NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE14-028: Door Latch Failure
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE14-028 on September 11, 2014 and closed it on March 18, 2015. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2011–2013 Ford Fiesta for it and links recall 20E-010 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE14-028 (also written PE14028)
- Investigation type
- Preliminary Evaluation The first stage of most defect investigations: NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation gathers basic information about a possible safety defect, including from the manufacturer.
- Status
- Closed March 18, 2015
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Ford Motor Company
- Components
- Latches/Locks/Linkages; Latches/Locks/Linkages — Doors — Latch
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 20E-010 (NHTSA record)
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2011–2013 Ford Fiesta
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE14-028.
try.vin does not copy NHTSA's investigation documents; NHTSA's investigation record lists the ones NHTSA has published.
On September 11, 2014 the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE14-028) to investigate claims of doors failing to latch and/or inadvertently opening on model year (MY) 2011-2013 Ford Fiesta vehicles. ODI has received 207 unique reports related to the alleged problem, with sixty-five claiming that the door(s) opened inadvertently while the vehicle was in motion. Two injuries were reported, both caused by a rebounding door striking a consumer after they attempted to close it. In response to ODI's Information Request (IR), Ford Motor Company (Ford) responded with 451 unique reports related to the alleged defect.
One claim involved an incident in which property damage incurred after a door opened while driving at low speed and struck another vehicle. Ford also submitted 1,079 warranty claims related to door latch failures. Additionally Ford informed ODI in its IR response that MY 2013 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles utilize the same door latch as the MY 2011-13 Fiesta. In it's response, Ford stated that it does not believe that a latched door experiencing this condition will inadvertently unlatch and that there are many overt warning associated with a door that does not latch. ODI noted that the rate of occurrence for this failure is comparable to other door latch failure investigations and questions the effectiveness of warning signals given the number of complainants alleging that the door(s) opened while the vehicle was in motion. Therefore, ODI is upgrading this investigation to an Engineering Analysis (EA15-002) in order to further investigate the scope, frequency and consequence of this failure.
ODI reports cited above can be reviewed at www-odi.nhtsa.gov/complaints under the identification (ODI) numbers listed in the attached document.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE14-028. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Ford
All Ford recallsWhat an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Ford VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE14-028
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.