Ford Seats: Recliner

Ford is recalling about 95,000 vehicles over a problem with the seats. If the seat is then returned to the upright position without re-engaging the hinge pivot, the seat and seat belts may not provide the intended level of performance in the event of a crash.

Campaign
00V418000
Manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Reported
14 December 2000
Vehicles
95,000
Built between
Mar 1999 – Oct 2000
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
24 January 2001
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between March 1999 and October 2000. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2000-2001 Ford FocusBuilt March 1999 to October 2000

What the defect is

Vehicle description: station wagons and 3-DOOR vehicles. The subject vehicles have a folding 60/40 second seat that becomes a load floor in the folded position. When the 60% portion of the seat is folded down and a load is applied to the front edge of the load floor, the outboard hinge pivot could disengage from the hinge.

What could happen

If the seat is then returned to the upright position without re-engaging the hinge pivot, the seat and seat belts may not provide the intended level of performance in the event of a crash.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL INSTALL A REVISED SEAT BACK HINGE PIVOT.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtMarch 1999 to October 2000
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA14 December 2000
  3. Owners notified24 January 2001

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 14 December 2000.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
00S55
Recalling manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Owner notification ibegan january 24, 2001.OWNERS who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.ALSO contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand