NHTSA steps up probe into Ford Focus
Reuters
DETROIT -- U.S. safety regulators have stepped up a probe into faulty door latches on 261,000 of Ford Motor Co.'s problem-plagued Focus cars from the 2000 model year, the government said Tuesday.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said a preliminary evaluation of the problem had been escalated to the status of an "engineering analysis," a move that often precedes a safety recall.
Focus vehicles from the 2000 model year already have been recalled 13 times, an embarrassingly high total for a car from the second-largest U.S. automaker. By contrast, there have been no recalls involving Ford's 2002 model Focus.
NHTSA said it had received 17 complaints alleging that one or both rear door latches were difficult to close and the doors came open while the vehicles were moving.
Reuters
DETROIT -- U.S. safety regulators have stepped up a probe into faulty door latches on 261,000 of Ford Motor Co.'s problem-plagued Focus cars from the 2000 model year, the government said Tuesday.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said a preliminary evaluation of the problem had been escalated to the status of an "engineering analysis," a move that often precedes a safety recall.
Focus vehicles from the 2000 model year already have been recalled 13 times, an embarrassingly high total for a car from the second-largest U.S. automaker. By contrast, there have been no recalls involving Ford's 2002 model Focus.
NHTSA said it had received 17 complaints alleging that one or both rear door latches were difficult to close and the doors came open while the vehicles were moving.