The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) notified the agency on April 23, 2015, that they are recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured July 1, 2012, to May 31, 2013, and 2012-2014 Fiesta vehicles manufactured February 1, 2012, to May 31, 2013. On April 30, 2015, Ford expanded the recall to cover an additional 119,567 vehicles, including certain model year 2011 Ford Fiestas manufactured from November 11, 2009, to May 31, 2013 and certain model year 2013 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured from February 1, 2012, to June 30, 2012. A component within the door latches may break making the doors difficult to latch and/or leading the driver or a passenger to believe a door is securely closed when, in fact, it is not.
The risk
A door that is not securely latched could open while the vehicle is in motion, increasing the risk of injury to a vehicle occupant.
The remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace all four door latches with an improved part, free of charge. Interim notifications were mailed to owners on June 5, 2015. The recall began on December 18, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S16.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Ford Fiesta | 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Ford Fusion | 2013, 2014 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 2013, 2014 |
Components: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Fiesta | 2011 | 730 | 3 |
| Ford Fiesta | 2012 | 617 | 3 |
| Ford Fiesta | 2013 | 668 | 3 |
| Ford Fiesta | 2014 | 504 | 7 |
| Ford Fusion | 2013 | 1,792 | 19 |
| Ford Fusion | 2014 | 1,333 | 19 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 2013 | 109 | 12 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 2014 | 97 | 13 |
Other latches/locks/linkages recalls in 2015
15 of the 863 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2015 concerned the latches/locks/linkages; Ford Motor Company filed 737 campaigns in all.
| 15V846000 16 Dec 2015 | Aston Martin Lagonda of North America |
| 15V836000 11 Dec 2015 | McLaren Automotive Incorporated |
| 15V807000 1 Dec 2015 | General Motors LLC |
| 15V803000 30 Nov 2015 | Newmar Corporation |
| 15V744000 10 Nov 2015 | Maserati North America, Inc. |
| 15V601000 25 Sept 2015 | Merhow Acquisition, LLC |
| 15V595000 24 Sept 2015 | Chrysler (FCA US LLC) |
| 15V510000 12 Aug 2015 | Winnebago Industries, Inc |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2015