This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Door latch problem with my 4-door 2012 Ford Fiesta (hatchback). Two separate incidents within a month-and-A-half time-span. The first time, the two back doors would not close/latch. Had to have the car towed to the dealership and it took two weeks for the replacements door latches to come in. The second time, the front right passenger door would not close/latch. Had to tie the door shut and drive it very slowly to the dealership (again), as any left turns caused the door to swing wide open in traffic -- more so when going faster (on the highway, etc.). we waited several weeks to have the part replaced (again).
I was driving the car down a 4 lane road, going approximately 50 mph when the dome lights turned on, and a message read "rear passenger door open". hearing wind, I look back, and sure enough the back passenger door was completely wide open, bouncing back and forth off of the car. I pulled over as soon as I could, got O *trut, tried to close the door, but it would just bounce back open. I had to use a power cord for my iphone charger to try and 'rig' the door to stay closed. It helped, but the door would still manage to swing open as I drove it back home. I took it to the dealership the next day. At the dealership 'capital Ford of wilmington', where I bought the car, they asked if I could just drop it off and have someone pick me up; saying that I needed to pay for the rental for them to fix it. I said I can't afford to do that, so they said they would "try to rig it so it will stay shut until I can drop it off and afford the rental car". I waited an hour, they finally said they couldn't rig it to stay closed, so they said they would fix it. Next the man said this to me, "I don't want you to think I can do this all the time, so don't get used to it, but I'm going to give you the rental free of charge, just pay for the gas you use."
While driving in a parking lot, passenger side door came open. Stopped car and door would no longer latch at all. Took to dealership service center; replacement part on backorder; technician mentioned that being huge problem with the Fiestas and focuses from that model year.
On 8/27/14 I was leaving work with my riding partner. We placed some work items in the back seat and started down the road. After we went about a mile the car made a ding sound and screen showed the rear passenger door was open. I pulled off the road and tried to close the door but it would not latch. It's 74 miles from work to my home so the passenger had to ride in the back seat and hold the door close by hand for 73 miles on the highway. When I got home I had to put a ratchet strap between the two rear doors to keep the door closed while driving. My child was not in the car at the time but what if he had been? on 8/30/14 I went to the local Ford dealer and paid $215.55 for them to order a new door latch. It's now 9/17/14 and I still do not have my door fixed. The local dealer told me I was on national back order for that part.
- Rossville, GA, USA
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Closed rear passenger door and the door bounced back and would not latch. Had to secure door with rope. Took car to mechanic for repair. Mechanic ordered part and repaired door. One week later I opened and closed the front passenger door and it bounced back and would not latch. I had to secure door with a bungee cord. Took car to Ford dealership. Said the part was on back order and could not give me any kind of time frame on when the part would arrive but he made it sound like it would be a long time. Since the door will not latch the interior light stays on. My battery went dead while out. I was stranded with a door I could not secure. I was able to call aaa to boost and drive home. Now it is dead again. I have no car and no idea when and if it can be repaired. Cost to repair $450 per door! I am lucky it happened while parked. A passenger or dog could very easily fall out of the car if the door fails while driving. Very dangerous situation!
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 mph, the rear passenger side door suddenly open. The contact stopped the vehicle to close the door and discovered that the door would not stay in the closed position. The contact mentioned that the failure was a very serious safety issue since at the time of the failure the contact's 6 year old grandson was occupying the rear seat. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 40,000.
I was taking my son out on the town because he was visiting from misawa afb in Japan and we made a stop at the convenience store around the corner, his wife got out of the car, shut the door and it would not close. I had to have her hold the door shut as we drove the car back home. I called the next day to get it into the dealer and they made me an appointment for the following Monday. The dealership said that the door is not covered under warranty. I paid $130 for them to tell me that the latch and cable need to be replaced. The cable is on back order and would take 4-5 days and cost over $500 to get it fixed. This is a real safety concern and I have never had a vehicle with this problem before. What if this door popped open while driving down the road. I will not pay $500 to have this problem fixed by the dealer and I will end up tearing it apart myself. This is really inexcusable considering that this is still fairly new vehicle.
While parked, I opened the rear passenger door. When I tried to close the door, it would not latch. The black plastic piece inside the door does not engage when the door is closed. The door swings freely and I had to loop a seatbelt through the door handle to secure it enough to drive the car home. We took the car to the dealership for service and applied for payment assistance. Ford denied payment assistance and wants to charge us $359 for repair. This issue is obviously a manufacturer defect - the plastic part does not hold up to the heat in warmer states. I live in Arizona, but the mechanic mentioned that this has happened several times in Arizona as well as Florida. Ford needs to resolve this before people get hurt or worse!
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that while driving 10 mph, the rear passenger's side door failed to close and the passenger had to hold the door shut. The problem recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the rear passenger's side door latch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 39,000.
The left hand rear door latch failed, resulting in a door that would not stay closed. It required use of seat belts and a shirt to hold the door in the closed position so it could be driven home. I tried a local dealer to see if they would repair it for free and they said no, so I repaired it myself. I also dismantled the failed latch and found the cause of the failure. In my opinion, these latches need to be redesigned and then a recall effort mounted. I can provide documentation of the failure if you need it.
My left rear door of my 2012 Ford Fiesta is no longer latching. I bought the car new in September of 2012. At the end of the day on August 29th 2014, I tried closing the door after letting my dogs in and it just bounced right back open. Since the door won't close, the dome lights stay on so I have to disconnect my battery. I spent over 30 minutes trying to get the door to latch. I was forced to leave my car, with a completely open door, at my workplace and it will have to remain that way until Tuesday due to labor day weekend. It's completely ridiculous that a two year old car with less than 30,000 miles is having door latching problems and it's apparently rampant with 81 other complaints. How many complaints do there need to be before a recall is ordered? I won't be buying another Ford.
After putting my bags in the backseat after work, I went to shut the rear passenger door and it bounced right back open. This door is used very infrequently and my car has never been in a wreck, so this was a very strange thing to happen all of the sudden! I ended up holding my backdoor closed by using a ratchet strap we had at the office and drove back 30 miles home until I could take my vehicle to the dealership the next morning. Apparently there are no tsbs or recalls on this issue, but this seems like a major safety issue to me as the car is unsafe to drive.
The passenger rear door won't latch. I almost drove off with an open door, and my kids were on the back seats. The latching mechanism is not working. I tried to close it many times, but it won't work. I researched online regarding this issue, and I saw several complaints listed --all of them for the same door--. I guess someone's child has to get hurt in order to Ford do something about it.
My mother (83 yo) was riding in the front passenger seat and as she was getting out of the car she closed the door and it bounced back and hit her on her left hip. What happened is that the door latch broke because the part that latches is made of plastic and we have been having some hot weather these days. I guess the plastic must have got too hot one too many times and it gave out and bent or broke. As she closed the door with her left hand she proceeded to walk to the front of the car and this is when the door hit her and/or got in the way as she started to walk to the front of car. My mother was in pain for about a couple weeks or so. This could have been a worse accident if my mother had been a younger person and moving much faster. Anyway, these door latches should be made of steel so they don't break so easily. Please look into it because these latches should be recalled. This is the second latch that has broken in my car. These latches are getting brittle with age and unfortunately my car is a dark colored one, which as you may well know, it attracts a lot of heat from the sun. Furthermore, I would like to add that this could be another safety issue if someone is trying to break into the car, if the latch is brittle enough, a good hard pull can break it and what if the driver is still in the car and the person breaking in wants to harm or rob her/him. Stop putting plastic latches in cars doors. Ford is making a mint selling these latches for $183 dollars each and this is not to mention the installation.
Leaving to come home from vacation when we went to put our dog in the passenger side rear door. Upon closing the door it just bounces right back. The door won't latch or lock. Had to drive all the way home with the seatbelt pulled through the door handle and the interior lights on the whole trip. After reading online, this issue should be recalled.
Ford Fiesta 2012 still under warranty; this is the second door in this new car where the door latch just stops working. Stays ajar. The first time took 1 week to get part; this time dealer is saying the part will take a month. They said there are many people experiencing this and he has a couple of customers who's cars have been there a couple of weeks already, but parts won't come until end of August! I don't have rental insurance, we only have one vehicle, no bus line to work - I can not be without my car for a month or more. So grateful we were not on the freeway or traveling any faster (this was on my passengers side). Cheaply made door parts - we think because the door is closed, locked it can't fly open we better think again.
Front side passenger's door latch will not work and the door will not close or lock, so cannot drive the car. Went to Ford dealership and was told this was very common, in fact so common that they are back ordered at least a month or longer. I cannot drive my car I bought just 3 months ago. If this is a common problem with these door latches, then why isn't there a recall. I was told by the dealership that it happens to Fiesta's all the time with brand new ones too. This is a defective part and is very dangerous and against the law to drive with a door not properly latched. I am forced to pay almost $200 for the part and about that much to install it, so about $400 overall for a defective part and was told it will happen to the other door sometime too. Why isn't this in recall"?"
We were on the highway while it was snowing. All of the other vehicles were slowing down because there was an accident blocking off the highway. Eventually we all came to a stop. After we stopped there was a Yukon that was unable to stop because of conditions and its load and hit us from behind. He was probably going 35 mph. Both the passenger and driver's head flung back against seats. No airbags deployed. Passenger has suffered in the spine from this accident.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Redlands, CA, USA