NHTSA Complaint #10633615 — 2008 FORD FOCUS

RANDOMLY THE BACK DOORS WILL NOT OPEN. THEY WILL REMAIN IN THE "LOCKED" SETTING. THEY WILL NOT OPEN FROM THE OUTSIDE OR INSIDE. UNABLE TO MANUALLY UNLOCK/OPEN EITHER DOOR. SOMETIMES BOTH DO THIS SIMULTANEOUSLY AND OTHER TIMES IT WILL BE ONE OR THE OTHER. I BOUGHT THIS CAR NEW AND THIS STARTED HAPPENING A FEW YEARS LATER. IT WAS SELDOM IN THE BEGINNING BUT NOW IT IS ALMOST ALWAYS THAT ONE OR BOTH DOORS WILL NOT OPEN. IF I CARRIED BACK SEAT PASSENGERS OFTEN THIS WOULD BE A MAJOR PROBLEM AS THIS IS A SMALL CAR AND VERY LITTLE ROOM AVAILABLE TO CRAWL IN/OUT FROM FRONT SEAT. THIS COULD EASILY TURN INTO AN EMERGENCY SITUATION ON A HOT DAY AND A LARGE PERSON LOCKED INSIDE UNABLE TO GET OUT. A WHILE BACK THE FRONT DOOR HANDLE ALSO BEGAN STICKING. THE DOOR UNLOCKS BUT THE HANDLE DOESN'T ALWAYS FEEL LIKE IT RELEASES ALL THE WAY TO ALLOW THE DOOR TO OPEN. THEN WHEN IT DOES OPEN, SOMETIMES THE HANDLE HAS TO BE MANUALLY PUSHED BACK INTO THE DOOR BEFORE THE DOOR WILL LATCH. *TR