Cars and Drivers

Ford Recalls 1.3 Million F-150s in North America

Paul Ausick

Published: October 18, 2017 1:50 pm

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 7:03 am

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) has issued a safety recall for more than 1.1 million U.S., 222,000 Canadian and 21,000 Mexican pickups to repair a faulty door latch. The recalled vehicles are model years 2015, 2016 and 2017 F-150 pickups, along with model year 2017 Super Duty pickups.

According to the notice from Ford, the company is not aware of any crashes or injuries associated with the issue.

The issue in vehicles affected by this recall is that a frozen door latch or a bent or kinked actuation cable may result in a door that will not open or will not close. If a person is able to open and close the door regardless of these conditions, the door may not latch properly and could pop open while driving, “increasing the risk of injury.”

Ford dealers will install water shields over door latches and inspect and repair actuation cables if necessary at no cost to customers. Ford estimates the cost of the recall at $267 million.

The F-150 is the best-selling vehicle in the United States and has been for decades. In the first nine months of 2017, Ford has sold more than 820,000 of its F-Series pickups.

The average transaction price for a new pickup in 2016 topped $39,000, and it could rise with the introduction earlier this month of Ford’s Super Duty Limited vehicles that start at $80,235 for an F-250, $82,010 for an F-350 and $87,100 for an F-450. A fully loaded F-450 can run the tab to nearly $100,000.

At those prices, the doors need to remain closed while driving. That’s pretty basic.

Ford’s stock traded down about 0.4% Wednesday afternoon, at $12.22 in a 52-week range of $10.47 to $13.27. The 12-month consensus price target is $11.91.