NHTSA Complaint #10928801 — 2016 FORD FUSION

ON NOVEMBER 25, 2016 AT APPROXIMATELY 5:00 PM, MY SON OPENED THE DOOR WITH A DEFECTIVE CHILD SAFETY LOCK WHILE THE CAR WAS MOVING 65 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY IN MARYLAND. AFTER WE QUICKLY PULLED OVER, WE WERE UNABLE TO CLOSE THE DOOR AS THERE WAS A METAL PIECE BLOCKING THE CLOSING MECHANISM. WE CALLED EMERGENCY ROAD SIDE SERVICES AT 5:20 PM AND WAS TOLD A TOW TRUCK WOULD BRING US ANOTHER CAR WITH AN ETA OF 8:27 PM. FOUR CALLS WERE MADE UP TO 10:41PM TO FIND OUT WHEN THE TRUCK WOULD ARRIVE. WE WERE CONSISTENTLY TOLD THERE WAS A DELAY DUE TO HOLIDAY TRAFFIC. THE NEXT MORNING AT 8:03 AM, ANOTHER CALL WAS MADE TO DETERMINE THE STATUS OF THE ISSUE. WE WERE TOLD THE FASTEST WAY TO GET A CAR WOULD BE TO GO TO THE LOCAL BUDGET RENTAL LOCATION BUT WHEN WE ARRIVED WE WERE TOLD THEY COULD NOT GIVE US A CAR BECAUSE THE COMPUTERS WERE DOWN. AFTER MULTIPLE ADDITIONAL CALLS , THE SERVICE PROMISED TO BRING A CAR THAT AFTERNOON. FINALLY, 21 HOURS AFTER THE INITIAL CALL, A REPLACEMENT CAR WAS DELIVERED AND THE FORD FUSION WITH THE DEFECTIVE CHILD SAFETY LOCK WAS RETURNED. THIS WAS NOT ONLY A SERIOUS HAZARD FOR MY FAMILY, WE LOST A DAY PLANNED WITH FAMILY FOR THE HOLIDAY. AS A FORMER BUSINESS TRAVELER OF 11 YEARS, THIS WAS THE WORST CAR RENTAL EXPERIENCE AND I WOULD LIKE A FULL REFUND FOR THE TIME, DISTRESS, AND FRUSTRATION THIS CAUSED MYSELF AND DAILY. I SHUDDER TO THINK OF WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED ON THAT HIGHWAY AND I SUGGEST YOU ADD A MORE THOROUGH SAFETY INSPECTION OF VEHICLES PRIOR TO RENTING THEM TO YOUR CUSTOMERS. *TR