defective child safety door locks have led to a recall covering about 6,500 vehicles from Ford, built over a small period late last year. Filed through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the recall will cover the 2013 Focus sedan, C-Max hybrid, and Escape SUV built at their Wayne, Michigan Assembly plant from November 16 through 21, of which 5,675 were sold in the US, and another 859 in Canada.

According to their filing, the child safety lock on the left rear door may not have been installed correctly, leading to improper function. “The child lock may not engage when the operator uses normal turning force to activate the child lock, and the operator may incorrectly believe the child lock is engaged," says Ford. The issue was first discovered at their shipment plant on November 20th, when the auto maker temporarily halted shipment of vehicles to investigate the problem. During their review, they uncovered that their parts supplier had sent them an assortment of different parts in the same shipment, leading to confusion and improper installation. Ford then quickly corrected the process, settling the confusion and making sure that the correct parts were being installed correctly.

Ford will begin sending recall notices to owners of affected vehicles started at the end of the month, at which time owners will be encouraged to take their vehicles to the nearest dealership for an inspection of the left rear door locks. If the defect is found, the rear door latch will be replaced at no cost. Though no accidents or injuries have resulted from the issue to date, it is important that owners take advantage of the free fix to avoid the potential for serious accidents.

Child safety locks are designed to help ensure that a young child’s wandering hands do not accidentally open a door, exposing them to the threat of falling out, even while in motion. Engaged, they prevent a door from being opened from the inside; only from the outside, well away from a child’s curious hands, can a door be opened. If defective, these locks could create a false sense of security that can be quickly erased should a rear door suddenly swing open. Correcting the potential issues is therefore extremely important; those who receive recall notices should respond immediately, and settle the problem before it has a chance to inflict damage.

The announcement of the recall comes just days after the federal government concluded its nearly-four-year investigation into more than a million and a half Ford SUVs rollaway risks, eliminating the need for an extensive service action. Despite receiving more than 180 complaints from owners, including 14 crashes that inflicted six injuries, the NHTSA’s investigation was able to determine that the failure rate of the vehicles’ brake shift interlock mechanism was less than 4 vehicles per 100,000 sold.

And yet even with a major recall dodged, Ford has still gotten off to a rough start in 2013, having recently announced a recall covering nearly a quarter of a million minivan models over rusting issues that could prevent third row seating from latching properly into place. The American automaker remains hopeful however, that their renewed focus on quality and reliability over the last several years will soon start to demonstrate itself, reducing their need for major safety recalls into the future. In the meantime, recalls will continue be issued to help correct issues created from an earlier time when quality seems to have been a lesser priority.