The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating a serious technical fault in the Ford Escape that caused the doors to open unexpectedly. There are more than 100 user complaints submitted to the agency.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the US reported receiving over 100 complaints regarding defects in the 2020 and 2021 Ford Escape models. These complaints have resulted in up to 25 reported cases of customer injuries attributed to the problem.
The Vehicle Fault Investigations Office of NHTSA has initiated an official preliminary assessment to investigate the cause of the defect in 118 cases related to those models. Consequently, the number of vehicles affected by this technical fault can reach up to 346,071.
According to NHTSA, the sudden opening of the doors is related to poor solder joints in the front door swingarm brackets of certain Escapes, causing unfortunate circumstances. Many car owners report hearing noises when they open their doors and then the problems start to appear.
The poor quality welding of the front door handle bracket makes it separate from the main door after a period of use, causing the door to be misaligned. When the door is closed, the latch is not installed correctly as designed, leading to cases where the door opens unexpectedly or is stuck unable to open the door.
This incident caused 25 vehicle owners to report that they were slightly injured due to the poor welding door lever support system. One case even suffered property damage.
Currently, Ford is the manufacturer conducting the most vehicle recalls in the US. Last June, Ford sent out a recall notice for more than 140,000 Lincoln MKC vehicles with defects that pose a fire risk.
In Vietnam, Ford Escape is a well-known model because it is Ford’s 5-seater SUV with American style with masculine and strong qualities. This model was sold from 2001 to 2013 when it was discontinued. In particular, the first generation of Ford Escape from 2001 – 2007 and the second generation from 2008-2013.
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Source: Vietnam Insider