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145,000 Fords Recalled for Door Latch Defects

Take the Lemon TestDo you own one of these potential lemon Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego and Freestar minivan vehicles?

  • 2005 Ford Five Hundred
  • 2005 Mercury Montego
  • 2005 Freestar
  • 2006 Freestar

ford recall models for door latch defectsThis is one of those special region recalls that recall officials have started letting manufacturers issue for just some regions of the US but not all of the US (under the theory that cars don’t get around much, I suppose).

This "cold weather" recall only applies to vehicles sold, or currently registered for use, in the following states: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

ford door latch recallTurns out that water can get into the side door latch mechanisms and turn to ice in freezing cold weather and that can lock up the door latch mechanism. The result? You may close your door, thinking that it has "caught" on the latch when it really hasn't. Then the door may open unexpectedly and toss you out on the street.

Ford's engineers figured out what was happening in January 2006 but, with no explanation, the recall wasn't announced until September 2006. Apparently Ford spent some 3 months doing "tests" (one would think they could have figured out that water freezes faster than that).

No one seems to be sure how many people tumbled out of their Ford cars and vans and were injured because Ford didn't announce the recall sooner.

So, if you don't live in one of those "northern" states where they get the recall fixed for free, then don't drive up north either or your doors may not work right (or else wear football padding, I suppose)

If you’ve got a dangerous lemon, don’t go it alone!

If you own a lemon, you may be entitled to your money back or a new vehicle. Call us at 1-888-331-6422 or email us today for a Free Case Review!

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