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Ford recalls 2013 Focus, C-Max, Escape for faulty child safety lock

Updated: March 14, 2013 12:46 PM EDT

2013 Ford Focus sedan (© Ford Motor Co.)

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By Suzanne Kane

Ford is conducting a voluntary safety recall of 5,675 2013 model year Ford Focus sedans, C-Max hybrids and Escape SUVs in the U.S. due to faulty child safety door locks. Another 859 vehicles are involved in Canada. This marks the first recall for the new Ford C-Max.

Affected vehicles were manufactured from Nov. 16 through Nov. 21, 2012 at Ford's Michigan Assembly plant in Wayne and Louisville Assembly in Kentucky.

The problem

According to a report in The Detroit News, the issue is that the child lock on the left rear door may have been incorrectly installed during assembly.

The publication quotes a Ford spokesman's statement to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that "the child lock may not engage when the operator uses normal turning force to activate the child lock, and the operator may incorrectly believe the child lock is engaged."

The automaker further said that it is not aware of any crashes or injuries due to the condition.

Ford said it discovered the problem November 20 and immediately halted sales of affected vehicles while they conducted an investigation. The faulty latch problem was traced to a supplier shipment of mixed parts.

What Ford will do

Ford will send notification letters to owners by the end of March 2013, instructing them to bring their vehicles to Ford dealers. The dealers will inspect the vehicles and replace the rear door latch, if necessary, at no charge.

In the meantime, owners of 2013 Ford Focus, C-Max and Escape vehicles with any questions or concerns may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332.

Alternatively, owners of vehicles involved in the campaign may contact the NHTSA vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 for more information.

This story originally appeared at The Car Connection

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Ford recalls 2013 Focus, C-Max, Escape - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

Ford recalls 2013 Focus, C-Max, Escape for faulty child safety lock

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