On January 20, 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that it will conduct an investigation on 2012-2013 Ford Focus cars, which have been reported to have faulty latches on the car doors. There have been complaints on over 400,000 Ford Focus cars. A Ford spokesman has stated that Ford will cooperate and assist the NHTSA on finding out how the issue occurred and how to fix the problem. Currently, the NHTSA is just investigating the complaints regarding the 2012-2013 Ford Focus cars; no recalls have been issued by either Ford or the NHTSA.
It has been less than a year since the NHTSA investigated similar claims on improper latches on the doors of Ford Fusion, Ford Fiesta, and Lincoln MKZ models. Additionally, the Ford Focus 2012-2013 models already have a history of being recalled. In August 2013, Ford Focus models had to be recalled because of improper headlights. The improper latches are an issue that has just come up in recent months.
The complaints range from inconvenient to possibly deathly. There have been complaints that the doors will not close properly. Other complaints revolve around how when a passenger tries to close the door, the door would rebound back and often injure the passenger. More shockingly, there have been multiple reports by passengers that the doors would open while the vehicle is in motion. Currently there have been no deaths or serious bodily injuries reported, but there is a serious safety issue with these cars on the roads.
If you or someone you know have been injured due to the improper latching of a 2012-2013 Ford Focus door, it is important to understand your right to recover. Contact an attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling (713) 222-7211 or toll free at 713-222-7211 for a confidential consultation.