DEARBORN (WWJ) - A door issue discovered in Ford Escape SUVs has caused U.S. auto safety administrators to open an investigation into nearly 350,000 vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said they received almost 120 questionnaires about failures to the weld in the door assembly in 2020-2021 Ford Escape models from the Dearborn-based automaker.
The issue, which affects the check arm bracket for the front doors, potentially leads to the door opening while driving.
So far, 25 reports of minor injuries and one report of property damage related to the issue have been made to the NHTSA.
In addition to finding out why the issue is occurring, WWJ's auto beat reporter Jeff Gilbert said that investigators are also looking into what kind of fix might be needed to prevent future incidents from happening.
Gilbert says Ford has issued 31 recalls so far this year involving more than 4 million vehicles.