Ford expands recall of 2015-2017 Ford F-Series pickups over door latch issue

Back in May, Ford recalled select Ford F-150, F-250, and F-550 vehicles from the 2017 model year to fix a problem caused by certain aftermarket door handle covers sold by Ford dealers. All told, that recall affected 551 vehicles, 247 of which were registered in the U.S.

This week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published the official version of that recall, which adds new models to the repair list and dramatically boosts the number of trucks affected.

The root problem remains the same: aftermarket door handle covers manufactured by Putco in Des Moines, Iowa, and sold by Ford dealerships. NHTSA reports that the covers may allow a truck's doors to unlatch during a side-impact collision. Should that happen, it could significantly increase the risk of injury to the truck's occupants.

Thankfully, Ford says that it knows of no accidents or injuries related to the problem.

The recall now affects 14,410 late-model pickups registered in the U.S., including:

• 2015-2017 Ford F-150
• 2017 Ford F-250
• 2017 Ford F-350
• 2017 Ford F-450
• 2017 Ford F-550

Obviously, the recall is limited to vehicles whose owners purchased the door handle covers in question.

Ford says that it will mail recall notices to owners of those pickups by July 21, 2017 (i.e. tomorrow). After receiving those notices, owners will be able to take their vehicles to Ford dealerships for service. The fix will involve removal of the door handle covers and refunding the purchase price of the accessories.

If you own one of these vehicles and have further questions, you're encouraged to call Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 and ask about recall 17C09. Alternately, you can call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 and inquire about safety campaign #17V331.

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