NHTSA Complaint #10821587 — 2006 FORD FREESTYLE

BOUGHT NEW, PRIOR TO DELIVERY OF VEHICLE DEALER FIRST FIXED A RECALL FOR DOOR LOCK THAT JAMMED DURING COLD WEATHER FREEZING CAUSING REAR DOOR LATCH NOT TO CATCH. PROBLEM OCCURRED THE FOLLOWING WINTER OF 2008 WHEN DROPPING OFF CHILD TO SCHOOL, DOOR WOULD NOT CLOSE AND FLEW OPEN AS I WAS DRIVING AWAY, NEARLY SWINGING INTO PATH OF CHILD. PULLED CAR OFF MAIN ROAD TO TRY AND CLOSE DOOR WITH SEVERAL HARD SLAMS BUT LATCH WOULD NOT CATCH DOOR. CALLED FORD RECALL CORPORATE CENTER WHO CHECKED THEIR RECORDS AND CONFIRMED THE DEALER MARKED THE RECALL AS FIXED ALREADY. I EXPLAINED TO THE FORD RECALL DEPARTMENT THAT REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE DEALER ACTUALLY FIXED THE PROBLEM, IT IS STILL OCCURRING AND WAS A VERY DANGEROUS HAZARD DURING WINTER MONTHS WHEN DOOR COULD SWING OPEN AND HIT ADJACENT CARS, PEDESTRIANS, LIGHT POLES AND TREES ALONG URBAN LOCAL ROADS WHERE SIDEWALKS AND POLES ARE TYPICALLY NEAR THE CURB. I WAS TOLD THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO FURTHER SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS ALREADY 'FIXED' UNDER THE RECALL NOTICE. I LOOKED INTO WHAT THE 'FIX' WAS AND IT WAS SIMPLY HAVING THE SERVICE TECHNICIAN DRILL A HOLE IN THE DOOR FRAME TO ALLOW CONDENSATION TO DRAIN INSTEAD OF FREEZING NEAR THE LATCH MECHANISM. I AM AN ENGINEER BY PROFESSION, AND IN MY REVIEW OF THIS REMEDIAL MEASURE, IT BECAME APPARENT THAT THE DRILL BIT SIZE BEING PROVIDED TO THE DEALERSHIPS FOR THIS FIX WAS NOT A LARGE ENOUGH DIAMETER TO ENSURE PROPER DRAINAGE AND AS A RESULT, THE CONDENSATION WOULD SIMPLY FREEZE ACROSS THE FULL DIAMETER OF THE DRILLED HOLE INTENDED FOR DRAINAGE. PROBLEM CONTINUES TO OCCUR DURING COLD WEATHER MONTHS EACH YEAR AND I HEARD THAT FORD IS UNDER INVESTIGATION AGAIN FOR SIMILAR PROBLEM ON SOME NEWER MODELS