NHTSA Complaint #11431298 — 2014 FORD TRANSIT CONNECT

On August 28, 2021, in Suisun City, CA, just prior driving, the owner discovered the front side door latch had failed, resulting in an inability to close the door. The vehicle had been parked in the direct sunlight with ambient temperatures over 100 degrees F. No prior indication the door latch was failing. The vehicle was subsequently inspected by local Ford Dealer and side door latch was found inoperative and was replaced. Owner retained replaced side door latch. Since the 2014 Ford Transit Connect was not built at the Valencia Assembly Plant, per Ford Recall #s 20S30, 15S16, and 16S30, the owner had to pay full the repair cost ($370.65). The serial numbers of the failed side door latch is FoMoCo DT1A V21813-BA. 4081 4157 97142 DOPRF. Consideration should be given to include 2014-2016 Ford Transit Connects built in Turkey be added to NHTSA door latch safety recall such that Ford can notify dealers to inspect and replace those side door latches at no cost to owners. Driving a vehicle with a front door latches that may be faulty is a safety hazard. See attached photos and document