Ford Announces F-150 Recalls for Door Handles

The Associated Press (2/4, Thomas) reports, “Ford Motor Co. recalled nearly 365,000 F-150 pickup trucks in North America on Thursday to fix a problem with the interior door handles that could lead to the doors opening in a crash.”

The recall covers “about 280,000 F-150s in the US from the 2009 and 2010 model years built from Jan. 18, 2008, through Nov. 30, 2009.” NHTSA “said on its website that a spring in the interior door handle could break, causing the door to fail to latch properly. If the truck was struck by another vehicle on the side, the government said the door latch could open.”

The Wall Street Journal (2/4/2011) states that the required repair will involve either reinforcing the door handle latch spring or replacing the entire handle module.

*****It must be noted that this door latch may also fail in the event of a rollover accident involving Ford F-150 trucks, since the same or even great forces are in play in the case of a rollover accident in a truck or SUV. *****