— Ford Bronco child safety lock problems have caused a recall of more than 10,000 model year 2023-2024 Ford Bronco 4-door vehicles.
According to Ford, the left-side rear door may be opened from the inside when the child safety lock is in the "ON" position, the opposite of how the lock should function.
Ford says it tried to make the door more flush during production but mistakenly caused the location of the left-hand rear door latch reinforcement bracket to shift.
"As a result, when the child safety lock is in the “ON” position, the inner release lever may contact the child lock coupling lever when the inside door handle is pulled, allowing the door to open." — Ford
Ford opened an investigation in December 2023 following assembly plant reports of child safety locks that failed on 2023 Bronco four-door vehicles. Employees could open the rear left doors from the inside even when the child safety locks were in the ON positions.
All Broncos were checked at the plant and nearly 2% had faulty rear left-hand child safety locks.
Engineers determined a sheet metal fixture improvement was completed on September 13, 2023, at the door sheet metal stamping plant to improve door flushness. But this caused the location of the latch reinforcement to shift, but not on the rear right-side Bronco doors.
The condition can be dangerous to second-row passengers, but Ford is unaware of any crash or injury reports. There have also been no warranty claims or field reports.
Ford dealers will inspect the Bronco child safety locks and replace the rear door latches if needed. Ford expects to mail Bronco recall letters April 16, 2024.
Ford Bronco owners with questions should call 866-436-7332 and refer to child safety lock recall number 24S15.
