Ford Seats: Recliner

Ford is recalling about 33,256 vehicles over a problem with the seats. In the event of a crash, the seatback and head restraint may move rearward, increasing the risk of injury.

Campaign
10V161000
Manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Reported
20 April 2010
Vehicles
33,256
Built between
Dec 2009 – Feb 2010
Models
5
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
3 May 2010
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between December 2009 and February 2010. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2010 Ford ExplorerBuilt December 2009 to February 2010
  • 2010 Ford Explorer Sport TracBuilt December 2009 to February 2010
  • 2010 Ford FusionBuilt December 2009 to February 2010
  • 2010 Mercury MilanBuilt December 2009 to February 2010
  • 2010 Mercury MountaineerBuilt December 2009 to February 2010

What the defect is

Ford is recalling certain model year 2010 fusion, explorer, explorer sport trac, and mercury milan and mountaineer vehicles manufactured between december 15, 2009 through february 3, 2010 equipped with front seat manual recliners. These vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 202, "head restraint." the recliner gear plate teeth may be out of dimension specification which could result in limited pawl to gear plate tooth engagement.

What could happen

In the event of a crash, the seatback and head restraint may move rearward, increasing the risk of injury.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE MANUAL RECLINERS FOR BOTH POWER AND MANUAL SEATS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE APRIL 30, 2010.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtDecember 2009 to February 2010
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA20 April 2010
  3. Owners notified3 May 2010

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 20 April 2010.

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.

Manufacturer contact

Owners may contact ford at 1-866-436-7332.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
10C11
Recalling manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Safety standard
FMVSS 202
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

Owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to <a href=http://www.safercar.gov>http://www.safercar.gov</a> .

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