Ford Faces More Lawsuits on Door Latch Safety Issue
By JEFF PLUNGIS
WASHINGTON — Ford Motor Co. overruled its safety engineers' recommendation to recall up to 4.1 million pickups and sport utility vehicles that were found to have substandard door latches, according to company documents that have surfaced in recent court cases.
A Ford safety engineering team determined in March 2000 that door latches on certain 1997-2000 model light trucks — including popular F-150, F-250, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator models — didn't meet federal safety standards, the documents show.
Ford ordered immediate design changes for future vehicles. But the automaker decided against a recall — which could have cost up to $527 million — after the company determined the latches could pass a rarely used alternative compliance test.
The decision could haunt Ford, which faces at least 15 product-liability lawsuits stemming from fatal accidents where vehicle doors flew open. Plaintiffs' lawyers blame latch failure.
Ford makes its F-Series Super Duty trucks, the F-250 to F-550 models, at Louisville's Kentucky Truck Plant.
Federal safety officials are reviewing allegations that Ford skirted federal laws by failing to recall the 4.1 million vehicles and alert the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the latch issue.
Ford maintains the door latches are safe and comply with federal laws.
"Ford's extensive crash testing of the F-Series truck demonstrates that the doors remain closed during a variety of crashes," Ford spokeswoman Kathleen Vokes said.
"Compliance to (federal safety standards), crash testing and real-world data from years of on-road experience show the vehicles, including the door latches, to be safe."
Lawyers suing Ford say internal documents paint a detailed picture of the company's failure to address a safety issue because of financial concerns.
"It's clear to me that Ford realized the product was dangerous and should be recalled," said lawyer Jeff Wigington, who represents plaintiffs in door-latch lawsuits.
The documents, produced by Ford under court order, have emerged in court cases involving deaths and injuries in crashes when vehicle doors have flown open.
The documents provide a rare glimpse into the decision-making process of an automaker confronted by a safety concern. They show the problem had been investigated by a team of engineers who discovered a manufacturing error by a parts supplier and recommended a recall to replace the handles on vehicles already on the road.
Parts supplier Donnelly Corp. used the wrong specifications as it made a batch of 6 million door handles, Ford concluded. As a result, the latches could come open at crash forces well below those required in federal safety tests.
A March 6, 2000, memo by Ford engineer Bharat Malhotra summarized the investigation into the handles, the mistake by Donnelly and a possible fix.
"It is recommended that a campaign be issued to fix the painted handle vehicles manufactured during 1996-2000 (MY 97-00)," Malhotra wrote.
Every car and truck sold in the United States must pass the federal door-latch test, which requires handles to withstand a force of 30 Gs, or 30 times as strong as the pull of Earth's gravity.
If a vehicle is out of compliance with the standard, the manufacturer must recall it and provide a fix at no charge to owners.
The issue was passed to the Field Review Committee, the company's executive body that has the authority to make a final decision on a recall.
As of March 27, 2000, a recall was being planned to increase the torque in the springs of the door handles by 130 percent, the documents show.
Three days later, however, a memo from Ford recall coordinator Kelly Zubieta indicated the recall was not warranted.
The recall was canceled after Ford engineer James Salmon determined the latches could pass an alternate compliance test, according to testimony in an April 2004 door-latch trial.
On April 21, the automaker reached a confidential cash settlement with the families of two Texas sisters killed in a 2002 rollover crash involving a 1999 F-150. At least 15 other suits are pending or have been settled.
Copyright 2004 The Courier-Journal