145,000 Fords Recalled for Door Latch Defects
Do 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
This 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.
Turns 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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